July 2021 BotM - "Venus Plus X" by Theodore Sturgeon

[Jim]

Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon will be our July read.

From the cover blurb:
Venus Plus X is Theodore Sturgeon's brilliant evocation of a civilization for whom tensions between male and female and the human preoccupation with sex no longer exist.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I've wanted to read this one for a long time but I was very disappointed in the book. Before I give more specifics I'll wait until others finish the book and post thoughts but I will say that I was expecting something a lot better than: "how did I get here to this strange sexless society?" "Well, let me tell you all about it...."

[Jim]

I loved the book both for the thoughts it explores & the timing. The contrasts between the society he finds himself in & his memories of the 1950s were very well done & really far out for 1960. I found it far more interesting & thought provoking than The Left Hand of Darkness which was published almost a decade later & seems to get all the love.

[Oleksandr]

I started it yesterday and because it is rather short, I plan to finish it tomorrow. So far I like it less that the author's only other novel I've read, More Than Human. It has a bunch of interesting ideas and he saw the way we are moving, but it still feels a bit old-fashioned. I think I'd be better as a novella

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Oleksandr wrote: "..."I think I'd be better as a novella

I agree with that. For a 170 page book it sure dragged a lot.

[Ed]

I read it in the mid 1990s, so my memory of details is vague. I remember it described an unrealistic and oversimplified utopian society where there were no conflicts between males and females and therefore, very unrealistically, no conflicts at all. (Maybe I misremember that.)

The visitors from our normal society were impressed by it until the end when they learn a secret that they find shocking and revolting. Their response to that secret seemed exaggerated to me. If they had been told that secret at the beginning, I can imagine them reacting that way. But after becoming accustomed to the society, the response was too extreme.

[Oleksandr]

I finished it. It was ok, but reading it today, one sees how far our societies went from 1960, and as such the destination is roughly correct

[Jim]

Oleksandr wrote: "I finished it. It was ok, but reading it today, one sees how far our societies went from 1960, and as such the destination is roughly correct"

That's one of the things that impressed me so much. It's so rare that SF gets the future right & here Sturgeon tackled what is arguably one of our most complicated issues. I thought he did a brilliant job of showcasing it.

[Oleksandr]

My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Jim wrote: "...It's so rare that SF gets the future right..."

(view spoiler)[Of course, we find out at the end that it's not the future at all, or at least not far in the future. I predicted this twist from all the vague answers given to the questions asked, although I didn't predict the nature of the protagonist. (hide spoiler)]

[Jim]

Oleksandr wrote: "My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

I had to laugh at the end of your review. Yes, he certainly did preach & it did absolutely no good, perhaps the opposite. I think that was the point.

Your feeling that it was out of date was also one of the reasons I loved it. When I first read it back in the 1970s, it was wicked - too far out for most people to discuss. Now it seems old fashioned. Wow! It's incredible how much our societal attitudes have changed in 60 years.

[Oleksandr]

Jim wrote: "Your feeling that it was out of date was also one of the reasons I loved it. ."

I actually like old SF with outdated concepts if they are internally consistent, with all those scientists using slide rules

[Jim]

I particularly liked Sturgeon's take on the growth of control via the Christian religion about 3/4 of the way through. I've read some of it before & checked a few other assertions of his. It's all accurate from what I can tell. I find it both ingenious & rather frightening. It's such a pervasive & subtle form of control.