"Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein

Goodreads Synopsis:
Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love.


My Review:
This book definitely gives you a lot to chew on. Or should I say grok? The main character, Michael, is very endearing for the first half of the book. As he begins to better understand humans and acclimates to their ways, I think he loses some of the innocence that makes him so likable in the beginning. But throughout the book, his curiosity and bafflement of human mores & nature give the reader a fresh and enlightening perspective on how we view things.

Within the character of the Man from Mars, Heinlein, with sharp observation and relevant questions, creates an opportunity for people to truly step back and LOOK at humanity. To ask ourselves WHY do we think this, WHY do we believe that? And the questions are presented through an innocent, almost child-like, man.

As the story progresses, Michael tries to understand our views on sex and religion. Still confused after several years, he creates his own set of beliefs and his own lifestyle that quickly gains loyal followers.

My favorite part of this book? The word GROK. Heinlein does such a thorough job using this word and its variations that it becomes a part of the reader's vocabulary. And it's such a great word. Even after finishing, I still catch myself using it. That will be the biggest thing I take away from this book.

Just a warning: This book was published in the 1960's. There are definite sexist & homophobic remarks. There is one use of the word, "n-gg--," by characters that were painted in an extremely ignorant light. The sexism & homophobia, however, were not painted in an ignorant light. These opinions seemed to be the natural mindset of the author and, I'm sure, of his readers at the time it was written. 

I would urge you to ignore it. Discard it. (I reached a point where I got really frustrated with certain comments. Almost quit reading). It's a shortcoming of the writer and of society during that period. There are many other GREAT things to take away from this book if you can get past these particular issues.

The Author

Author Tidbit: Heinlein served as an officer in the Navy and, later, went on to work in several different occupations such as real estate sales and silver mining.

Favorite Quotes: 

"He was not in a hurry, "hurry" being one human concept he had failed to grok at all. He was sensitively aware of the key importance of correct timing in all acts — but with the Martian approach: correct timing was accomplished by waiting. He had noticed, of course, that his human brothers lacked his own fine discrimination of time and often were forced to wait a little faster than a Martian would — but he did not hold their innocent awkwardness against them; he simply learned to wait faster himself to cover their lack."

"His idea is that whenever you encounter any other grokking thing — he didn't say 'grokking' at this stage — any other living thing, man, woman, or stray cat… you are simply encountering your 'other end'… and the universe is just a little thing we whipped up among us the other night for our entertainment and then agreed to forget the gag."

Dune by Frank Herbert

          Book Synopsis from Goodreads: Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.    

          My Thoughts: I chose this book for a book challenge that consisted of reading 10 books from 10 different genres that I either did not like or did not read often. I am not a big science fiction fan, but I loved this book. The world that Herbert creates along with the culture of the native Fremens had me entranced. At the suggestion of a friend, I read the appendices first and found that to be very helpful when starting the actual story. I was able to understand more of the terms without having to constantly check the back glossary and it gave me a basic understanding of the political and religious history in the book. So if you have not yet read this book then I'd suggest you do the same. I am more than pleasantly surprised and would recommend it to others who have had a hard time getting into science fiction.
              I'm not a big desert fan. I'll take big green trees and mountains any day, but the imagery that Herbert creates with the landscape, sand worms and Fremen riders is far from colorless. It's beautiful and, along with the unique customs of the Fremens, it kept me interested. And it gave me a new respect for water.

Favorite Quote:
"Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear's path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

The Author

*Book Tidbit: Dune won the Hugo and Nebula award for Best Novel (well deserved).