Books on Tape (not to be confused with "Girls on Film")

[semperfiona]

I've been listening to Robert Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress lately. I've only gotten to chapter 6 or so (disk 3 of however-many-there-are (I have mp3's)), and I've probably read this book before, back in high school when I was reading all the Heinlein I could get my hands on--not that I remember having read it, while I remember reading several of the Lazarus Long series--but in any case it's annoying me now.

1. the narrator's quasi-Russian accent. I suppose it's meant to go along with the syntax (see below) and the occasional casually dropped-in Russian words as a world-building tool, but I don't like it.

2. the syntax of the Lunar dialect. Is easy way to highlight invented history behind Luna society, but grates on ear to drop all articles and most pronouns from sentence.

3. sexism. For some reason all the male characters seem to think it required by politeness to whistle at a woman and compliment her on her breasts, no matter under what circumstances they meet her. This is being treated as completely normal, and the woman in question seems to act as though it would be an insult *not* to comment on her looks, even when she is standing at a podium to give a political speech. And then the men casually say things about her like "smart for a girl". It's as though RAH thought a hundred years of social progress would lead to women realizing all they ever wanted was to be condescended to.

4. political sermonizing. I just spent most of the drive to work this morning listening to characters, shades of Ayn Rand.

I can't decide whether it's worth the aggravation to listen to the rest of it. No doubt my tolerance for items 1 and 2 is lessened due to the audio format: when reading text, I don't make 'voices' in my head for characters, so wouldn't have the annoying accent to deal with, and might have also been able to slide over the syntax issues. I'm quite sure my tolerance for items 3 and 4 is lessened a great deal by my advanced age and changed beliefs.

I think maybe what I should do is scrap this and put Naomi Novik's Victory of Eagles on my ipod instead.

***

The last book I tried to listen to was The Witchhunter, by Bernard Knight. I gave up on it about a quarter of the way through, after the umpteenth occurrence of fish-looking-at-the-water. By which I mean this: the book is set in 1175. In order to get this across to the reader (or listener), Knight has his protagonist commenting in his thoughts about his surroundings. I paraphrase, but for example, he's sitting in a tavern thinking about the reason there are rushes on the floor. No doubt I'm spoiled by just having read matociquala's glorious Stratford Man duology, but I'm smart enough to get it if the author had instead had him kicking the rushes out of the way, or noticing a rat scuttling through the rushes or something.

To make matters worse, there had been a Historical Note at the beginning of the book! I get it already!

On top of that, I just wasn't liking any of the characters, except for some of the men and women who were being accused of witchery. Since it did not seem likely to end well for any of them, I gave up and returned the book to the library. Listening to the ending wasn't worth the additional overdue fine.

Comments

Those annoyances in <i>The Moon is a Harsh mistess</i>

[the-geoffrey.livejournal.com]

1. and 2. you already answered yourself. I also suspect that that's not so much a Lunar accent as Manny's Russo-Lunar accent. Sounds like Fearless Leader chasing Moose and Squirrel. I notice that Wyoh uses more articles, at least at home. In speechifying, she does seem to drop into a Lunar patois, doesn't she? Hmmm....

3. This is not, for Heinlein, sexism: this is Heinlein's vision of polite society in a world where men outnumber women 2.5-to-1, and until recently 5-to-1. Deliberately patterned after 19th-century Australia, Heinlein is positing a sociosexual economy wherein extreme gallantry is the norm, while overlaying that with the frankness of a frontier society. A little rough-and-tumble for trouveres, but there you are. Nonetheless...

3. Heinlein was born in 19. 0. 7. In a wee bitty town in western Mizzurah. For a guy who was old enough to think about voting issues before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, he has done remarkably well by the women of his writing. Indeed, he was famous for stating, regularly and often, that he thought women were better than men at most things. (This reminds me that each wave of activism gets to be that way by differencing itself from the previous wave; specifically, third-wave feminists frequently refer to second-wave feminist positions as "sexist.") But yeah, did seem to think that a woman's ultimate goal should be to make babies.

