Stranger in a Strange Land

Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein

Evan’s ESS = 6 out of 10

Erin’s ESS =  out of 10

Content = R (Adult Content, Violence, Sexual Content, Annoying Vocabulary, Water)

Why:  For almost six months it’s sat in the back of the closet, collecting dust and fallen winter coats.   Even now we wish we didn’t have to use it, especially given the high risk of aggravating our seasonal allergies.  Alas, we are left with little choice.  Pardon us for a second while we retrieve our abnormally large SOAP BOX.  Actually, this might take more than a second....

Born to humans, yet nurtured almost entirely by Martians on the planet (you guessed it) Mars, Valentine Michael Smith arrives on planet Earth to a whole lot of fan fair and speculation.   Almost immediately he’s thrust into a massive government conspiracy involving inheritance and possible ownership of the infamous red planet.  Fortunately, Mike is befriended by a couple individuals that help him navigate his celebrity status along with the tricky legal waters.  It also turns out that Mike has some pretty nifty brain superpowers that turn out to be quite useful.  If only Mike can secure his freedom, the world as we know could be his playground.            

What started as a very interesting story about blackmail, kidnapping, and the cultural differences between earth and mars, digressed into a diatribe against religion and well... religion.  The first half of Stranger in a Strange Land was seriously intriguing (top 5 science fiction ever potential) and then, as soon as Mike goes on his journey of self-exploration the train derailed.  We may be spoiling the plot here a bit, but we blame it on the whole soap box thing.  With an endless supply of cash, what does the Martian decide to do?  Yep, join the traveling circus, and when that doesn’t work out so well, he decides that his female companion should become a showgirl out west.  We’re not judging, but really?

Now, let’s take a moment to discuss a newly invented and frequently used word within Stranger in a Strange Land.  Merriam-Webster’s definition of GROK is “to understand profoundly and intuitively.”  Mike the Martian introduces this word and uses it regularly.  He even goes so far as to suggest that people of the earth do not have the ability to grok anything because they don’t have the mental capacity to do so.  Yet, near the end of the book his close circle of friends seem to grok everything without hesitation.  This might seem like a little thing, but for some reason this word really aggravated us by the end of the novel.  

Finally, we liked the fact that Stranger in the Strange Land challenged so many cultural norms, and as Christians, some of the criticism directed at established religion was fair and understandable.  But then everything got all muddled up with the advocating of free love, the glorification of pornography, and some of the demeaning attitudes towards woman.  By the end it felt like Heinlein was trying to punch holes in so many hot issues that even his credible arguments eventually lost all credibility.  More importantly they lost our interest.    

Whew, now we’re starting to sweat, which means it time to be done.  In summation, we did not grok this novel nor do we grok its widespread appeal.

Book Blog Hop - September 30th

Question: In honor of banned books week, what’s your favorite banned or frequently challenged book? Click Here for the 2010-2011 list in PDF format.

Answer: After perusing the list of books challenged in 2010 and 2011, we are delighted to find that many of the books also appear on our list of completed reads: Anne Frank, Brave New World, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and The Catcher in the Rye.  Plus, we really, really want to read Water for Elephants (does that count.... probably not).  Anyway, our favorite from the list has got to be.... drum roll.... The Hunger Games!  No big surprises here although some of the competition was quite stiff. 

What are some of your favorite banned books?

As always, thanks to Crazy for Books for hosting this fun event.  Have a great weekend!

Top 10 Books We Want to Reread

Question:  Top 10 Books We Want to Reread

Answer: This week’s question requires no clarification or witty forward.  Onto the list...

1. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens) – It seems that everyone but us recognized the brilliance of this novel.  Maybe the second time’s the charm.
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) – We never underestimate the power of a good laugh!  You shouldn’t either.
3. The Hobbit (J.R.R Tolkien) – It’s been far too long since we re-read this one.  Our main goal is to be completely up to speed in time for the movie release.
4. Magic Kingdom for Sale – Sold (Terry Brooks) – For some reason we (Evan) have very fond memories of this book from childhood (12ish).  It’s time to see if said fondness remains intact as an adult.  Plus, we think there’s a more recent addition to this series???
5. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) – Every so often we need a Scout and Atticus fix.
6. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) – We’re fairly open about the fact that we loathe, loathe, loathe the character of Heathcliff.  That being said, sometimes it’s fun to torture yourself.  Plus, it really is a fascinating book.
7. Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling) – We’re in the midst of a 14 month dry spell.  Needless to say, it’s nearly time for another reread... or re-listen!
8. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) – For us, this was one of those really intimidating books and we were so focused on surviving that we forgot to enjoy it.  Next year we’ll see if there is anything to enjoy....
9. Skipping Christmas (John Grisham) – We need a guaranteed good Christmas read this December.  A Christmas Carol was last year, so the Kranks will probably get their chance in 2011.
10. Ulysses (James Joyce) – Ha!  Only joking!  We will never, no way, no how, ever never read this book again.  NEVER!

