A review by p_t_b
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

3.0

grabbed this more or less at random, knowing heinlein by name and reputation only. as prose it's a little stiff, a little dated, and a lot of the narrative ges advanced through one character telling another character about something that happened, which is not the most graceful plotting mechanism. there are some quaint/antique instances of soft misogyny. the main character, a human raised by martians who has magic powers, represents a kind of sex-money-morality christ figure. as fusty and intermittently clumsy as this book is, it says some interesting things about love, sex, power, etc. there are definitely some cringey, juvenile parts where it feels like mike (the name of the martian jesus) is just sort of a lens for male desire. glad i read this though. probably more fair to say 3.5 stars.

fun fact: this book is the source of the word "grok," which I have used for years without ever knowing the origin of.