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A review by thebookhaze
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
5.0
It's been a long time since I read a book that has got me so engrossed in it. The truth is that while a lot of things happen, nothing really *happens*. There's not much action or danger in the book at all, and the only disasters that happen are told second-hand, so it's not like a thrilling adventure or anything.
The thing that makes this book great, is the character arcs. The things that they go through, their internal struggles, the little nuances that makes a person human... It was amazing to look at each and every one of them, even the "aliens", and try to understand what makes them tick. How who we are can change in an instant, or over time...
I think that's the biggest takeaway for me. You could've been an deadbeat alcoholic drug addict, but you can clean yourself up, become a new person, a leader in your community, and vice versa. We are all fluid, we can choose who we want to be, what we want to do with our lives. There is so much hope in this book, given in the most realistic way. So profound, and yet so simplistic in its delivery.
The thing that makes this book great, is the character arcs. The things that they go through, their internal struggles, the little nuances that makes a person human... It was amazing to look at each and every one of them, even the "aliens", and try to understand what makes them tick. How who we are can change in an instant, or over time...
I think that's the biggest takeaway for me. You could've been an deadbeat alcoholic drug addict, but you can clean yourself up, become a new person, a leader in your community, and vice versa. We are all fluid, we can choose who we want to be, what we want to do with our lives. There is so much hope in this book, given in the most realistic way. So profound, and yet so simplistic in its delivery.