Strange New Things

After living with the placid, almost chilly, weather of Washington for the past six months, the heat humidity of South Texas came as a shock last weekend. Although I was grateful for the wind (keeping the mosquitoes at bay), it too was a reminder of the extremes of Texas weather. As we battled the sandy wind while walking along the muddy beach, the squelch of each footstep brought to mind a book I recently finished about a missionary who finds himself in an alien (literally) environment.

My choice for this week’s reading challenge to read a book about religion was The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber.  A global corporation, USIC, has chosen Peter, the pastor of a small congregation in England, to serve as their new missionary at an outpost on another planet. Although sad to be leaving his wife Bea, Peter excitedly boards a ship to the new world. 

Expecting the native population to be indifferent at best, hostile at worst, he is pleasantly surprised to find a healthy devotion to Jesus and familiarity with the Bible, which they refer to as the Book of Strange New Things.

Although most of the engineers and other tech workers of the USIC compound prefer the sterile air conditioned environment of the base, Peter comes to welcome the humid, windy conditions of life with the natives. As his relationship with the natives grows, his connection with his wife weakens. Bea, back on Earth, is dealing with the collapse of the economy and the environment. Peter is at a loss of comforting Bea via email even as he works to comfort those close to him.

My favorite passages in the book were those in which Peter is trying to translate Biblical metaphors into language that can be understood to someone who has never seen a lamb nor can pronounce many English consonants. My least favorite part was seeing how easily a married couple can disconnect. Electronic communication fails miserably when their daily experiences have become so foreign to each other.

This book is a testimony to the support faith can give in times of joy and suffering, but also serves as a reminder that we need the love and support of our human connections as well.