Authors, Fiction

Faber’s Book of Loss and Strange New Things

5 Comments

Michel Faber has a fascinating story behind his novel, The Book of Strange New Things, as well as a curious story in the novel itself. The novel tells the story of an intergalactic missionary to works to translate the Bible to aliens who are not just a little different. They aren’t beautiful Martian queens. They are completely foreign to human beings, and they want to know about Jesus and “the book of strange new things.”

Steve Paulson of TTBOOK interviews Faber here as part of a show on science fiction.

5 thoughts on “Faber’s Book of Loss and Strange New Things”

  3. Sounds like an interesting read.

    The truth is that religion is not transportable to true aliens. What do you say to beings that are immortal for instance?

    Or beings that customarily eat almost all their young and most of their friends and relatives just to survive? Sure you change them over to the local equivalent of vegetarians and all the ones on your special diet die. Now what?

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  4. I think you’d enjoy this book, and you’re right that this is wildly speculative, like your two examples. If you like historic fantasy, you’ll enjoy Lars’ book on Erling Skjalgsson. The most recent one, Hailstone Mountain, has immortal beings in it.

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  5. Pingback: What Did Ray Bradbury Believe? | Brandywine Books

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