

Loading... Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)by Robert A. Heinlein
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» 50 more 501 Must-Read Books (119) 1960s (7) 20th Century Literature (299) Favourite Books (638) 1,001 BYMRBYD Concensus (109) Books Read in 2016 (784) Page Turners (34) Books Read in 2004 (18) Books Read in 2001 (33) Books Read in 2007 (176) Science Fiction (24) Read (293) Read (24) SF - To Read (13) Allie's Wishlist (95) Biggest Disappointments (455) Favorite Childhood Books (1,534) One Book, Many Authors (386) LT picks: Blue Books (194) Unread books (923) No current Talk conversations about this book. ???? Good lord this is a tedious book! 4/5ths of it is pontification, through dialogue between characters, of (mostly) religion, politics, and sex/women. The "discussion" of religion talks of the similarities of the scriptures through society and how polarizing and harmful they are to the psyche of mankind. The politics (the least discussed) focuses on the presumed rights on group has on another. The sex topic, of which fully half of the book focuses, is misogynistic - wrapped in an almost soft-porn discussion of how important it is for women to be attractive and attentive to men. All men. At any time or place. Here is a quote, spoken by a female character (Jill-Part 3, xxiv): "Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it's at least partly her own fault. That tenth time--well, all right. Give him your best heave-ho to the bottomless pit. But you aren't going to find it necessary." There are also may descriptions of how wonderful it is for a woman to display her nakedness before men because that is when she is at her fullest self worth. SMH I had forgotten how Heinlein depicts women. The story itself is rather thin. Group sent to Mars to investigate and set up of colonization. Contact lost. Years later a 2nd group goes and discovers a human baby had been born and raised by Martians. Now a young man (early 20's?) is brought back to Earth. Government cover-up having to do with an huge wealth he has inherited from his parents; he is taken away from government custody by people who believe he has the right to be his own person. He learns very quickly due to psychic abilities curated through is life with Martians. Blah blah blah as he goes through "adventures" leaning about human life and society. Starts a "church" to spread learning of Mars among humans in order to bring true happiness and acceptance - this occurs mostly though orgies and the like. A lot of beautiful naked women being available to men. Really disappointed in this book. What is strange is how I am sure I read it a couple of times in previous decades and I think I liked it. But what the heck. To each their own. I do not recommend this book as a serious "science fiction" read. It is generally an almost-soft-porn depiction of how this author thinks life should be between men and the women who serve them. I remember next to zip about this except that it was very popular when I was a teenager - including w/ me - & that it introduced slang like "grok". I vaguely recall this being a sortof 'hippie' SF - maybe it was full of communes & orgies & suchlike. This is the last Heinlein I remember liking. I think he might've just deteriorated into writing more & more incest fantasies disguised as SF after this & losing alotof his SF edge. A classic any sci-fi fan should read. Super super story.
The great falling off in the quality of Heinlein's work came during the period that brought "Stranger in a Strange Land." Jubal Harshaw--who says things like "What the self-styled modern artists are doing is a sort of unemotional pseudo-intellectual masturbation"--is the first of a series of pompous libertarian windbags whose oral methane makes all of Heinlein's later tomes into rapidly emptying locker rooms. Most of the material added to this new edition seems to consist of speeches by Jubal, and the rest of the new material includes nominally "shocking" sections that, aired in 1990, are glaringly sexist. For instance, lovable Jill volunteers the opinion that "Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it's at least partly her own fault." Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs expanded inHas as a student's study guide
The epic saga of an earthling, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with superhuman powers and a total ignorance of the mores of man. No library descriptions found. |
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54 — Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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While I'm more of a nonfiction fan, finding that true stories told from the heart are more exciting and revealing of our human situation, I'd recommend this sci-fi read to anyone. (