“The Book of Strange New Things was a comfort to him, a source of solace and guidance in this bewildering new world.”
— Peter reading the Bible-like text given to him by the Oasans.
Archivist's Choice
The Book of Strange New Things
Michel Faber (2014)
Genre
Literary Fiction / Fantasy / Spirituality / Science Fiction
Reading Time
1250 min
Key Themes
See below
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A missionary travels to a distant planet to spread the Gospel, but his faith and marriage face challenges when his wife's letters reveal Earth's collapse, making them confront love and devotion across a cosmic distance.
Synopsis
Peter, a Christian pastor, accepts a mission to Oasis, a distant planet colonized by the USIC corporation, to evangelize its alien inhabitants, the Oasans. He leaves his wife, Bea, whose letters from Earth grow more desperate as the planet collapses. Peter finds the Oasans receptive to his teachings, calling the Bible 'the book of strange new things,' and he becomes invested in their spiritual development, even as they suffer from an illness.
As the gap between Peter's new life and Bea's deteriorating reality widens, their bond of faith and love is tested. Peter deals with the Oasans' dependence, USIC's unclear motives, and Earth's decline. When Bea gives him an ultimatum, Peter must choose between his mission on Oasis and returning to a dying Earth to be with his wife, whose faith has been shattered. He confronts the nature of sacrifice, love, and humanity's place in the cosmos.
Reading time
1250 min
Difficulty
Medium
Pacing
Slow
Mood
Melancholy, Thought-provoking, Meditative, Disquieting
✓ Read this if...
You enjoy thought-provoking literary science fiction that deeply explores themes of faith, love, and humanity's impact on new worlds, with a strong focus on character and emotional depth.
✗ Skip this if...
You prefer fast-paced, action-oriented sci-fi, or are looking for a story with clear-cut answers and a definitively optimistic ending.
Plot Summary
The Call to Oasis
Peter, a Christian pastor from England, is chosen by USIC, a powerful corporation, for a mission to a distant exoplanet called Oasis. He is tasked with ministering to the native population, the Oasans. Leaving Earth is difficult, as it means a long separation from his wife, Bea, who supports his calling despite her worries. Peter undergoes training and psychological evaluation, showing strong faith and adaptability. The journey to Oasis is long, ending with his arrival at the USIC base, a sterile, controlled environment isolated from the planet it occupies. He is immediately struck by the newness of everything, setting the stage for his spiritual and emotional journey.
First Encounters with the Oasans
Upon arrival, Peter meets the Oasans, a humanoid species with unique physical characteristics, including large, sensitive eyes and a distinct language he has been taught. He finds them receptive and spiritual, eager for his teachings. Their previous pastor, Alexander, has vanished. Peter's Bible, which they call 'the book of strange new things,' becomes central to his ministry. The Oasans are fascinated by Christian stories and concepts, especially Jesus and salvation. Peter quickly forms a bond with several Oasans, including the elder leader, Graff, and the young woman, Sola, who helps with translation. He begins holding regular services, finding fulfillment in his new role.
Bea's Distress and Earth's Decline
Peter communicates with Bea through encrypted messages, often delayed and censored by USIC. Initially, Bea's messages are loving and supportive, but her tone changes. She reports a rapidly worsening situation on Earth: typhoons, earthquakes, famine, and societal breakdown. Governments are failing, and global infrastructure is collapsing. Bea describes dwindling resources, escalating violence, and a sense of fear. Her once strong faith wavers under the catastrophe, and she expresses loneliness and fear for her survival. These messages disturb Peter, creating a growing gap between his purposeful life on Oasis and Bea's desperate struggle.
The Oasan Illness and USIC's Motives
Peter notices an illness among the Oasans, causing slow deterioration and death. He learns that many Oasans, including children, are affected, and the disease seems to be spreading. He asks the USIC medical staff, particularly Dr. Kurtz, about it but receives vague answers. Peter suspects USIC is not transparent about its operations or its impact on the Oasan population. He sees signs of USIC's exploitation of Oasis's resources and its indifference to the Oasans' well-being beyond their use for labor or study. This realization creates a conflict within Peter, forcing him to balance his missionary duty with his doubts about his employer's ethics.
