Biblio File

Can You Grok This? Stories of Strangers in a Strange Land, Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our Stranger in a Strange Land post! (See Part 1 here.)

July 7 would have been the 98th birthday of Robert Heinlein, the consummate science-fiction author best known for 1961 classic, Stranger in a Strange Land. In that story, a human man raised on Mars comes to Earth for the first time and sees the planet with completely new eyes.

To add another layer of fresh experiences, Heinlein coined several new words in the book, including “grok” (“understand,” in his imagined Martian dialect).

In Heinlein’s honor, we asked our NYPL librarians: What are some other books that speak to displacement—of being a stranger in a strange land?

True Stories of Displacement

Unlikely Disciple

I love An Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose. He chronicles his time at Liberty University, the late Jerry Falwell's fundamentalist evangelical training college. It’s funny and sad and fascinating. As a liberal on leave from Brown University, it’s as if he has landed on Mars. —Maura Muller, Volunteer Services

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Boy

I’m going to throw in Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron by Mary Losure, a nonfiction account of a young boy found in the wilds of France in 1798.  Captured and suddenly thrust into a world of other people where he cannot speak and doesn't understand the most basic facets of civilization, it's clear that the wild boy never loses his longing for the natural world he's left behind.  This book for middle grade readers offers a remarkable narrative based on actual accounts and reports written about the boy at the time of his discovery. —Stephanie Whelan, Seward Park

 

 

Midnight

Savannah, Georgia certainly isn’t Mars, but Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt fits this category. —Judd Karlman, City Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Polo

The Travels of Marco Polo. Travel along with Marco Polo as recounts his travels through the ancient Eastern world and serves in Kublai Khan’s court. He recounts the differences of European and Asian currency, trade, social norms, and even personal hygiene. (As a reader, it’s important to keep in mind this travelogue was written down by a second party later in his life, and it’s not entirely clear that all the stories are his own.) —Jaqueline Woolcott, Reference & Research

 

 

Travels

Ian Frazier’s Travels in Siberia is the author’s account of his attempt to visit and understand an immense landscape (spanning eight time zones) that few people actually live in and even fewer visit. A place so strange that it doesn't even really exist: “No political or territorial entity has Siberia in its name.” An illuminating, peripatetic journey down a frozen rabbit hole. —Wayne Roylance, Selection Team

 

 

 

Elements of the Fantastic

Wild Things

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Max, sporting a very dashing wolf costume, went exploring through a jungle island filled with wild beasts and joins a wild rumpus without even leaving his room. Maurice Sendak made being king of the Wild Things possible for all of us. —Jaqueline Woolcott, AskNYPL

 

 

Blue Sword

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. An awkward young woman finds herself thrust into the role of lady hero to a foreign people whose language she does not speak. —Jennifer Brinley, Parkchester

 

 

 

 

 

Alice in Wonderland

I'm going to suggest Alice in Wonderlandand not only because it is our next exhibition. Behind all of the puns and parodies is a child alone in a very strange place. The film Dreamchild presents Alice Liddell and Alice the character that way. —Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Exhibitions

 

 

 

 

Snow Child

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a mesmerizing, descriptive, emotional tale of a childless couple that moved to Alaska. It starts by potentially being a retelling of a fairy tale, and maintains a bit of that fairy-tale quality throughout. It ends up not being a fairy tale, and I think this reality makes it more fascinating. The snow child is real, and she’s much more interesting character in the book for that. And the author’s love of Alaska really shows in her descriptions and depictions. Immersion in the story is complete. —Carmen Nigro, Milstein Division of United States History

 

 

 

Interview

I remember reading Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice shortly after it was published in 1976. To me, the story was never just about vampires, but about any group of people that is different from the rest of society and treated differently, perhaps more like strangers in their own land. —Lois Moore, Mid-Manhattan

 

 

 

 

 

Graceling

Graceling (and its companion novels Fire and Bitterblue) by Kristin Cashore. Gracelings (those born with special powers) are both honored and feared, used and abused, and often misunderstood by others and even by themselves. —Jennifer Brinley, Parkchester

 

 

 

 

Lost & Found

Lord Foul's Bane

Lord Foul’s Bane is another fantasy work focused on a protagonist thrust from his accustomed surroundings into a new, perilous realm. Thomas Covenant is a leper and must maintain a strict self-surveillance regimen to prevent further spread of the disease. Falling unconscious in this world, he finds himself in The Land, a marvelous world of beauty and health that restores feeling to his leprosy-ravaged extremities. Recognizing the danger in forgetting his strict self-control, he refuses to believe in this new place and must make his way through danger and Lord Foul’s traps until he can return home. —Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

 

 

 

Gulliver

I can't help but think of the classic Gulliver’s Travels… to the lands of the Lilliputians (a race of little people), the Houyhnhnms (a race of intelligent talking horses), and the many other strange inhabitants he encountered on his travels to the remote nations of the world. —Jean Harripersaud, Bronx Library Center

 

 

 

 

 

Outlander

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Claire, an army nurse, honeymooning in 1946 Scotland suddenly finds herself thrust back in time to the Scottish Highlands of 1743. Back when the Scottish clan system was still intact and women knew their place. Claire’s 20th-century ideas and knowledge about men, women, society, history, and modern medicine may be useful, but they keep getting her into trouble. To survive, she’ll need to find some allies and then try to find a way home. —Anne Rouyer, Mulberry Street

 

 

 

 

Ellery

The old Ellery Queen crime books tend to have a sci-fi feel. “And on the Eighth Day,” (1964) ghostwritten with Avram Davidson, tells the story of a crime screenwriter/detective who gets lost in the deserts of Hollywood. He comes upon a very strange community seemingly in the middle of nowhere. They welcome him as their savior and the story truly gets stranger from there! —Kimberly Bullock, Bronx Library Center

 

 

 

 

 

Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is Bilbo Baggins’s journey to a strange land. Having lived a comfortable life at Bag End in the Shire all his days, Bilbo is thrust into adventures featuring vengeful dwarves, hungry trolls, elves both fair and greedy, a city on a lake, giant spiders, and an angry dragon. He travels with his companions as their “burglar,” a role he is unfamiliar with and yet surprisingly talented at, journeying through deadly forests, deep and dank caves, and a lone mountain filled with splendor beyond words; places as different as possible from his cozy hobbit hole. —Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

 

 

 

Don't forget to check out Part 1 of this list for more tales of strangers in a strange land, including planetary exploration and immigration stories.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your picks! Leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend.