Stranger in a Strange Land

Rating:
Summary: Social Exploration Through Alien Eyes
Review: Robert Heinlein's best-known book, and his second-best book (in my opinion, it's second to "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"), is "Stranger in a Strange Land". It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, who was born during the first expedition from Earth to Mars, as well as being the sole survivor of that mission. Now, as a young adult, Mankind again goes to Mars, and Mike is sent back with the second expedition as an ambassador to Earth and as a scout. He has been raised by Martians and thinks Martian, and is totally ignorant of human ways. Through his eyes, Heinlein puts the critical spotlight on numerous social institutions, customs, beliefs, and concepts. The primary targets are love, politics, social taboos, and religion. Mike eventually founds his own religion, based upon Martian thinking and beliefs, and the special telepathic powers he learned growing up on Mars. Oh, and by the way, Mike is also heir to an enormous fortune, as patents held by his parents eventually developed into technological breakthroughs.

This book had two effects on American society: a brief movement toward Dionysian commune living, and the creation of the word "grok". "Grok" could be translated as "understand" but goes beyond that; possibly "to understand a thing or person as if you were actually that thing or person, which makes it become forever a part of you" would do it justice.

Social commentary aside, this is a fascinating, fun, adventure story with a science fiction basis. The writing flows quickly during the first half, the characters are interesting and likeable, and symbolism abounds. This is Robert Heinlein at his (near-)best. The story does bog down at times in the second half.

Rating:
Summary: Upsetting the Apple-carts
Review: This book is Heinlein's most famous effort, still selling very well today in both its original (1961) 'cut' version, and in the 'uncut' version (about 60,000 words longer), released after his death by his wife, Virginia Heinlein. It is an extremely complex satirical book, with multiple literary and philosophical allusions and referents, and with attacks and comments on many of the basic tenants of American life and social structure, including sex, love, marriage, politics, government, religion(s), economics, tattoos, art, writing, astrology, journalism, TV, military, inheritance laws, cannibalism, prejudice, prisons, and carnival life. Heinlein's aim was for this book to create questions about all of a reader's basic assumptions, to gore every sacred cow, to upset all the apple-carts. In some ways, he succeeded beyond his dreams, as the book was 'adopted' as their bible by many of the '60s counter-culture movement, even to the point that several churches were established with this book as their basis (most notably the Church of All Worlds). Heinlein himself was rather terrified by this use, as he never intended the book to provide answers, only to force questions.

The plot line is fairly simple: A child born to the first Martian expedition, Valentine Michael Smith ("Mike"), is raised by the Martians and brought back to Earth as a young man, where he receives a rather eccentric education into the ways of man by those who befriend him. Once he feels that he understands humanity, Mike undertakes to educate humans in the philosophy of "Thou art God" in such a way that the truth of that statement is a provable tautology. As such, he becomes a self-proclaimed messiah, with the usual fate of messiahs that upset everyone's idea of what is 'right'. But those who have accepted his 'education' will continue on...

The book makes heavy use of irony and contrasting poles of thought, such as Mike (the innocent) vs Jubal Harshaw (the voice of experience), the Church of All Worlds (Appolonian) vs the Fosterites (Dionysian), the Carnival (heaven ) vs the Zoo (earth). Most of the character's names are important in terms of their 'meaning', elucidating and enhancing many of Heinlein's points. Due to its structure and theme, this is one of the few SF books that has been subjected to a fair amount of academic analysis, a process that continues to this day. Some critics have gone so far as to say that the book is not science fiction, but rather a modern example of a satire, belonging in the same realm as something like Jonathon Swift's "A Modest Proposal".

This book has contributed some new words to the English language, most notably "grok" and "water-brother", and may have the best simple definition of love found anywhere: "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another is conditional to your own". (Note: this definition appears only in the 'cut' version, apparently thought up while he was editing the original version of the book down to what was at the time 'publishable' length).

Although this book reads very easily, with Heinlein's typical unforced, everyday American prose style, the concepts and questions he presents are neither simple nor trivial. Not all of his points are directly explicated - it is worthwhile for the reader to carefully look for some of the hidden, non-obvious parallels and historical referents that are scattered throughout this book. You don't need to agree with all his points, but reading this will make you examine of your own assumptions and beliefs, take a look with new eyes at the world around you, and find your own answers.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely thought provoking and enlightening...
Review: I had read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress since it is on my husband's list of favorite books. Now, Moon is a really good book too, but after I got this book (Christmas 1999) and read it, it definitely surpassed my previous read by Heinlein. Why? I think it is because of the ideas that Michael (the man who was raised as a Martian) had some pretty interesting (and unique) concepts. The book dealt with a great range of topics from religion to politics to love to grokking (you just have to read the book to find out what grokking is).

