A grown ups' book, a literary science fiction that has a lot of the Big Questions, by the end answered by Ender the best he can by his understanding of what's needed. Perhaps not satisfying for those who want a comic book hero but instead the kind of hero that has more living man as part of his character than a storybook person. He wants to be a husband, father, and someone who is building a home, not a military genius, not an adventurer, explorer or even a businessman. The title and job he takes on is penance for his perceived sin of genocide, which almost crushes his ability to survive. Being Speaker for the Dead is how he maintains self-respect and at the same time he hopes to evolve the human intellect past its instinct to murder the different. He preaches walking in the Other's shoes as the way to understand, but in a holistic way of seeing. If aliens have sentience, then they can maybe see how the Other may have the same aspirations all living intelligences must have. The Buggers, by this definition, were not only ahead of humans scientifically but also morally, but Ender destroyed them before understanding could be shared between races. Jane is proof flesh isn't necessary for evolved intelligence but she is metaphor for what is possible and a god icon at the same time. Lack of flesh means she can be as heartless as all superior gods are, but the key to growing a heart and caring is love for a man. Biblical references much! Ender is Jesus, his brother Peter and sister Valentine? Guessing is part of the joy of reading, so I leave that for rainy days. This book's planet, Garden of Eden? The Piggies are us, and they have a literal Tree of Life. If it wasn't classified as science fiction this book probably get more respect than it does, but it is late to the party to be part of official literature education. Nevertheless it's interesting and moving, even if the only new thing is being part of an unrecognized literature by the official literary establishment. People have been arguing for decades about what is Literature and what is simple entertainment. I think Literature has become too solipsistic and it needs to admit new genres as Speakers of the Dead.