To truly grok man is to become man and lose that which
makes you Martian.
That is the sum total of my experience with “Stranger in a Strange
Land.”
438 pages that left me thinking “I’m so glad Superman didn’t
get into religion that really wouldn’t have been much fun at all.”
Heinlein had an enjoyable vocabulary and a very keen sense of human nature, it's nastier intricacies and it's more lascivious ones; I'm certain many were put into a prude and/or religious tizzy by his writings when this was published considering some of the tensions the 60s procured. I fully intend to integrate "grok" into my vocabulary and use it to feel out a room for other book nerds.
I do understand why so many people put this book on the
mantle of their science fiction collection and why some may still herald it as
the best/most famous/most inspiring etc. piece of scifi pressed to paper pulp.
Obviously those people won’t agree with what I’m about to say which was my
immediate gut reaction after finally dragging myself through the last hundred
pages, “meh, it’s alright, a bit predictable but enjoyable enough.”
If you find that lackluster response offensive and think
this book beats the invention of the toaster well… I’ll trade you, my toaster sucks.