Even if you don't agree with everything the characters say and do, this book still makes you contemplate and evaluate life from another perspective ... which is something we should all be doing.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: What a beautiful beautiful book! It makes my heart surge with hope for the human race. Valentine Michael Smith was born on Mars. Because of this he views life in an entirely different way. "Thou art God" which includes complete "grokking" of people, things, everything. Discorporation (death) is not to be mourned--only serenely accepted. Mike has a fine little community of people who have been taught his way of grokking. It is so right. Here is a chance for happiness on a mass scale it seems. Heinlein is brilliant; this is the best book I've read in a long while. Something to be said; classics are great literary works and all, but more obscure works like this are the ones that really move me.

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Summary: I grok this book sucks . . .
Review: and waiting for fullness won't make it any better. The problem is not merely the pedantic, libertarian, psuedo-intellectual, and mysogynistic man qua Heinlein character of Jubal Harshaw. Nor is is it merely Stranger's naive serial/lady-killer protagonist, Michael Valentine Smith. In fact, it's difficult to pinpoint precisely where Stranger goes wrong because there is nary a single aspect of the book that is not either, at worst, offensive and obscene or, at best, fundamentally misguided.

Beneath Smith's Sebastian Flyte pretty-boy exterior beats the heart of a fascist. And somehow Smith's fascism (fully endorsed by the crotchety Harshaw/Heinlein) fits perfectly with Harshaw's/Heinlein's professed libertarianism. How can this be, you ask? Because Harshaw/Heinlein believes that libertarianism is only a good thing when he is not the gov't. But with the reigns of power in his own hands he will gladly rule over every aspect of his citizens' lives with militaristic gusto.

This fundamental inconsistency apparent everywhere in Stranger seems to result from the author's belief that the value of a human person is determined solely by what benefits he can provide for the collective (where "collective" means Smith/Harshaw/Heinlein). Stranger rejects the notion that each human person has an intrinsic dignity. People are worth what they produce, period. Smart people are worth more than dumb people, pretty people worth more than ugly, the talented worth more than the untalented, and the people who agree with Smith/Harshaw/Heinlein worth more than the rest of humanity combined.

Consequently, it is ok for Smith to kill a dissenter, because in that dissenter there is a "wrongness." And it's ok for Smith to hop from bed to bed and objectify every woman he meets, because pleasing Smith is a "goodness."

It frightens me that so many people find this book profound. I can only pray that they really don't understand the novel and just think that it would be groovy to live in a world where shy nerds can become all-powerful magnets of pneumatic women.

Rating:
Summary: I Guess I'm Too Narrow-Minded To Appreciate It
Review: Stranger in a Strange Land was a book that tried to do many, many things and almost, but not quite, entirely failed on every level. Admittedly, it introduces some intriguing ideas about society and religion. But does that make it a good book? IMHO, the most important factor in a good book is the plot. If you're looking for excitement, this is the wrong book. Almost half the book is interesting dialogue, mostly with cynic Jubal Harshaw. The other half is bad dialogue, what Harshaw would compare to cotton candy--there is no substance, just pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo. How many pages are wasted with nonsense about grokking and "Thou are God"? The most exciting thing that happens are people disappearing, and even then no one seems to care much. As for characters, there is no one to really care about. Is the main character supposed to be Smith, even though we never really learn anything about him? Or is it Jill? Or Harshaw? None of the characters are explored deeply enough for anyone to care what happens to them. It seems like Heinlein also tried to throw in political commentary, though it's completely unclear what he was trying to say. Is this Douglas crooked or not? For a classic novel, SIASL seems to be thrown together haphazardly with no concern for plot, character development, setting, or anything essential to a good book, so long as it questions religion and society. Meanwhile, it tells us nothing about our own society or Mars'.

