The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber

REVIEW: I am not sure what to think about this book, especially the religious emphasis.  I wanted to keep reading and I wanted to know what would happen, but sometimes I skimmed in order to keep moving along.  The end left me wanting to know what happens next to everyone.  The author crafted the ending he wanted, but I wanted another chapter or two!  Also, my Christian beliefs played a large part in my understanding and reading experience.  I wonder how a non-Christian would experience the book.  Would they understand the biblical references, but also how important would that be to the enjoyment of the book?  Given my questions, this would be a great book for a discussion!  In the end, I feel this was a very intriguing book, it kept my interest and provided hours of enjoyment.  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this review.       

Characters
Home	Oasis
Peter Bea Joshua (cat)   Mirah – Muslim woman – victim of domestic violence – friend of Bea	Peter Tuska – pilot Billy Graham – BG – engineer Arthur Severin – engineer – diabetic – died while at Oasis Moro – engineering technologist and cook Werner Frank Tartaglione – linguist – disappeared Alex Grainger – pharmacist – driver Marty Kurtzberg – Prior Baptist missionary  – disappeared   Oasans Jesus Lover One, etc.

For Discussion:

NOTE: All page numbers refer to the hardback edition.

1. Why did Bea get disqualified for the trip but Peter did not?
2. Consider when Peter met the Oasans for the first time.  When he looked at one of their faces, he "couldn't decide it on its own terms; he could only compare it to something he knew" (page 102).  Can you imagine being in a similar situation in which you had no frame of reference?  How do you think you would react?
3. As you were reading, how did you handle the letters 't,' 's' and 'ch' when the Oasans spoke?  Did that increase your understanding of how a child struggles when they are learning letter sounds? 
4. Peter did not like how the Oasans had to struggle when saying the word "church" so he tried to get them to say "our haven" instead.  How much do names matter?  How do you feel when someone mispronounces your name?
5. Discuss what it means to be happy.  On pages 174-175 Peter was thinking about situations when people seemed happy but were not and also when they said they were truly happy in difficult situations.  For example, on the day when Peter proposed to Bea, everything went wrong and yet Bea said it was the happiest day of her life.
6. What did you think of Peter as a pastor and missionary?  Consider his eulogy at Severin's funeral and his decision to live among the Oasans instead of living in his car like Kurtzburg.
7. When Peter learned that Bea was pregnant, why did he feel so little emotion?
8. What do you think was happening to Peter and the other inhabitants of Oasis?
9. What was happening back on earth and why?
10. Do you think a Christian and non-Christian will read this book differently? If so, how?
11. Did you like the ending?
12. Discuss your reading experience in general.  Did you like the book?  Were you able to relate to the characters?  What questions did you have while reading?

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

What Alice Forgot, by Liane Morarity

 

Characters

Alice Nick Children:  Madison (Sultana) (5th grade), Tom (4th grade), Olivia (Kindergarten)   Elisabeth – sister Ben – husband   Barb Jones – Alice and Elisabeth’s mother Roger – husband - Nick’s father   Gina (deceased) and Mike – former neighbors and best friends of Alice and Nick   Sophie – Alice’s best friend 10 years ago   Dominick – Alice’s boyfriend, school principal   Jane Turner – lawyer   Kate Harper – mother at school   Frannie Jeffrey – honorary grandmother Phil Peyton – deceased fiancé Mr. Moustache – Xavier   Dr. Jeremy Hodges – Elisabeth’s therapist

 

For discussion:
NOTE: All page numbers refer to the paperback edition.


1. As you were reading, who did you think Gina was?  What different scenarios did you imagine?


2. Did you like the technique of revealing the characters and story line through Elisabeth's homework journal to Dr. Hodges and Frannie's letters to Phil?  Why did you think this was effective or not?


3. Do you think Nick would be able to reconcile with Alice if she never got her memory back but he still remembered everything?


4. On page 359, when Alice felt her memory returning she thought, "She just couldn't decide if she should resist or encourage it."  What did you think she should do?


5. On page 386 Alice wondered if she had not visited Elisabeth much because she, Alice, "was so busy.  Busy, busy, busy."  Can you relate?  Also, when Elisabeth had her family she was becoming busy.  Can we resist always being busy?  How?


6. What would you be surprised about if you were in the same position as Alice and forgot the past 10 years of your life and then had to figure out what was happening?


7. How have you changed over the past 10 years that your 10-year-younger self would find surprising?  Not surprising?


8. This was a fun, enjoyable book, but it also dealt with serious life issues.  Did it make you think about some of these issues on a different or deeper level?  Some of the issues I thought it addresses were:

• Dealing with death (Barb when first husband died, Frannie after fiancé's death)
• Infertility
• Infidelity
• Forgiveness
• Miscarriages
• Hope (Elisabeth and insemination results)
• Being busy/mindfulness
• Divorce and children
• How we treat each other
• Sisterhood/friendship
• Parenthood/raising children
• Teenagers

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on upper right link.