The vital art of talking to strangers

The vital art of talking to strangers

"Three books explain why it matters—and can easily be lost.

• Hello, Stranger. By Will Buckingham.
• The Power of Strangers. By Joe Keohane. 
• Fractured. By Jon Yates.

"Attitudes to strangers tend to follow a familiar pattern. 

Children are taught never to speak to unknown grown-ups, especially those regarded by their parents as untrustworthy. 

The onset of adolescence and young adulthood brings a bursting desire to interact with all sorts of people, particularly the kind who might not elicit family approval. 

Whether the resulting encounters are sexual or social, they confer a thrilling frisson of escape...