A Chat with Michel Faber | author of The Book of Strange New Things

[@Kat_Attack]

I'm so excited you got to meet him. You are both so amazing. Thank you!

[@claresmeaton5903]

Jen, thank you so much for this video and congratulations on getting such a open, emotional and interactive interview. It is amazing I can read so more into Michel's work after listening to him and hear about his life and though process. Please continue with this type of video. Love, love, love

[@ladyfox6705]

What a lovely man. You are so lucky to meet him, Jen! I've read several of his books, but the Crimson Petal and the White is one of my favourite books. Must read the Book of Strange New Things soon.

[@jenvcampbell]

+TheWellReadLady You must :) They're very different but both wonderful; I actually love The Book of Strange New Things more x

[@AmandaQuotidianBooks]

This was just wonderful. Thank you so much, Jen, for taking the time to make this video (though I'm sure you enjoyed the interview more than any of your viewers could!). I am so excited for Michel Faber's poetry collection. His current works, however, have certainly been bumped up my to-read list because of this. He seems like such a lovely man!

[@AmandaQuotidianBooks]

(in fact I just purchased The Book of Strange New Things....)

[@jenvcampbell]

+Amanda Center (IntrovertX) :D Enjoy! x

[@h.i.m.3200]

I truly enjoyed this chat and I didn't want it to end! He's such a lovely person to have a talk with and this only made me even more excited about reading 'The Book of Strange New Things'. I'd previously read 'Under the Skin' but did not personally like it (mostly because of the subject itself and the twist) and I do recognize it was his debut so I'll give another one of his books a go. Thank you so much for bringing this to us, Jen. You're a lovely person yourself :)

[@TheReadingOutlaw]

Always fascinated in hearing authors talk about their writing process and the early days of their beginning writing. So glad you were able to get this fabulous interview filmed and uploaded for all of us to enjoy!

[@jasiahchristian6653]

I guess Im asking randomly but does anybody know a way to log back into an Instagram account? I was dumb lost the login password. I appreciate any tricks you can offer me

[@adrienjairo6750]

@Jasiah Christian instablaster :)

[@pipercatbook8529]

I loved crimson petal and the short story collection! Thank you for doing this interview. Both of you! I am actually reading under the skin at the moment.

[@TReadsBooks]

gosh, what a wonderful interview. i'm a bit choked up. so happy you got the opportunity to do this!

[@chboskyy]

What a lovely interview Jen :) You're so natural when you interview, and I loved hearing more from Michel Faber off the back of his Edinburgh Book Festival appearance. And I do agree, short stories are great! :)

[@ThePoptimist]

So jealous of your opportunity to interview Michel Faber! Loved The Book of Strange New Things enough that I had to follow it up with more of his works and picked up Under the Skin. (Something I rarely do with authors) It killed me reading The Book and learning about his wife and now to hear about his efforts to compile a private biography - I’m just gutted.

[@sandra7319.]

What a wonderful live short story. Thank you Jen.

[@HollyDunnDesign]

Aw Jen, I'm so happy that this happened! I've watched a few of his interviews online, but this is by far my favourite (not that I'm biased or anything :) xx)

[@jenvcampbell]

+Library at the Edge of the World Not at all ;) xx

[@WhoaThereMama]

what a lovely, humble person. you are very lucky, Jen

[@xenopoly]

The Book of Strange New Things was totally mind blowing. And as you say, quite decoupled from anything a synopsis might lead you to believe. Great interview.

[@JasonPurcell]

This is excellent, Jen. You're such a great interviewer. I loved getting to know more about Faber and his work. NOW I NEED TO READ HIS BOOKS UGH LORDE HELP ME.

[@hanffd]

So wonderful! Congratulations, Jen. Just loved this interview, although I do feel a little embarrassed that I'm one of those people who felt a bit miffed at the ending of The Crimson Petal and the White. I loved the conversational tone of this interview. Two professional authors having a talk.

[@juk2023]

this was so great! I'm really glad you uploaded this as I downloaded Crimson Petal and the White the other day!

[@FirnMamaMakes]

This. Is. Wonderfull. ♡ Want to read all the things and hug every husband with such a beautiful heart.

[@snowy9555]

Fab interview 😊 Yes short stories are a good thing ! 😊

[@WreckThisGirl]

This was so interesting, thank you so much. I picked up the Book of Strange New Things after you recommended it and I loved it! I hope to read the Crimson Petal and the White soon; I'm in love with Faber's writing!

