'The Night We Became Strangers' a fictional twist on the evening the world went to 'war'

“Microphones have a peculiar smell. Something about them always reminded me of that particular blend of alcohol and yeast that emanated from my father’s beer bottles — an aroma he found irresistible. Microphones could be intimidating when you used them for the first time, as they command the attention of an entire room. Adults listened. People couldn’t ignore you, even if they tried. So, you’d better have something important to say, as everyone had their eyes and ears on you.”

— “The Night We Became Strangers,”

by Lorena Hughes

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On the evening of Oct. 30, 1938, there was a Halloween episode of the radio series “The Mercury Theatre on the Air,” which was a live broadcast over the CBS Radio Network.

On that evening, the program did a reading from H. G. Wells’ novel “The War of the Worlds,” the story of an alien invasion. This dramatization of Wells’ story was delivered in a “breaking news” format that aliens were invading New York City, and it was devastating the city. For those who didn’t tune in early, they missed the “this is a work of science fiction” announcement, and it ended up causing complete panic.

Fast-forward 11 years and in February 1949 a radio station in Quito, Ecuador, decided to do its own production of “The War of the Worlds.” And of course, complete chaos ensued. After the radio actors announced that the series was a hoax, a very angry crowd gathered outside the radio station and began to throw rocks at the station and then set fire to the building. The riot resulted in the deaths of at least seven people, but some reports say that 15–20 people ended up dead as a result of this broadcast.

“The Night We Became Strangers” is a historical fiction based on Quito’s “War of the Worlds” radio episode. It’s written by Lorena Hughes, who was born and raised in Ecuador. The story is centered around two young journalists determined to uncover what really happened to their families that night.

The story starts in 1957 when aspiring photojournalist Valeria Anzures returns to her hometown of Quito, driven to discover the truth about how her parents died. “The War of the Worlds” radio production caused a mob to torch her family’s radio station and the newspaper, which was run by their closest friends, the Monteros. The tragedy destroyed the families’ relationships and left the station financially in bad standing.

The second journalist is Matías Montero, who on the evening of the radio broadcast ended up saving his mother, but always blamed himself for not being able to save his father. He, too, wants to unearth the past but finds it difficult to get the information from family and friends. He meets Valeria and they develop a relationship that has a Shakespearian-like story due to the families despising each other.

Overall, this is a fun book based on real historical events in Quito. For those who are looking for a good book club book, I recommend “The Night We Became Strangers.” It’s an entertaining story that allows for so much discussion. It’s also very relevant for these times when information is at our fingertips. We are left asking ourselves: “Where is this news coming from?”

Deborah Condit is the owner of Books on the Bosque, 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane, Suite A-2 or at booksonthebosque.com.