Stories of the Stranger

A selection of brilliant writers, young and old, have come together to retell some of the world’s most culturally defining tales about encounters with strangers, with poignancy, humour and wit. The experience of losing everything, of being thrown out, of being dispossessed, exiled and being forced to rely on the generosity (or not) of others, is a fundamental and recurring theme in many world cultures. Furthermore every major spiritual tradition tells stories of how you are more likely to meet the divine in the outcast, the beggar, or the stranger, than you are in the king, the queen, or indeed the priest. Twenty short stories, sitting alongside raw and powerful illustrations, remind readers of the importance of strangers and what stands to be learned from engaging with them.