"Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein (Science Fiction, minor spoilers)

This book tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a man from Mars, who comes to Earth. Which sure sounds like science fiction, doesn't it? Which it is, although a lot of the content of this book is based on ideas from religion rather than science.

I should note that the edition I read is the one originally published, which is not Heinlein's actual original manuscript. His original was much longer, around 220,000 words, but his editors required him to change it, resulting in it being shortened to around 160,000 words. That's still a long book - longer than the average novel, anyway.

Apparently, one of the main reasons for the editing was to remove elements that an audience would have considered too shocking back in the early sixties. I don't know, I'd have to read the full version to see if that's true, which is possible because apparently the full version was eventually released in the early nineties. Although, I wasn't around in the early sixties so who am I to say what was considered too shocking back then?

Anyway...Valentine Michael Smith is the child of astronauts who went on an expedition to Mars, but he was raised by Martians. When another expedition brings him to Earth, he has no understanding of human society, seeing the world from his Martian point of view.

At first, he's shut away in a hospital, and kept from having contact with many people, until a nurse, Gillian Boardman, sneaks him out, with help from her reporter boyfriend, Ben Caxton. They take Smith to the home of Jubal Harshaw, doctor, lawyer, writer, and eccentric millionaire.

At Harshaw's house, Smith starts to learn about human society and relationships, but he also teaches Harshaw and his staff about Martian ideas. He shows Harshaw things he can do, including mental abilities to make things literally disappear, as well as control over his own body, Smith can make his body appear nearly dead, so that he's barely breathing and slows his heart beat for extended periods of time.

But it's actually good for Smith to be under Harshaw's protection. His had a childlike quality, and actually comes across as naive to the point where he might all too easily be used by people with ill intentions.

Some of the really fascinating scenes in the book are the ones told from Smith's point of view. He has a way of thinking that is vividly imagined and brought to life by Heinlein, and it's very creatively alien. Smith considers the sharing of water a ritual, since Mars is so dry. Sharing a glass of water with someone makes the two of you water brothers, and this is a bond Smith takes very seriously. In fact, Smith's loyalty to his friends is a very endearing quality.

Some of Harshaw's female staff eventually initiate Smith into sex - or perhaps he initiates them, it seems to happen as a kind of mutual, natural development.

But it is shortly after this occurs that Smith leaves Harshaw's estate and goes out into the world, accompanied by Gillian. He does not announce who he is wherever he goes, but tries to preserve his anonymity. At this point, the action shifts forward in time a bit, and we see Smith performing in a traveling show. His time in the world has changed him, he's not so childish anymore, and has started to become more decisive and tries to find a direction for his life.

Eventually, Smith forms a new religion, the "Church of All Worlds." It incorporates elements of the Fosterite church, a fictional church Heinlein introduces in the novel. The Fosterites are a prime example of religion as big business; it's obvious that a lot of money flows through this church. It's also very sure that its own ideas are right and any who thinks otherwise is wrong. Smith's church, however, borrows some of the outward trappings of what Smith sees in the Fosterite church, but the church itself is based on very different ideas. It's actually a place where people are very open, free, and casual with each other, but always respectful and understanding of others' concerns. Smith's teachings in Martian mental techniques makes this possible, and helps it work.

This novel's ending is sad, as are many aspects of the book, it actually points out many things about human society, money, religion, sex, and politics that aren't very flattering. Using an outsider's point of view is what makes this possible, and makes it work well.

This isn't what you'd call a plot-driven novel, though - the plot seems to be more of a basic structure to allow Heinlein to take Smith through different situations and see how he responds to them, and use Smith to make the various social comments. Which makes it somewhat different from other Heinlein novels like "The Door Into Summer" or "The Puppet Masters," which are more plot-driven than this one.

Some things in the book seemed a little outdated and quaint; attitudes about homosexuality, for example. Then again, maybe it's not so dated - sadly, there are still a lot of people who harbour prejudice against homosexuals.

This novel won the Hugo award for best novel for 1961.

It introduced a new word into the English language, too, "grok," which means to really know and understand something fully, as if it has become a part of you. Heh, I've seen T-shirts people wear to Star Trek conventions that say "I grok Spock." Not that I'm a Star Trek geek or anything - well, maybe just a LITTLE bit...

I don't know for sure if I completely grokked all of the ideas in this novel, but I did grok some good ones, so if you want to grok this novel, give it a try, but be prepared for an unhappy ending, and remember, it's more of a character study and social commentary than plot-driven novel - some people grok things like that more than others, but it's up to you to grok what you want!

Now that I've finished this review, I am now going to to and find something else to grok.