This is an undeniably seminal work of science fiction. Morally, however, it is really, really warped -- and its impact on the real world has been most unfortunate.
Plot Synopsis:
This Wikipedia article covers the basics.
The Skinny:
Dad - who I suspect has read everything from Farmer in the Sky to the posthumously published Variable Star - likes to divide Heinlein's remarkable literary career into three phases. He classifies them thus:
- Phase 1: "I am a writer of excellent hard sci-fi for both middle-graders and adults." (This runs up until the publication of Starship Troopers.)
- Phase 2: "I have a brain disease and have become filthy-dirty." (This covers the 1960's and 1970's.)
- Phase 3: "I am a grand old patriarch of the genre." (This covers the remainder of his life.)
Well, in Dad's grand scheme of things, Stranger in a Strange Land is most definitely a Phase 2 selection. I have to admit, though, that it is strangely compelling -- in the way that, say, John Ringo's Paladin of Shadows series is compelling.* To read Stranger is to peer through a keyhole into Heinlein's id and drink deeply of its essence.
Now, as a long-standing Heinlein fan, Dad approaches Stranger with a certain detachment. When I discussed the novel with him earlier today, he seemed inclined to dismiss it as a thought experiment and nothing more. "Sometimes," he said, "a science fiction author has to become the Devil's advocate." Perhaps. But with all due respect to the man most responsible for making me a science fiction fan, I don't think we can set aside this particular work in such a manner because so many people have apparently taken it seriously. Stranger has been credited with inspiring the counter-culture of 60's and 70's. Indeed, there are even neo-pagans today who crib from the teachings of Valentine Michael Smith. Thus, I feel it is proper to be alarmed by the ideology that Heinlein appears to peddle in this book.
Heinlein's exploration of the difficulty of translating certain concepts from one language to another is certainly top notch. It is indeed true, to a certain extent, that different cultures create different mindscapes. Unfortunately, Heinlein uses this fundamental anthropological reality to argue for the acceptance of cannibalism. Yes, you read that right: cannibalism. It is Martian tradition to consume the bodies of your dead "water-brothers," and Heinlein's mouthpiece, Jubal Harshaw, is absolutely insistent that no one question that custom in his household:
"What are you looking sour about?"
"Boss, when do we get rid of that ghoul?"
"'Ghoul'? Why, you provincial lout!"
"Okay, so I'm from Kansas. Never was any cannibalism in Kansas. I'm eating in the kitchen until he leaves."
Harshaw said icily, "So? Anne can have your check ready in five minutes. It ought not to take more than ten to pack your comic books and your other shirt.
Duke had been setting up a projector. He stopped. "Oh, I didn't mean I was quitting."
"It means that to me, son."
"But -- what the hell? I've eaten in the kitchen lots of times."
"Other circumstances. Nobody under my roof refuses to eat at my table because he won't eat with others who eat there..."
Because, you see, refusing to sup with a cannibal is exactly the same as refusing to dine with a black man. This, folks, is cultural relativism par excellence, and it is extremely pernicious. It is this kind of blinkered thinking that is currently destroying the social cohesion of Europe, for example.
But wait! There's more! In Stranger, Heinlein also promotes his "free love" philosophy with all the creative energy he can muster. The rites of initiation in Smith's new church involve water-sharing and group sex, and it is not unheard of for couples within the Inner Nest to "swing." Author John C. Wright dubs this novel Stranger in a Strange Bed, and I certainly can't argue with such a pithy summation. Peppered throughout Stranger are lectures in which Heinlein (through his characters) blames all inter-gender squabbling - all our relational unhappiness - on the strictures of our Judeo-Christian society. Behold, a representative sample:
"...Ben, the ethics of sex is a thorny problem. Each of us is forced to grope for a solution he can live with -- in the face of a preposterous, unworkable, and evil code of so-called 'Morals.' Most of us know the code is wrong, almost everybody breaks it. But we pay Danegeld by feeling guilty and giving lip service. Willy-nilly, the code rides us, dead and stinking, an albatross aroung the neck..."
Of course, in the years since the sexual revolution, we have discovered that "free love" does not deliver as advertised. And do you know who really loses out? Women and children. Women lose because they are now expected to be just as blasé about sex as men despite the call of their hormones. Children lose because they can no longer be assured of a place in a stable family structure.
I'll give Heinlein this, though: he's an honest lecher. In recent years, the feminist left has raked Heinlein over the coals for his portrayal of the distaff sex, and I must say, they have a point when it comes to Stranger. Consider: Jubal has a cadre of female assistants at his beck and call -- assistants whom he playfully threatens to spank. Consider too the fact that Jill, who starts off as Smith's nurse, eventually comes into her own the moment she takes up stripping (really!) and finally embraces her inner exhibitionist. This is the Hugh Hefner vision of womanhood, and it is misogynistic. Of course, the feminists wish to have their cake and eat it too; they want to have the "free love" without becoming "objects for men's eyes." Heinlein, at least, has the good sense to acknowledge that promiscuity and objectification go hand in hand.
Characterization: 5.0
The male characters are written well, but in order to make the sexual elements of the story work, Heinlein distorts his female characters beyond all recognition. (At least, that's how it appears to this female reader.)
Plot/Pacing: 7.5
If you leave aside the philosophy, there's nothing seriously wrong with the way the story unfolds. It definitely holds my (horrified) interest.
Concepts/Themes: 3.0
Despite my absolute revulsion in re: the themes in this novel, I'm going to throw a few points Heinlein's way for his aforementioned candor.
*The Paladin of Shadows series is what turned OH JOHN RINGO NO into a fandom in-joke. The hero in said series loves to get tail whenever possible and is into BDSM. And in the first novel, Ghost, Ringo goes into great detail about his protagonist's sexual perversion -- for pages and pages. It's basically hard-core porn with a micro-thin story attached.
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