4. Um. Yeah, about that. Heinlein had opinions. Lots of them. This one was written during a libertarian phase in his evolving, or at least mutating, philosophy. It's a different point of view from that express in Starship Troopers. Or when he founded the Patrick Heny League. Or when he was a kind of a socialist in the 30s. Or ...

All of that being said, I have never tried audiobooks. I'm not sure I approve of this whippersnapper gimcrackery...

Wow. I'm sorry.

[the-geoffrey.livejournal.com]

I just got all English major/fanboy all over your journal, didn't I?

I should be medicated. With chocolate.

Re: Those annoyances in <i>The Moon is a Harsh mistess</i>

[lapis-lazuli615.livejournal.com]

Actually, I agree with Geoffrey on 3 and 4, and I'd like to point out that, to me, men being raised to notice something nice about a woman and compliment her would be a step in the right direction. Surely much better than the "yo bitch, whassup" that our society is gravitating towards. I'd much prefer the gallantry thanks.

I'd also like to add that there are women out there who would love to have as many children as their family could afford and care for. His line families and, indeed, his exploration of many types of 'marriages' in his novels is not a bad thing. Now if only more authors would open their minds and explore this type of 'alternative' lifestyle.

Rumor has it that Bob and Ginny tended towards the more open marriage, but within a close group - like tribe.

I'm very kindly disposed towards the man, and not just cause he's a Missourah boy. :)

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

RAH did have attitudes, and he was not afraid to use them.

One of the things that must be understood is that RAH wrote to be published. In many ways, he challenged cultural norms and mores in his writing. He still needed to fit into enough of the then geek culture to have his work purchased. Heinlein was very much aware, and concerned with, what he could get away with in his writing. I challenge you to find women given as much a part of major plot development in any contemporary, popular fiction.

The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is still my favorite RAH story. I am totally captivated by the computer. I also like the way he expresses the American revolutionary ideals in a more modern context. Some concepts never get old or tired. As an adult, I appreciate the way he portrays some people trying to take advantage of a successful revolution, and bend it toward their own ends. Lots of good stuff, even relating to modern politics.

Even being an audio learner, hearing some of the language spoken out would bug the hell out of me. (I am dyslexic, so I tend to read slowly and skip parts of sentences anyway. Reading the pidgin talk doesn't affect me.) I think some of the Russian is copying the same theme used in A Clockwork Orange. Where the author forces you into a new language and mindset by using words that you must learn in the book. It is an interesting, if annoying, device.

There are good reasons that RAH was made a grandmaster of SF. Expanding the reach of SF and the writing complexity of the genre are just part of that. Four decades later, some of his innovations and new ground seem very quaint and well plowed.

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

I've never liked Heinlein's attitude towards women.

I've heard from fans of his (male fans) that Heinlein is a feminist because his women are so kick-ass. I think they just don't get it. But I can't quite explain why.

Strangely...

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

I can still tolerate that book when I read it silently, but I don't like it as an audio book. Maybe it's because I've read it so many times, starting when I was a teenager myself, or maybe it's the familiarity. I recognize all of your objections, but I also agree with all of Geoffrey's points.

I think that in a way, my brain perceives it as an entirely new book when it's read aloud.

[ona-tangent.livejournal.com]

In general, if people feel a need to write long explanations about why the rest of the world isn't smart enough to understand that it isn't really sexism then it probably really is sexism.

Re: Those annoyances in <i>The Moon is a Harsh mistess</i>

[ona-tangent.livejournal.com]

Third wage feminists refer to second wave feminist positions as sexist? Can you elaborate what you mean here?

Heinlein may have been a product of his time, but it doesn't make his positions any less sexist. Sexism isn't just simpering females and hegemonic males. An author can think that women are better than men at many things, write strong female characters and still be writing from a place of sexism and privilege.