Helpful Score: 3
I Could Fall In Love With This Gal..., January 1, 2006
Reviewer: K. David Krueger (Stayton, OR USA)
Heinlein has long been one of my favorite authors, and I was pleased that "Friday" didn't let me down.
"Friday" is an artificial person. She was bred in a laboratory from the finest genetic material available, and she works for a free-lance intelligence agency as one of their top couriers. Raised to believe she is less-than-human, Friday is constantly assaulted by "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune", driven from situation to situation in an adventure that is as much a tale of her discovering her worth as a human as it is a futuristic spy thriller.
My wife takes exception to a couple of items about how "the Dean of Science Fiction" wrote his women, at least in this case. She (my better half) feels that Friday doesn't react as a real woman would to some situations... well, one in particular. Personally, I think he created a character that is interesting, often charming, professionally tough-as-nails, emotionally vulnerable, and quite lovable. And given the premise of her origins, I find I can accept how Friday behaves. (Then, I'm not a woman.)
Heinlein has created a character that the reader can not only cheer but empathise with... highly appealing on a number of levels.
I can re-read this novel every year or two and still be just as effected as the very first time. It's a story that feels like visiting an old friend. That's good writing.
Reviewer: K. David Krueger (Stayton, OR USA)
Heinlein has long been one of my favorite authors, and I was pleased that "Friday" didn't let me down.
"Friday" is an artificial person. She was bred in a laboratory from the finest genetic material available, and she works for a free-lance intelligence agency as one of their top couriers. Raised to believe she is less-than-human, Friday is constantly assaulted by "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune", driven from situation to situation in an adventure that is as much a tale of her discovering her worth as a human as it is a futuristic spy thriller.
My wife takes exception to a couple of items about how "the Dean of Science Fiction" wrote his women, at least in this case. She (my better half) feels that Friday doesn't react as a real woman would to some situations... well, one in particular. Personally, I think he created a character that is interesting, often charming, professionally tough-as-nails, emotionally vulnerable, and quite lovable. And given the premise of her origins, I find I can accept how Friday behaves. (Then, I'm not a woman.)
Heinlein has created a character that the reader can not only cheer but empathise with... highly appealing on a number of levels.
I can re-read this novel every year or two and still be just as effected as the very first time. It's a story that feels like visiting an old friend. That's good writing.
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