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

5.0

A book that seems directionless - but shapes up quite well. At times a bit naive, at times it may feel like cheap sex is thrown on paper, but in the end it starts to make sense. While I don't agree with the views of the characters, they grew on me, and loved the ending.

The most interesting part for me was the reinterpretation of the Messianic myth. While starting a 'perfectly balanced' religion, the man from Mars realizes that the core of his principles will destroy the very thing it wants to protect. He doesn't deliver this part of his own revelation to his followers, deciding instead to take it on himself and work from a different level.

Also, the most important concept defined in this book is not the obvious 'Thou are God' but instead the concept of grokking, which I find more powerful and deeper. Finding English language limiting, Heinlein defines the 'grokking' as a superior level of understanding, a merging, unifying, a complete understanding of the grokked concepts. I'm now trying to grok grok until fullness.