Title: Stranger in a Strange LandPublisher: Penguin group
Publication Date: 1961
Genre: Science FictionPages: 448
Anyone who enjoys reading science fiction has had to have read Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. It's almost like required reading for the science fiction field. I read this book in 1981, when I was in high school. I had moved from New york to North Carolina the year before and found myself to be my own stranger in a strange land, so in a way I could really relate to the book.
Stranger in a Strange Land tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, human.....Martian. Yes, he is quite literally the man from Mars. He is brought to Earth and must adapt to life on this planet. As he adapts, so must Earth adapt to him, especially when he gets his own religion going.
Not only is this a science fiction classic, it is also a commentary on life in the 1960's. It can also be viewed as a satire on human weaknesses and in some cases strengths. It contained Heinlein's cultural and political observations of the time. What some might find interesting is the role women played back then. As you read this, you have to keep reminding yourself of the time in which it was written. That is not an altogether impossible task, and it does not take away from the enjoyment of the book as a whole.
If you want a glimpse of what life was like back in the 60's then by all means get this book. If you want to see what a science fiction classic looks like, again get this book. If you just want to kick back and relax with a book on a rainy weekend, well, I think you get the idea.
5 out of 5 stars
Re readable factor of 3 out of 5
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