The Disappearance of Alexander
As Peter becomes more integrated into the Oasan community, he learns more about Alexander, the pastor before him. The Oasans speak of Alexander with reverence, but also with confusion about his sudden disappearance. Through conversations with Graff and Sola, Peter gathers that Alexander had also become concerned about the Oasan illness and USIC's activities. It is suggested that Alexander may have discovered something inconvenient or threatened USIC's agenda, leading to his removal or forced silence. This revelation increases Peter's unease and strengthens his suspicion that USIC is hiding information and manipulating the situation on Oasis, including his predecessor's fate.
The Deepening Gulf
The contrast between Peter's life on Oasis and Bea's dire existence on Earth creates a large emotional and psychological gap between them. Peter's messages, filled with details of his ministry and the beauty of Oasis, feel irrelevant to Bea's struggles. Conversely, Bea's desperate pleas for him to return or her descriptions of Earth's collapse are almost incomprehensible to Peter, who is insulated from the chaos. Their shared faith, once the foundation of their relationship, begins to crack. Bea questions God's presence amidst suffering, while Peter struggles to reconcile his mission with abandoning his wife to a dying world. The distance becomes more than spatial; it is a fundamental difference in their experiences and beliefs.
The Oasans' Spiritual Evolution
Peter witnesses the Oasans' interpretation and adaptation of Christian teachings. They integrate Bible stories into their culture, sometimes in ways that surprise Peter. For instance, their understanding of suffering and salvation is intertwined with their experiences and environment. They are drawn to Jesus's sacrifice and resurrection, finding parallels in their communal values. Peter is moved by their faith and desire for spiritual guidance, but he also grapples with introducing a foreign religion and the potential for misinterpretation. He questions if he is truly helping them or inadvertently changing their identity.
Bea's Ultimatum
Bea's messages become more desperate and eventually end with a heartbreaking ultimatum. She writes that she cannot endure the separation or the horrors of Earth's collapse without him. She implies that her survival, both physical and emotional, depends on his return. Bea challenges his commitment to their marriage and his love for her, questioning if his mission on Oasis is more important than her life. This message shatters Peter's resolve, forcing him to confront the choice between his calling to the Oasans and his duty to his wife. The weight of her suffering, coupled with his disillusionment with USIC, pushes him to a decision.
The Truth About the Illness and USIC
Driven by his conscience, Peter increases his efforts to understand the Oasan illness. Through persistent questioning, he uncovers the truth: the illness is a direct result of USIC's presence and activities on Oasis. The corporation's resource extraction and environmental impact are poisoning the Oasans, leading to their decline. USIC has been suppressing this information and covering up their fault, seeing the Oasans as expendable. This revelation confirms Peter's fears and shatters any remaining illusions he had about USIC's intentions. He realizes he has been an unwitting participant in a slow genocide, his ministry serving as a distraction while the Oasans are systematically destroyed.
The Choice and the Departure
Faced with the truth about USIC and Bea's plea, Peter makes the decision to leave Oasis. He tells his Oasan congregation that he must return to his wife, explaining that her need is paramount. The Oasans, though saddened, understand and show him empathy, reinforcing his love for them even as he prepares to depart. Peter confronts the USIC administration, expressing his disgust and condemnation of their actions, knowing it will lead to his dismissal. He prepares for the journey back to Earth, not knowing what awaits him or Bea, but driven by the understanding that his primary covenant is with his wife. He leaves behind the 'book of strange new things' and his Oasan flock, carrying the weight of his experience and an uncertain future.
The Uncertain Reunion
Peter endures the long journey back to Earth, filled with anxiety about what he will find. Upon his arrival, Earth is more devastated than Bea's messages had indicated. The world is in chaos, ravaged by environmental disasters, societal breakdown, and human suffering. USIC's presence is minimal, their focus having shifted, leaving the planet to its fate. Peter searches for Bea, navigating a world that is almost unrecognizable. He uses the last remnants of USIC's resources and his own ingenuity, hoping to find her alive. His faith is tested by the scale of human suffering, but his determination to reunite with Bea remains his guiding force, even if their future together is uncertain.
Principal Figures
Peter
The Protagonist
Peter evolves from a faith-driven missionary to a man forced to prioritize human connection and love over a perceived divine calling, becoming disillusioned with institutional power.
Bea
The Supporting
Bea's faith and resilience are systematically eroded by global collapse, transforming her from a supportive wife to a desperate survivor who demands Peter's return.
