i stumbled across a copy of this at a library that was selling off some of its books at very low prices.
after reading only the uncut version (apparently, the first publications were only 160k+/- words, and this is 220k+/- words), i can’t imagine how heinlein could have reduced it more than a couple of pages, so cutting it down by almost 1/3 is inimaginable… the story is excellent.
essentially, the book poses questions about so many of the things we all take for granted, because heinlein approaches them from the perspective of someone that doesn’t have a narrative (like we have, here on earth) to which he can attach these new concepts. the ideas of community are explored in an interesting fashion; the main character of the story is biologically a human, but his identity is completely alien. thus, he is accepted into the society, but can’t fit, and spends the majority of time struggling to do just that.
there are so many metaphors, it will (i hope) make your head spin, and hopefully make you look at a lot of things differently. this was only the second heinlein book that i’ve read, my first being starship troopers. he was a great author (from what i have read), but some people have mentioned that his later books started becoming just a medium for his rants.
i would give more information about the book, but i feel that long reviews (when directed at people who haven’t read the book) can potentially detract from enjoyment of the material and “color” the readers’ interpretation.
even if you have read stranger in a strange land, the uncut edition is worth your time. the copy i have is a little over 500 pages, so it is a good three day vacation