[@coal2k]

What a wonderful man. Well done you! :)

[@Bazza1025b]

Great interview Jen. I can see you hosting a bookish chat/interview show. The video has that feel to it. Regarding husband & wife fusion writers. I'm aware of Henry Kuttner & C L Moore who wrote stories together, and published under pseudonyms. One of their most well known story they wrote together is Mimsy of the Borogoves which was made into the feature film The Last Mimsy. (Mimsy is a short story, sic-fi and has Alice in Wonderland as part of the story) This paragraph from Wikipedia gives a good indication how well they worked together: L. Sprague de Camp, who knew Kuttner and Moore well, has stated that their collaboration was so intensive that, after a story was completed, it was often impossible for either Kuttner or Moore to recall who had written which portions. According to de Camp, it was typical for either partner to break off from a story in mid-paragraph or even mid-sentence, with the latest page of the manuscript still in the typewriter. The other spouse would routinely continue the story where the first had left off. They alternated in this manner as many times as necessary until the story was finished.

[@jenvcampbell]

We didn't mean husband and wife writing collabs, there are lots of those - we meant work completed by one partner after the other has passed away (whilst I'm sure there are some of those too - there are definitely fewer :) )

[@Bazza1025b]

+Jen Campbell Ah no worries. I misunderstood. Happy to know there a lots of husband and wife collaborations. Maybe a topic for a "Jen Recommends" video?

[@jessicafoster8738]

He's Australian! Got the southern accent. Never knew! We can claim him. :) Great interview, Jen!

[@nonono6537]

what a sweet interview!

[@TheSwankyLifestyle]

I appreciate that Jen discusses a variety of books from different categories, this one from Michel Faber included. And, Jen did such a good job of making this book sound interesting, that I went out and got it. Having done so, I was rather surprised to discover that this book is an exploration of Christianity. If you like evangelistic sci-fi books, then this is the book for you. If you don't care for that, then this might not be the book for you. Here are some sample sentences from Chapter 5 of the book to clarify what I mean: "God was never cruel. Life can be cruel, but not God. In a universe made dangerous by the gift of free will, God could be relied upon for support no matter what happened, and He appreciated the potentials and limitations of each of His children." In addition to these types of statements, Mr. Faber also includes numerous passages from the Bible throughout the novel. Again, I do value being exposed to a wide variety of books. I just thought I would clarify the contents of this book so others will know what they are getting before they buy it. Enjoy.

[@BeckieArt]

This is sooo good! He seems like such a interesting person. I have been getting into short stories recently as I read Margaret Atwood Good Bones, so have been looking for more. Definitely going to check his out and I'm currebtly reading Alice Munro Dear Life.

[@VictoriaPichel]

what a nice, warm interview. he's so peaceful... I was just talking about my inhability to enjoy short stories in my last video. Now i feel guilty, haha. Not that I say they are not worthy, it's that... I struggle to get involved in a book's story so i prefer novels that have just one set of characters and central story. I've read a lot of short stories collections when i was a child, though. But now, I can't.

[@jenvcampbell]

When A Portable Shelter by Kirsty Logan is released in paperback, I'd urge you to try it; it centres on two main characters who are telling stories to their unborn child, so you are rooted in one story whilst still exploring others - might be a good way in for you :) x

[@VictoriaPichel]

Jen Campbell oh, i will. Thank you :) (I'm so happy you helped me solve the replying thing on my youtube comments, i would have been missing this bit of community!)

[@adriaandeleeuw8339]

I went to High School with Michel, he was also an accomplished Marvel Comics style artist.

[@annefien]

I am most excited to find out that Michel Faber is Dutch (or part-Dutch?). As a Dutchie living in the UK... Very exciting.

[@jenvcampbell]

He doesn't identify as any nationality but he did spend the first few years of his life in the Netherlands :)

[@annefien]

Even better!!

[@OtterLakeFlutes]

Thanks to both/all. I'll have to just leap splay-eagle into the breach and read this. I haven't read anything except cramming bible study for 2.5 years now and had caught the Oasis adaptation for net TV, just as disappointed about its cancellation as I was Firefly, as I "never watch TV" (as it's so vogue not to do) and so when I appreciate a bit it's like losing a dog. At least I can read the original and complete book in this case! Yay! Re: writing: Writing fiction is so much more cerebral and imperiled than nonfiction. Kudos

[@lottajarvi2907]

so beautiful!

[@katiegates4653]

Beautiful.

[@ehfteepee]

..I'm not crying...you're crying...

[@AustralianAnts]

dat intro tho

[@dannipop_4913]

('sex could happen' ... sex could happen if he found the other leftover human a male too, haha)

[@stuartfraser4813]

good stuff! but - how dare she diss rainbow! outrageous! :)