Graff
The Supporting
Graff remains a steadfast spiritual leader, representing the Oasans' enduring faith and their gentle adaptation to new teachings.
Sola
The Supporting
Sola grows in understanding of Peter's teachings and the wider implications of Earth's presence, evolving into a more informed and questioning member of her community.
USIC (The Company)
The Antagonist
USIC remains a static, oppressive force, its true nature as an indifferent, exploitative entity gradually uncovered by Peter.
Dr. Kurtz
The Supporting
Dr. Kurtz's helpfulness diminishes as Peter uncovers the truth, revealing his role as an enabler of USIC's deception.
Alexander
The Mentioned
Alexander's fate remains unresolved, serving as a symbolic warning and a precursor to Peter's own ethical struggles.
Themes & Insights
Faith and Doubt
The novel explores the nature of faith, both personal and institutional, and how it withstands extreme pressure. Peter's Christian faith is tested by his separation from Bea, Earth's suffering, and his employer's moral compromises. Bea's faith, once strong, crumbles under global catastrophe. The Oasans' adoption of Peter's 'strange new things' presents a different aspect of faith – one of sincere receptiveness. The narrative questions if faith can thrive amidst suffering and corporate wrongdoing, or if it must change to survive, as seen when Peter's faith shifts from mission to marital commitment.
“What was the point of faith if you didn’t have to use it? If you didn’t have to suffer for it?”
Love and Separation
The book meditates on the power and fragility of love, especially when facing vast physical and emotional separation. Peter and Bea's love is the emotional anchor, tested by galactic distances, communication delays, and diverging life experiences. The growing gap between their realities shows how shared experience and physical presence are important for intimacy. Bea's pleas and Peter's decision to abandon his mission show that love, in its fundamental form, is about presence, commitment, and prioritizing the beloved's well-being over all else, even a divine calling.
“Love was not a feeling, Peter, it was a choice. A decision.”
Colonialism and Exploitation
The novel critiques historical patterns of colonialism and exploitation, hidden by USIC's benevolent facade. The corporation's presence on Oasis, ostensibly for scientific and humanitarian reasons, is shown to be driven by resource extraction and profit, leading to the poisoning of the Oasan population. Peter, initially an unwitting participant, uncovers the truth, highlighting the complicity of well-meaning individuals within exploitative systems. The Oasans' illness and Alexander's disappearance serve as reminders of the impact of unchecked corporate power and the ethical responsibilities of 'strangers' entering new lands.
“They were not here to help, Peter realized. They were here to take.”
The Collapse of Civilization
The rapid collapse of Earth's civilization, relayed through Bea's messages, is a stark background theme. It contrasts sharply with Peter's stable existence on Oasis. This theme explores the fragility of human society, the impact of environmental neglect, and the breakdown of social order when basic necessities disappear. It forces Peter and the reader to confront humanity's potential future and what matters when the world falls apart. Bea's struggle for survival provides a personal perspective on global disaster, highlighting the individual cost of societal failure.
“The world was ending, Peter, and you were not here.”
Identity and Belonging
Peter's journey challenges his sense of identity and belonging. He is an outsider on Oasis, yet he finds purpose among the Oasans. Simultaneously, his connection to Earth and his identity as Bea's husband is strained by distance and differing realities. The Oasans deal with their own identity as their culture encounters new ideas and their bodies succumb to an alien illness. The novel explores what defines home, purpose, and self when one is caught between two different worlds, questioning whether belonging is a matter of physical location or spiritual connection.
“He was a stranger in a strange land, but he was also a stranger to the land he had left behind.”
Plot Devices & Literary Techniques
Epistolary Communication (Letters)
The primary means of communication between Peter and Bea, highlighting their growing estrangement.
The letters exchanged between Peter and Bea serve as the central narrative device for revealing the parallel but diverging plots. These messages, often delayed, censored, and fragmented, underscore the vast physical and emotional distance between the couple. Bea's letters, in particular, provide a visceral, unfiltered account of Earth's collapse, contrasting sharply with Peter's insulated experience on Oasis. This device effectively builds suspense, amplifies the theme of separation, and allows the reader to experience the breakdown of their relationship through their own words, emphasizing how their realities become increasingly incomprehensible to one another.
The 'Book of Strange New Things'
The Oasans' term for the Bible, symbolizing the introduction of new ideas and cultural exchange.
