The reviewer critiques Robert A. Heinlein's 1963 novel 'Farnham's Freehold' for its problematic racial themes and weak plot structure. They argue that the book's depiction of a future ruled by black people is racially insensitive and distracts from its other flaws, including a disjointed narrative and unconvincing character dynamics.
Robert A. Heinlein's 'Farnham's Freehold' is a post-holocaust novel that follows the Farnham family as they survive a nuclear attack and end up in a future ruled by black people. The reviewer criticizes the book for its racially insensitive portrayal of this future society, which is depicted as technologically advanced but politically repressive and rife with slavery and cannibalism. They argue that Heinlein's use of these stereotypes is problematic and distracts from the novel's other flaws, such as its weak plot structure and unconvincing character dynamics. The reviewer also notes that the book's depiction of a future where white people are treated like black people is a reflection of the racial hierarchies of Heinlein's time. Overall, they find the novel to be a disappointing and problematic read.
Quick quotes
The elephant in the room, of course, is that having turned upside down the world as Americans of the early 1960s knew it, Heinlein then paints a picture of the World Ruled By Black People as technologically advanced but politically repressive and rife with slavery and cannibalism.
The racism distracts from all the other ways in which this is a terrible novel, one that foreshadowed terrible Heinlein novels to come.
The Hugh-Barbara romance is, uh, regrettable but unremarkable.