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Summary: A Truly Great Science Fiction Novel
Review: It started with a few radio signals. "Rocket Ship, Envoy located. No survivors," "Mars is inhabited," "Correction to despatch 23-105: One survivor located," and soon after Valentine Michael Smith, a human being well into his twenties, saw Earth for the first time and a truly great science fiction novel was off to an impressive start. "Mike" was the child of doomed crew members of the Envoy, a manned expedition to Mars that lost contact with the Earth two decades ago. Raised by Martians and discovered by the Mars exploration, Champion, Mike was a Martian in every sense except the biological. His philosophies, spirituality, strange abilities and seemingly childlike innosence are all products of his environment. Arriving on Earth, the trusting and childlike Mike is hospitalized until his reaction to his new environment can be assumed and caught under a wave of officials trying to figure out what to do with such a strange case. He is rescued from absurd, impersonal, untrustworthy, complicated bureaucracy by newspaper columnist and self-appointed human rights crusader, Ben Caxton and his girlfriend/inside connection, a nurse employed by Mike's hospital, Jill Boardman who deliver Mike into the hands of lawyer/doctor/tycoon/writer Jubal Harshaw, a sly, witty, old intellectual who undertakes Mike's legal problems and general adjustment to his new planet and that's where the book finds its true spirit. While a guest at Harshaw's home, Mike befriends all kinds of secretaries, electronics experts and other people Jubal keeps around for his amusement (a key to the book's relaxed atmosphere) but the man who had never seen another man until his late twenties also tries to "grok" his race, its religious fanaticism, its morals, its laws. Although, the satire of bureaucracy and Harshaw's wit are important parts of the story, its real center is a man with the inner peace of a completely different race asking the deep, metaphysical questions every human being asks his or her self about the truly strange land surrounding him or her. Stranger in a Strange Land is the best type of science fiction, the kind that uses the outer worldly and incredible to explore things earthly and interpersonal.

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Summary: Strangers In The Strangest Of Lands
Review: "Thou Art God" - Valentine Micheal Smith

As we begin Valentine Micheal Smith is "being held prisoner" in a hospital. His Nurse, and "Water Brother" Gillian Boardman, constructs a plan to break him out of this prison to meet one Lawyer Jubal E. Harshaw. From then on Harshaw begins to teach him about earth, mortality, and other usful things.

It was a very amusing book, and by far Heinleins best. What I found interesting, is all the lands to land on, Valentine Micheal Smith landed on the Strangest of them all.

Rating:
Summary: Still my favorite!
Review: I held off for years in reading "Stanger" because the people that originally recomended it to me were so different politically than I was. Actually, waiting till I had a more open mind probably saved the day.

The charachters are all pretty familiar Heinlein, strong beautiful woman, very strong, grouchy/lovable liberal minded protaganist, and the usual round up of colorful "charachters" as supporting cast.

This is still my favorite Heinlein, because it deals with so many issues that drive mankind, one in particular, organized religion. If you are fundamentalist or what I like to call a "literal Christian" or other orthodox religion, you will not appreciate this book UNLESS you are very open-minded. I once heard Robert Heinlein interviewed about this book, and he denied that he was putting down churchs or religion, and after reading the book several times, I came to agree that he was not. BUT, he does take some serious swipes at religion, most in a humorous and mostly fond way.

Heinlein does like his woman beautiful and smart, and you'll find plenty here. You'll also find smart writing, intelligent musings on almost every aspect of life, and a pretty darn good story too. Heinlein used "Stranger" to illuminate us mere mortals with thoughts on the meaning of life, the purpose of existence, and the way things should be (more than any of his other boods, "Time Enough For Love" aside (that is another review).

Rating:
Summary: Looking for an exciting plot?
Review: Don't look here. What you will find, however, is more valuable than an exciting plot and in my opinion, and makes for a beter read. Heinlein is not, in the case of this book, trying to write an exciting work of science-fiction, but rather uses science-fiction as a way to introduce a character that allows him to engage in long discussions of human tendencies, as seen through the eyes of an outsider. In many ways, Valentine Michael Smith is the same type of literary device as the crazy-person, who as a result of his insanity may digress endlessly without considerable contribution to the plot of the book. In his digressions, he may comment on the state of affairs in the world or on the type of shoes he prefers, though in either case, an insane character (or an outsider) may be used as a way to examine the tendencies of society. In Stranger in a Strange Land, the digressions and the objects of consideration are, in a sense, outdated, yet they continue to hold the interest of readers like myself, who enjoy the observation of the opinions of others and their expressions of such. Whether this results in contemplation of my own opinions or in mocking the absurdity of the opinions of others is not really of consequence, only the understanding of another's view is.

If, in consideration of buying this book, you seek an exciting tale filled with danger and mystery, continue you search. If you are interested in a book that will incite reflection and, to a certain degree, soul searching, buy it. Remember as you read that the long passages of back and forth dialogue are NOT meant to contribute to the plot, but to give new perspective to some of our more commonly held beliefs, and that some of the more exciting parts of the first books are meant to hook you, and give you some attachment to the characters.