 

Have a great week and head on over to The Broke and the Bookish to join the fun!

A Town Like Alice

A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

Evan’s ESS = 9 out of 10

Erin’s ESS =  out of 10

Content = PG (Adult Content, Violence, Sexual Content, Dingoes, Helpful Mechanics)

Why:  In order to fully experience this review we recommend utilizing an Australian accent from this point forth.  For some warm up words try a few of our favorites from the book:  Bonza, Crook, Ringer, Walkabout, and Biffo.  Oh, and we’re happy to report that no babies were stolen by dingoes in this story...

Noel Strachan got more than he bargained for when, as solicitor, he notified Jean Paget of her unexpected inheritance.  He was intrigued by his new client and quickly learned of her horrific past.  It turned out that Ms. Paget was taken prisoner by the Japanese’s army while working overseas in the country of Malaya.  Along with several other women and children the group was marched unapologetically back and forth across the country while WWII ran its course.  The conditions were ghastly and many from the group didn’t survive, yet, for Jean Paget, a chance encounter would alter her life forever.

We have so many good things to say about A Town Like Alice, so let us get started.  We loved the Aussie, Joe Harman.  Yes, we loved Jean Paget too, but Joe Harman is the most recent addition to our ever-growing list of all time favorite literary characters.  That being said, Jean Paget was an extraordinarily courageous woman.  She took on a leadership role in the jungles of Malaya during an incomprehensible set of circumstances.  And her post war life was no less impressive.  We don’t want to say too much, but she was charitable when most people would have looked the other way and she managed to survive a pretty epic horse journey.  We also enjoyed the irony of Jean being unable to fully take control of her inheritance because her benefactor didn’t think too highly of the money management skills of females.  Guess who gets the last laugh... if she would have been the type to laugh at things like that.              

We don’t have too many negative things to say about A Town Like Alice, but we could see how some readers might think the actual climax occurred at the halfway mark with the culmination of WWII.  For us though, there was so much more to the story and we loved to watch the intriguing post war scenario play out.  We also thoroughly enjoyed exploring the villages of Malaya and various parts of Australia.  Still, what makes this novel even more interesting is that much of the plot is based on real events.  Why do we suddenly want to move to the outback? 

Kane and Abel

Kane and Abel – Jeffrey Archer

Evan’s ESS = 8 out of 10

Erin’s ESS =  out of 10

Content = R (Adult Content, Violence, Sexual Content, Misinformation, Bankers)

Why: With such a clear allusion to the dysfunctional brothers in Genesis, we were intrigued.  Would the Able character in Jeffrey Archer’s novel suffer a cruel fate at the hands of his brother?  Does the title even refer to a pair of brothers?  Does the title even refer to people?  Is Jeffery Archer even a real person?  These questions plagued us for several months, until finally, we decided to pursue the sensible option and just read the book.

William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski are not brothers.  In fact they aren’t even related.  Kane was the son of a rich banker while Able was born penniless and parentless (and with only one nipple).  Kane was offered every advantage in life while Able was thrown into a Russian labor camp at a young age.  Still, it doesn’t take long before the similarities start to bubble to the surface.  Driven to build their financial empires, fate soon has both characters set on a collision course that will have you humming (get ready for our big musical number)....

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears.

Its a world of hopes, its a world of fear.
There’s so much that we share,
that its time we're aware.
Its a small world after all.

Kane and Abel was all about the two main characters.  They were arrogant, stubborn, greedy, unforgiving, and... real.  As a result, they were incredibly interesting.  The entire novel was devoted to their lives and while Kane and Abel possess plenty of good traits, it was those listed above that had us clenching our fists and wanting to smite both of them.  One chapter you’re rooting for Kane and then the next you’re rooting for Abel.  And then the next you’re rooting for neither...

