reading (To Sail Beyond the Sunset)

I finished re-reading Heinlein's "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" last night. I really should have gone to bed and finished it today, but I just can't go to sleep when I'm that close to finishing a book.

Squick warnings for this book: incest, more incest, hell almost everyone sleeps with almost everyone else and likes doing it.

The layout of this book is well suited to Heinlein's late life desire to sermonize. It is composed of short bits where he can talk about a particular time or a particular theme for a few pages before going on to another. It's full of obvious advice, slightly less obvious advice, and lightly covered admiration for those the author admired.

Perhaps the most perfect of the perfect Heinlein characters is Maureen, the main character of this book. She even has red hair. She sometimes has problems with her voice and suddenly starts sounding like a white haired old man, but hey, what can you do.

( Here be potential spoilers )

The ending of this book is much more coherent than "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls", although it is a fairytale. Enjoy it as a fairytale. Well, an adult fairytale.

21. Robert Heinlein "To Sail Beyond the Sunset"

(no subject)

In "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" Heinlein spends a lot of time on his soapbox. It's hit or miss whether I agree with him, but sometimes he hits the mark.

I'll rephrase one of his rules to live by to be gender neutral and equitable: When your partner comes home, make them glad to have done so. Don't greet them with troubles, greet them with happiness and enthusiasm, save the troubles for later. When they are leaving, don't stir up trouble right before they head out the door. Don't make their last (and lasting) impression of you unpleasant.

Heinlein hit the bullseye on this one. It applies to all relationships, but most notably partners/SOs/marriages/lovers. Don't give your partner the opportunity to spend a day, a weekend, a week, or a month dwelling on the fact you're not pleasant to be around. Make sure they think you're great to come back to. Make sure they aren't ever relieved to get away.

Even in the best relationships, partners fall down on this one every now and then. As long as it isn't huge or frequent, the damage can be repaired. But it takes much more effort to fix later than the original bit of trouble should cause.

A stitch in time saves nine.