Michel Faber

Review – Some Rain Must Fall by Michel Faber

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment
Hello,

There was a time when I associated short stories with school or university. Due to their length, they are just too popular with teachers and, because of all the work that is associated with them, not very popular with students. For years, I’ve tried to avoid short stories until I started to see them in a new light. Nowadays, I think short stories are great, because you can read one when you are in between books or during a commute and they contain whole worlds within just a few pages

Michel Faber’s short story collection Some Rain Must Fall And Other Stories certainly is a gem among short story collections. It was first published in 1998 and has recently been reissued as a Canons edition with a beautiful new cover designed by Yehrin Tong.

Some Rain Must Fall
Image provided by Canongate¹

It is always hard for me to review short story collections, especially if they are as diverse as this one. Some Rain Must Fall consists of fifteen brilliant short stories that showcase the broad spectrum of Michel Faber’s talent.
The book starts off with the story that lent this collection its name and “Some Rain Must Fall” isn’t for the faint of heart – it actually is one of my favorites and knocked me right off my feet. The next story, “Fish”, has a surrealistic, post-apocalyptic setting and feels quite oppressive, while “Toy Story”, a story about a lonely boy named God who finds a discarded planet in the trash, made me chuckle. Another gem in Faber’s collection is “Somewhere Warm and Comfortable” which is a heartwarming tale of trust between two siblings.

In Some Rain Must Fall, Michel Faber lets his vivid imagination run free. I almost always remarked, “Well, that was weird!” after finishing a story. If you want to ride an emotional roller coaster full of surprising and creative stories, I suggest you start reading soon.

5 Star Rating: Recommended

¹ http://www.canongate.tv/some-rain-must-fall-and-other-stories-paperback-canons-edition.html
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Review – The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi,

In January, I had the chance to read Michel Faber’s latest novel The Book of Strange New Things which Canongate sent me in exchange for an honest review. I can’t thank them enough for this gem of a book – inside and out.

The Book of Strange New Things
Image provided by Canongate¹

When Peter Leigh is chosen to be the new minister on a planet in another galaxy he and his wife Bea are sure that this is the Will of God and a chance to spread The Word. Unfortunately, Bea has to stay on Earth because she didn’t pass the selection process. As Peter’s contract is limited to a few years and the two of them can communicate through a long-distance messaging system, Bea agrees that Peter should go. What the two of them don’t know is that the physical distance is accompanied by an even bigger emotional distance that threatens their relationship.

I was a little concerned about Peter being a Christian missionary, but this book is not about religion. It is about freedom, friendship, and trust. When Peter arrives on Oasis, he is a very obedient Christian who never strays from the path. This also makes him open to embrace other peoples like the Oasans, the natives whose priest he is to become. Soon, Peter decides to live with them and that changes him as well as some of the Oasans.

Speaking of the Oasans: We all know all sorts of aliens from various movies we’ve seen. The Oasans are different and they are very hard to picture, probably because our brains aren’t capable to do so ;). With his description, Michel Faber does the best anyone can do to make them imaginable by the human brain. To Peter’s eyes, and to those of the other humans on Oasis, they all look the same except for their differently-colored robes. They also hardly show any feelings or signs of personality, which basically makes them indistinguishable until you get to know them better. But when the Oasans and Peter finally warm up to each other, Michel Faber’s brilliant characterization of this unique people becomes visible.

Even though The Book of Strange New Things is almost 600 pages long it never feels like it. Michel Faber transports you right into this engaging, gripping and simply mind-blowing story about a man who does something most of us wouldn’t have the guts to do.

5 Star Rating: Recommended

¹ http://www.canongate.tv/the-book-of-strange-new-things-hardback.html