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bibliogrammaMorgan's Heinlein re-read project was supposed to be in support of reading this. She read the first two chapters, and was picking away at the rest in between refreshing her memory of the novels and stories being discussed. It ends in the middle of a sentence, which seems appropriate.
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Hugo-winning scholar Farah Mendlesohn has turned her skills to a long-needed project - a critical analysis of the work of foundational science fiction writer Robert Anson
Heinlein - in a tour de force with the serendipitous title of The
Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein. As Mendlesohn examines Heinlein’s life and his writing, the reader becomes aware of Heinlein the author, who, like many of his non-genre colleagues, wrote because he had a great many things to say - about the human condition, and science fiction was the best medium he could think of to say them in.
This characteristic of Heinlein’s - having something to say about humanity, about society, about how humans adapt to changes in their lives and environments - has led to the belief that Heinlein was a contradictory writer, with inconsistent opinions and ideas. This is perhaps because he went beyond the conventions of sf writing of his time, where the author either had no message, or was holding forth on his ideas in the work under consideration. Heinlein’s characters have viewpoints that are not necessarily his own. His books explore themes and ideas rather than telling everyone what to think about them. Heinlein wants you to think, and Mendlesohn has taken up the task of showing us what he wanted to think about - which was not always what it looked like.
Heinlein was handicapped in this goal, however, by his own flaws as a thinker and writer. He questioned so much - sexuality, religion, ethics, relations between men an women - but failed to question his own sources and assumptions about them. He admired the easy satire of Twain - but never achieved it himself.
Mendlesohn has taken this complex subject and pinned down the complications in Heinlein’ writing, revealing
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Hugo-winning scholar Farah Mendlesohn has turned her skills to a long-needed project - a critical analysis of the work of foundational science fiction writer Robert Anson
Heinlein - in a tour de force with the serendipitous title of The
Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein. As Mendlesohn examines Heinlein’s life and his writing, the reader becomes aware of Heinlein the author, who, like many of his non-genre colleagues, wrote because he had a great many things to say - about the human condition, and science fiction was the best medium he could think of to say them in.
This characteristic of Heinlein’s - having something to say about humanity, about society, about how humans adapt to changes in their lives and environments - has led to the belief that Heinlein was a contradictory writer, with inconsistent opinions and ideas. This is perhaps because he went beyond the conventions of sf writing of his time, where the author either had no message, or was holding forth on his ideas in the work under consideration. Heinlein’s characters have viewpoints that are not necessarily his own. His books explore themes and ideas rather than telling everyone what to think about them. Heinlein wants you to think, and Mendlesohn has taken up the task of showing us what he wanted to think about - which was not always what it looked like.
Heinlein was handicapped in this goal, however, by his own flaws as a thinker and writer. He questioned so much - sexuality, religion, ethics, relations between men an women - but failed to question his own sources and assumptions about them. He admired the easy satire of Twain - but never achieved it himself.
Mendlesohn has taken this complex subject and pinned down the complications in Heinlein’ writing, revealing
no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 01:21 am (UTC)