Review of Heinlein's first novel

For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs by Robert A. Heinlein

Just read Heinlein's first, and probably worst, novel. For Us, The Living (the title is taken from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address) contains several elements that feature prominently, and to much better effect, in his later works; but it is mired in excessively-long dialogues on crackpot economics - not too surprising since the book was conceived when Heinlein was at the height of his involvement in Upton Sinclair's utopian socialist EPIC (End Poverty In California) crusade.

For my money, this doesn't rate as serious science fiction as there is so little science in it, very little plot and not much character development - and, despite the subtitle, it's not very funny either. The proper genre is political harangue's thinly disguised as novels. In that genre it ranks above The Constitution of Alpaca and below Philip Dru, Administrator.

Still, if you are a die hard Heinlein fan, you may enjoy seeing the first appearance of coventry, Rev. Scudder, and some other elements of his later work.