James Kidd
Lonely Planets
The Book of Strange New Things
By Michel Faber
Canongate 592pp £18.99
The Book of Strange New Things is, according to Canongate, Michel Faber’s first novel in fourteen years. This is not true – The Crimson Petal and the White was published in 2002, The Fire Gospel in 2008 – but, regardless, Faber’s reputation has only increased in the hiatus. The Crimson Petal and the White was adapted saucily by the BBC. Jonathan Glazer made a glacially impressive movie from Faber’s debut novel, Under the Skin.
The Book of Strange New Things recycles motifs used in that first book: extraterrestrial imperialism, a jaded portrait of corporate interests, nature on the verge of breakdown and erotic action in cars. Here this occurs immediately as our central protagonist, Peter Leigh, bids a rather clumsy sexual au revoir (or
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
London's East End was long synonymous with poverty and sweatshops, while its West End was associated with glamour and high society. But when it came to the fashion industry, were the differences really so profound?
Sharman Kadish - Winkle-pickers & Bum Freezers
Sharman Kadish: Winkle-pickers & Bum Freezers - Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style; Fashion City: ...
literaryreview.co.uk
In 1982, Donald Rumsfeld presented Saddam Hussein with a pair of golden spurs. Two decades later he was dropping bunker-busting bombs on his palaces.
Where did the US-Iraqi relationship go wrong?
Rory Mccarthy - The Case of the Vanishing Missiles
Rory Mccarthy: The Case of the Vanishing Missiles - The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the United States and the ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Barbara Comyns was a dog breeder, a house painter, a piano restorer, a landlady... And a novelist.
@nclarke14 on the lengths 20th-century women writers had to go to make ends meet:
Norma Clarke - Her Family & Other Animals
Norma Clarke: Her Family & Other Animals - Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence by Avril Horner
literaryreview.co.uk