Posted by Joshua Tyler | Published
Robert A. Heinlein is, without a doubt, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. That is especially evident when you look at his previous work.
Heinlein changed as he grew up. His work became more public, more bitter, and the sexual freedom he espoused in his work became more unpopular. He never stopped doing good works, though, and never stopped coming up with new ideas.
Heinlein's early and mid-career work is considered genius, and he is one of the early fathers of rational, modern science fiction. Robert A. Heinlein has been called the “Dean of Science Fiction” and has written dozens of books, spanning four decades and more.
However, not all of his books have aged well. In particular, activists have a problem with Places to stay in Farnham.
The Controversy Surrounding Farnham's Freehold
So what's all the fuss about? The book takes place in a dystopian world where dark-skinned people are more technologically advanced and more powerful in the world. In a sense, it's like Wakanda. Or, Wakanda if the Wakandans were evil slave owners.
Critics argue that Heinlein's portrayal of dominant black culture in the novel reinforces negative stereotypes of people of African descent, portraying them as cruel and barbaric. Was that his intention? Or was it his intention to portray people of African descent as more intelligent, more advanced, and more successful? That's where the questions start.
Heinlein Had Africans Enslaving Whites
In the future of Places to stay in Farnhampeople of African descent who advanced in technology enslaved the whites. This has been interpreted by some as a myth of reaction, reinforcing the fear of changing racial power structures. This aspect of the novel has been criticized for its power to promote white supremacy.
It seems somewhat unlikely that this was Heinlein's intention. Supporters of his writing argued that he was trying to criticize people's ideas about the dynamics of racial power. Heinlein himself did not address this controversy. He died in 1988, and at that time, no one translated the book as it is today, according to the modern cancellation tradition. Many years after Heinlein's death, Places to stay in Farnham it was seen as a satirical critique of apartheid, intended to challenge students' preconceptions about race and power.
Robert A. Heinlein's First Loyalty Was to Freedom
Given the nature of his other work, it's hard to imagine that Heinlein set out to write some kind of crazy racist story. Some of his books were symbols of the free love hippie movement, which challenged culture when it was not acceptable to do so.
Heinlein's entire ethos, in everything else he wrote, was built on absolute personal freedom and the absolute equality of all. Those ideas were very strong at the time. Some of them are still there.
Farnham's Freedom Story
On the quality level of Heinlein's writing, Places to stay in Farnham it was one of his better efforts. The book begins with the Cold War era story of a family hiding inside a homemade bomb shelter when the doomsday clock strikes midnight and nuclear war is upon them.
What's interesting about Heinlein's writing, perhaps here more than anything else he's ever done, is how he manages to convey a vivid picture of what's going on without bothering with the actual visual descriptions of the environment in which his characters live. Rather than describing what his world looks like, Heinlein chooses to describe how his characters react to it, and through them, his readers not only get a picture, but sometimes a deeper understanding than they would have if he had simply described more information.
Emotions Live in the Destruction of Everything
In Places to stay in Farnhamthe book's most thought-provoking moment comes early on, as Heinlein's man and woman rush into their bomb shelter, the floor shakes and the world explodes above them, and with nothing but death waiting for them, they share a kiss, which leads to sex. Heinlein is often sexual in his later writings, but this particular book was written in 1964, and anything more than a make-out session during an explosion would probably have been considered pornography by censors of the time.
What's amazing about it is how he brings their fear, horror, lust, passion, and all their emotions at that time into the context of his story to bring their horrible, terrifying situation to life. At that moment, you are there in that basement with them, with the world ending around you, in a place where none of the things you used to care about since, at the very least, you will be dead in a few hours.
It's Time to Move to a Wakanda-Driven Future
Yes, the entire book does not take place in a bomb shelter, and if you have read the dust jacket in it, then you know that the nuclear explosion above somehow attacks their small shelter in the future when white people live in slavery, and everything we have ever known is buried under thousands of years of dust. The book doesn't work well when Farnham and his small group are forced to interact with that future, but in the conflict-free first half, when they are alone and trying to survive, the novel soars.
Places to stay in Farnham it's worth reading that first part alone. Some, perhaps, are worth reading as well, if only you can decide for yourself that the controversial, biased modern interpretation of his work is what Robert A. Heinlein really intended. If you ask me, I doubt it.
THE FREEDOM OF FARNHAM BOOK POINTS
