Last night, I finished "Job: A Comedy of Justice" by Robert Heinlein. It started off well, but then it went to pieces. The problem is, whereas I think that Heinlein was trying to spark some kind of intellectual debate on spirituality, he failed by jumbling everything together. I wonder why "Starship Troopers" was considered controversial, but "Job" was not. Heinlein basically states that G-d is petty and cruel whereas Satan/Lucifer is kind and rather likeable - an argument I've heard before, old hat. Towards the end, everything falls apart, losing any sense. At one point, I couldn't decipher who was talking to whom. Never have I read a book that made it so futile to read, that made me feel so empty after finishing it. It seems to me that Heinlein was trying to get faith straight in his mind, but didn't suceed. Sure, I thought a bit after reading the book, but nothing came of it.
I'm more annoyed than anything, having wasted my time reading this book. Usually, I like confusing writings because they spark some kind of need to untangle the goings on, but "Job" was just confusion with little purpose. Or is it that I resist the purpose to the point of being unable to accept the author's argument (accept, not agree). I don't know; I'm confused, muddled, and thouroughly annoyed at Heinlein. I will, however, have some faith and try to read another of his books in the future in hopes of finding another gem like "Starship Troopers" or "The Door into Summer".
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