The Book of Strange New Things

21 hrs. 32 min.

Language Russian

Author Michel Faber

Narrator Olga Pletnyova

Description

Peter is a devoted priest, a selfless missionary, and a loving husband. He has just agreed to a new, risky assignment: on instructions from a mysterious corporation called USIC, he must fly to the newly discovered planet Oasis. His task is to establish contact with the natives and make sure they truly are as peaceful as they seem at first glance. Full of determination and faith in God, Peter throws himself into his work. His moral support comes from letters from his wife Bea, sent from Earth.

The inhabitants of Oasis are remarkably receptive to Peter’s sermons, but events begin to take an undesirable turn when troubling notes appear in Bea’s letters. It seems that Earth is doomed: typhoons and earthquakes devastate entire countries, governments fall one after another. Even the hospital where Bea works stops existing. The enormous cosmic emptiness separating Peter and Bea tests their love harshly and relentlessly.

Peter experiences a crisis. Maybe USIC has a hidden interest in colonizing the planet Oasis? The residents of Oasis are also very difficult to understand — perhaps they are hiding something. Bea’s desperate letters only deepen Peter’s doubts. He must make an impossible and dangerous decision: to choose between his faith and his love. His life depends on the choice.