Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the review copy of Naomi Alderman’s book “The Strangers.”
“The Strangers” is such an interesting, thoughtful, quirky book. I really enjoyed it. I have only read one other of Alderman’s books, “The Power,” but based off this I am going to check out more of her work. “The Strangers” asks readers to consider the possibility of a new species living alongside humankind, not in the manner of the recently discovered new species of penguin, living its life quietly in its own environment, but living alongside us, walking along the sidewalks, exploring our gardens, gamboling about in our backyards. Not harming us, not causing any destruction like we humans do when we enter new-to-us spaces, just…living. Living and being different.
These strange new creatures that enter Alderman’s world just after the death of her mother pay humans little mind unless they are accosted, captured, or one of their own is killed. Then, something happens, but no one can quite say what, and those that were present strangely remember nothing. However, should one of these odd little creatures approach you on their own, if you sit quietly and don’t startle it, it may even climb up on the garden bench beside you and sit, allowing you to stroke its fur. It will offer you a quiet comfort in its own way, just being there beside you.
In “The Strangers” Naomi Alderman blends memoir with speculative fiction, brilliantly written. This book is equal parts sorrowful and funny. It is engaging and thought-provoking. What if another species rose up beside human? Not apex predators, nothing we need to necessarily be afraid of, just something that we would be wise to respect. Could we do it?
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