The Strangers
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A Spanish-gothic version of a Patricia Highsmith novel
Jon and Katharina spend the winter on the Cantabrian coast, in Jon’s large childhood home, trying to fix their relationship. One night, strange lights appear in the sky, leading to an influx of visitors camping out on the beach in hopes of extraterrestrial contact. At the same time, the couple's precarious routine is disturbed by the unexpected arrival of Markel, Jon's distant cousin, who had moved to Chile as a child and is now traveling throughout Europe with the attractive and silent Virginia. The awkwardness of the situation is heightened by the fact that the cousins can't remember ever meeting, leading Jon to doubt that Markel is who he says he is. Meanwhile, Virginia's presence becomes more and more threatening and, little by little, these strangers begin to take over the house . . . A deliciously odd novella, The Strangers introduces English readers to a singular talent.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bilbao (Still the Same Man) delivers a thrilling account of a strange disruption to a couple's monotonous life. Jon and Katharina work from Jon's parents' house at their dead-end jobs while house-sitting. Amid their drudgery, they struggle to sustain their sex life and rarely discuss Katharina's early-stage pregnancy. One evening, three colored lights—a red triangle, green circle, and green oval—soar over their coastal town in Cantabria. The next morning, Markel, who claims to be Jon's cousin, appears in the driveway with his aloof assistant, Virginia. Jon doesn't remember this cousin, who moved to Chile during his childhood, or so Markel says, but Katharina is dazzled by the pair and invites them to stay. Suddenly their life is filled with laughter, bars, movie nights, and exquisite cooking—shaking Jon and Katharina out of their rut. But Jon can't escape his doubts about Markel, and his suspicions are inflamed by Markel's cryptic intimations about their lineage: "You don't take much interest in the family.... There's a lot you don't know." Bilbao makes palpable the household tension, as well as the obsession on the part of ufologists who flock to town in droves, and draws it all to a close with an exciting and unexpected ending. This account of strange visitors both terrestrial and extra is great fun.
