Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

6 reviews

uranaishi's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I understand why this book and it’s ideas were seminal in it’s time, but it is undeniably outdated in a number of ways now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Confinement, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Self harm, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, War, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Genocide, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Classism, Cursing, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Rape

emilythebarwench's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

After reading this almost fifteen years ago, I wanted to give it another go. Unfortunately, it wasn't as great as I remembered.

It has an interesting premise and introduction, however it severely drops off after the first third of the book. 

It also contains blatant sexism. I understand the book is a product of it's era and the author no doubt believed he was writing about sex in a liberated or progressive way, but it did not stand the test of time.

I would recommend this book for those looking particularly to dive into the origins of scifi books, but for the average reader? Not so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Rape

zworlund's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Death, Xenophobia, Misogyny, and Sexual content

swarmofbees's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape

unboxedjack's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

I thought I'd enjoy this, but it felt like what was a promising novel completely lost itself in the second half. The shift from a critical examination of culture, religion, and all that jazz to a gratuitous description of a sex cult made absolutely no sense. I tried to excuse Heinlein's repeated objectification and sexualization of women and absolute disparagement of anything other than heterosexuality as a sign of the times, but towards the end it felt like I was reading the inner machinations of a dirty old man. I'm not a prude and all for people feeling empowered by their sexuality, but Heinlein's characterization of women feeling as such was so much a product of the male gaze. Whether or not this was meant to be satirical--which I'll admit it did seem like this was the case at times--it was far too off-putting for my sensibilities. I can see why this novel may have been revolutionary for the time--the first half was definitely more engaging--but it simply didn't work for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cannibalism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Alcohol

booksthatburn's review against another edition

DNF 112 pages in. 
It had the makings of a strong commentary on sexism, imperialism, and the way we treat those who either can’t speak for themselves or are never given the space to do so. I liked it at first, but it’s an emotional roller coaster because of the blend between kinds of bigotry which are clearly intentional and examined in the narrative and ones which don’t seem to be on purpose and are various kinds of casual racism/xenophobia or using words now understood as slurs. What made me stop was the realization that the portrayal of the titular character felt like an ableist and allistic understanding of an autistic person, complete with extremely literal interpretations of vernacular, and stress reactions which are difficult to describe without using the world "meltdown". This character was raised by aliens and is new to Earth, which was further troubling because it seemed to be associating classically (but not exclusively) autistic traits with being a literal visitor from outer space. It's possible that it gets better later, but I was too stressed out to see if it did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Sexism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

Racial slurs (minor), xenophobia (minor), domestic violence (backstory), ableism, sexism.