A novel is a conversation between the writer and the reader, across time.
Technology itself has no value; it only becomes meaningful when it solves real problems.
The stranger is close to us, insofar as we feel between him and ourselves common features of a national, social, occupational, or generally human, nature. He is far from us, insofar as these common features extend beyond him or us, and connect us only because they connect a great many people.