The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg

The Stranger by Chris Van AllsburgThe Stranger is an excellent, unique way to read Chris Van Allsburg's essay topics. The author's style is a blend of history and mystery. It's a challenging read, and the essays are fairly long.The Stranger, by Chris Van Allsburg, was published in 1994, and it has sold well ever since. The writing is strong, though the book contains quite a bit of mild profanity and some offensive language. If you like profanity in fiction or nonfiction, this book is perfect for you.Although the Stranger is about a kidnapping, the topics it tackles are very relevant to students who want to gain a deeper understanding of the events and people of the 19th century. The different topics cover everything from the social status of the women in the story to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the kidnapped children. It covers everything, but instead of putting it all together, Van Allsburg divides the book into five parts and gives the reader all t he essay topics at the beginning of each section.This second final part of the book is probably my favorite of the five, and I found myself really enjoying each essay. At first I thought that I was reading a string of newspaper articles. And I wasn't surprised to find out that each essay actually deals with the newspaper clippings from the period in question.One of the strengths of the book is that it is quite readable, which means that even the essays that get difficult will still appeal to many readers. You'll find yourself going back to read on a regular basis. I especially liked the essays on the social status of the women in the story.While the essay topics are quite engaging, Van Allsburg makesa number of thoughtful points throughout the book. The opinions he expresses throughout the book would be considered radical by some, but they are actually quite common. The author also does a good job of expanding on what he had presented in the opening chapter of the book.The book is a vailable in several different versions. The first edition is relatively short and contains just twenty-two essays. The paperback edition of the book includes more essays, some on alternate versions of the story, and it comes with a foreword by the author.If you enjoy your fiction with some mystery mixed in, you should read The Stranger. It's a well-written book that will keep you thinking about the same thing you were when you first opened the book. If you're looking for a challenging read, you'll find that The Stranger is worth a read.