"Stranger In A Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein; 5/10 [H]

Some things that bother you are immediately noticeable.  The lead-singer's voice from that band you hate.  The noise your neighbors make at ridiculous hours of the night.  The boring tone of your hated pedagog's voice.  These things are apparent from the beginning and only get worse over time, and rightfully so.

Other things, however, you don't realize at first.  They come at you sidewise, unsuspected they sneak up on you like a velociraptor until BAM- they hit you and you are down.  Once you are aware of them you can't ignore their existence. That way George Clooney goes from looking down to looking straight ahead right before delivering a key line.  The nervous tic my English Professor in college had (lightning quick um in any and every gap). The protagonist in a Leon Uris novel. Bradbury with his adjectives. You get the idea.  Once you realize what they are doing, you notice more and more every time.  You think, "they ALWAYS do that," and it annoys the hell out of you and you can't believe you weren't onto them from the beginning.

Robert Heinlein's writing, for me, is perhaps the greatest example of this phenomenon. 

I have now read three lengthy novels which he authored (this was the second) and they share some bloody obnoxious things.  The protagonist serves as a straw man for the reader/audience, whose mind Robert Heinlein is about to blow with his philosophical/religious/social/political/etc ideas.  Who will deliver these ideas?  The aging professor/lawyer/teacher character.  In this novel that character's name is Jubal, but really it is insignificant what we call them because they are a mouthpiece for Heinlein's ideas and serve no other serious purpose within the book.  This and the next book of his which I will review also share a childlike character with godlike powers who goes from ignorance to apotheosis over the course of the book, and a woman character who serves as a way for Heinlein to express his ideas on gender roles, sexuality, and marriage. 

I have only read three books by the author, and maybe the fourth will be different. I'd love that.  I have several more of his on my shelf, so I'll be reading him again.  I hope they are more enjoyable.

This book has no plot to speak of.  Read a plot synopsis, and then consider that the novel is hundreds of pages long.  What is taking up all of that space?  Hint: it isn't people doing things.  It is the characters talking.  It is the main character saying, "society says we should do this," and then the old man saying, "think for yourself! Society is stupid! You should do this other thing instead!"  The main character realizes the error of his ways, and that there really isn't any good reason for him to trust society.

I give "Stranger" a 5 (mild "like") because it challenged some things in the fifties as he wrote it and in 1960 as he published it that really deserved challenging.  Western civilization had become almost socially orthodox in numerous ways that would soon be toppled by social revolution in the sixties, a revolution that Heinlein was in front of and probably helped inspire, in his own small way.  This, in turn, caused "Stranger" to become one of the first major crossover successes that science fiction ever enjoyed in the postwar era.  As a signpost it was doubtless important and influential and therefore worth reading.

On the other hand, its celebration for the things it challenged has for some reason allowed "Stranger" to be overlooked when it comes to the extremely objectionable comments it makes about the sexes, about homosexuality, and most especially about rape. "It's usually the woman's fault" kind of comments, if my memory serves me right, and from one of the two Heinlein mouthpiece characters. I cringed mightily.

I find almost nothing of worth in it from a science fiction standpoint, a literary standpoint, or really any other standpoint other than what it did and what it meant.  I loathe the way Heinlein patronizes his reader, and most of all I loathe his straw man creations, which I think are terrible as writing and terrible as social commentary.  I went from enjoying this book at the beginning and being interested to see where it would go to thoroughly disliking it by the end.  I honestly don't even think I can recommend it, though if you like science fiction you probably need to know what the conversation is about. Karen said, "If you're going to write people having sex so much, at least make it graphic."

If you think this is "harsh," check back in about 50 reviews...