The Strangers by Naomi Alderman

A few months after her mother’s death, the author Naomi Alderman tries to keep her grieving father occupied by setting up a camera to take photos of the foxes that visit his garden at night. Examining the photos the next morning, they discover that they’ve captured not only an image of the fox, but also another animal they’re unable to identify. Soon it emerges that other people all over the UK have also seen this new creature – a furry mammal, similar in appearance to a badger but with a flat face and a long nose almost like an elephant’s trunk. People begin referring to it as a mini mammoth, which is then shortened to ‘mimmoth’ and the name sticks. As sightings of mimmoths spread across the world, scientists, the media and the public try to make sense of this strange new species. Where did the mimmoths come from? Are they as harmless as they seem or could they be a threat to humans? Alderman herself feels an affinity with the mimmoths, finding comfort in their presence, but when she…