The Oasans' designation of Peter's Bible as 'the book of strange new things' is a powerful symbol. It represents the introduction of foreign concepts, culture, and belief systems into an indigenous society. For Peter, it is the word of God; for the Oasans, it is a source of fascinating, sometimes bewildering, knowledge. This device highlights themes of cultural exchange, interpretation, and the potential impact of evangelism on native populations. It also subtly foreshadows the 'strange new things' that Peter himself will learn about USIC and the true nature of his mission, forcing him to re-evaluate his own 'book' of understanding.
The USIC Corporation
A mysterious, omnipresent corporate entity representing unchecked power and exploitation.
USIC functions as a shadowy, quasi-antagonistic force throughout the novel. Its enigmatic nature, pervasive control, and ultimate indifference to life beyond its objectives serve as a powerful symbol of unchecked corporate power and modern-day colonialism. USIC controls access to information, censors communication, and is ultimately responsible for the Oasan illness. By keeping the corporation largely faceless and its motives opaque for much of the story, Faber emphasizes the systemic and dehumanizing nature of exploitation, rather than focusing on individual villains. USIC's presence critiques the ethics of expansion and resource acquisition in the guise of progress.
The Oasan Illness
A mysterious, pervasive illness affecting the native population, symbolizing colonial impact.
The Oasan illness is a key plot device that drives Peter's growing disillusionment and reveals the darker side of USIC's presence. Initially a mysterious ailment, it is gradually unveiled as a direct consequence of USIC's environmental impact and resource extraction. This illness serves as a metaphor for the devastating effects of colonialism and exploitation on indigenous populations and their environment. It forces Peter to confront the ethical implications of his mission and the complicity of his employer, ultimately leading him to choose between his spiritual calling and his moral duty to protect the vulnerable.
Critical analysis
Notable Quotes
“It was as if the universe had decided to strip away everything familiar, leaving him with only the raw, unvarnished truth of his own existence.”
— Peter reflecting on his isolation and the alien environment.
“He missed the small, mundane things, the things he hadn't even realized he valued until they were gone.”
— Peter thinking about his past life on Earth and his wife, Bea.
“Faith, he realized, was not about certainty, but about continuing to believe even when everything pointed to the contrary.”
— Peter grappling with his faith amidst the challenges on Oasis.
“How could he explain the inexplicable? How could he make her understand a world she could never see?”
— Peter struggling to communicate his experiences to Bea through messages.
“The Oasans were not just different; they were fundamentally, beautifully, terrifyingly other.”
— Peter's growing understanding and awe of the alien species.
“Love, he discovered, was not a static thing, but a constantly shifting, evolving landscape.”
— Peter pondering the changes in his relationship with Bea.
“Sometimes, the most profound truths were found in the most unexpected places.”
— Peter reflecting on the wisdom he gained from the Oasans.
“He was a shepherd to a flock he barely understood, in a land that defied all earthly logic.”
— Peter's role as a missionary to the Oasans.
“The silence here was not empty, but full of a presence he couldn't quite name.”
— Peter experiencing the unique atmosphere of Oasis.
“To truly connect, you had to be willing to be vulnerable, to expose your own strangeness.”
— Peter learning to build rapport with the Oasans.
“The future was a vast, uncharted territory, and he was sailing into it without a map.”
— Peter considering his uncertain path forward.
“Every goodbye was a small death, a severing of a thread that had been woven into the fabric of his life.”
— Peter reflecting on the many goodbyes he has experienced.
“He was a stranger in a strange land, and yet, in some profound way, he felt more at home than he ever had before.”
— Peter finding an unexpected sense of belonging among the Oasans.
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Key Questions (FAQ)
The novel follows Peter, a Christian missionary, who travels to the planet Oasis to preach to the native Oasans, leaving his wife Bea behind on an increasingly deteriorating Earth. His mission involves teaching the Oasans from his Bible, which they call 'The Book of Strange New Things,' while Bea grapples with escalating global catastrophes and her faltering faith.
About the author
Michel Faber is a Dutch-born writer of English-language fiction, including his 2002 novel The Crimson Petal and the White. His latest book is a novel for young adults, D: A Tale of Two Worlds, published in 2020. His next book, Listen, a non-fiction work about music, is due in 2023.