The historical aspects of the novel were also very intriguing.  The sinking of the Titanic, WWII, and the US stock market collapse in 1929 all had a profound impact on the character’s lives.  Even events like the commercial release of Gone with the Wind and McCarthyism were woven into the story, yet the narrative stayed focused and never bogged down.  By the end, we had a deep appreciation for the characters and were sad finish the last page.  Then we stumbled across the sequel... bring it on!  

Editor’s Note: Hopefully it’s not too obvious that our main goal of this post is to have It’s a Small World stuck in your head for the rest of the day...   

The Woman in White

The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins

Evan’s ESS = 8 out of 10

Erin’s ESS =  out of 10

Content = PG (Adult Content, Violence, Escaped Mental Patients, Fiery Tempers, White Clothing)

Why:  Wilkie Collins was writing detective novels before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was even out of diapers.  He also maintained arguably one of the best beards in all the literature world.  While none of these incredibly interesting observations have any bearing on the quality of Mr. Collins novels, they do maintain our streak of intros that keep our readers scratching their head...   

Late one night Walter Hartright, a young and talented artist, decides to take a leisurely walk, when he stumbles upon a wild beast of unparalleled strength and viciousness, with bloodstained fangs that would make a Balrog seem...  sorry, actually he only happens across a woman dressed entirely in white.  Following this chance encounter he learns that the woman was actually an escaped mental patient, which causes temporary distress, although Walter is confident that the event will have no bearing on his future.  Oh, the naivety so often displayed by main characters.  Almost at once Walter finds himself caught in a web of deceit and lies that span several generations and ends in blackmail and more lies, not to mention a ghastly beast with yellow veined eyes and a temperament akin to... sorry.                

Okay, so there aren’t any beasts in The Woman in White, although the villains are quite beastly.  There is however a compelling mystery with rich characters and plenty of knots to untangle by the end.  It was written with a disciplined pace that helped us really understand all the family history and fully appreciate the motives of the characters.  Some might consider the narrative to drag on, but we appreciated the fact that nothing was rushed.  And while we were able to work out some of the confusion and suspense before the big reveals, many tidbits kept us guessing until the very end.

Another element that made The Woman in White unique was the changing narratives.  The concept is hardly unique, but the premise was that whoever was closest to the main events would be the individual to move the story forward.  For that reason it felt unique.  The changing perspective also added some nice variety and we only wish Mr. Fairlie was able to get some additional face time.

We also came across a pair of characters that made our blood boil, which is almost always a good thing.  Due to completely fictitious contractual obligations we won’t mention any names; however we will say that their villainy is comparable to Uriah Heap and Heathcliff.  Overall, The Woman in White kept us engaged until the final page and gave us a new appreciation for the classic mystery novel.    

The Story of Tracy Beaker

The Story of Tracy Beaker – Jacqueline Wilson

Evan’s ESS = 8 out of 10

Erin’s ESS = 8 out of 10

Content = PG (Adult Content, Name Calling, Mild Violence, Hay Fever)

Why: Curiosity finally got the better of us (not for the first time...), forcing a full investigation into the mysterious entity known as Jacqueline Wilson.  While we’ve never heard of her books, she’s a BBC Big Read force to be reckoned with.  With 4 novels in the top 100 and 14 overall, her stats are second only to Charles Dickens and Terry Pratchett.  How have we not read one of her books?

Tracy Beaker is an orphan with a fiery personality and a steely sinew who never cries - thank you very much.  She may have the occasional bout with hay fever...  but she never cries!  Her life to this point has been tragic and Tracy’s greatest hope is that her mother will return to gloriously sweep her away forever.  In the meantime she struggles to find long term foster care and meaningful friendships.  Is there reason for hope?  You’ll have to read Tracy’s personal diary to find out.

We really enjoyed how The Story of Tracy Beaker was presented.  The beginning was written in the form of a diary that throws out random personal questions.  It was a very unique way to introduce a character.  The remainder of the novel was a first person account of Tracy’s life and truly the voice of a 10 year old girl trying to work through her tragic life by putting up a mask for the rest of the world to see.  Despite her quick temper and oft impenetrable shell, our heart was touched by young Tracy. Oh, and her fellow orphan Peter Ingham was about the sweetest kid ever.

The Story of Tracy Beaker was a quick read with a powerful theme. As far as edgy Children’s Books go, it’s top shelf! We’re anxious to try another one of Jacqueline Wilson’s novels.  Any recommendations?