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Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
33 reviews
edurnehaeon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
had some trouble getting into it, but by about 30% i was pretty hooked in. i loved the world building, but i had trouble getting emotionally attached to the story. crazy to think this was written in the 60s
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Forced institutionalization, and Xenophobia
gfiore11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I just finished reading and feel compelled to immediately leave a review. Mind-blowing work of fiction that leaves me reflecting on both the book and my own understanding of the world. I have already returned back to reread sections to better understand the work as a whole, and will likely have to reread the entire work again to grasp every detail and symbol (this is rare for me). Although sad, the result is a hopeful and nuanced understanding of the nature of human difference, and how to bridge the divide between individuals and societies with love, understanding, and true acceptance at its core.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, and Deportation
Minor: Incest
mrgriffit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A masterclass in storytelling. About how people connect with each other, their country, and their world. It’s at its best when the main characters are pushed together and the only flaw I can find is that it doesn’t get to the point where they are “together” until much later in the story than I wished.
On an altogether different note, it feels as though in some ways, the journey that began in Rocannon’s World is finished here. The gift of Mindspeech is finally used for its true purpose, connection and understanding. A tool to bring people together, not to dominate or destroy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Incest, Misogyny, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
mixigod's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An incredible philosophical science fiction for anyone looking to explore the social themes of science fiction that is often so easily overlooked in favour of lasers and space wars. Often, science fiction imparts our world's views, beliefs, and values onto alien societies but in The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin challenges this. We follow an envoy, Genly Ai, who is sent from a planetary union to appeal to a human-like planet - Winter, to join the union for benefits of cultural and economical trade. The planet is inhabited by ambisexual people, meaning that there is no set "man" or "woman", only sexual phases where one may be birthing or during children - either at random or willed with hormone replacement. This means their constructs of gender are completely, well, alien to Ai who must learn to navigate a society without gender constraints and unlearn his own beliefs coming from a society where gender is relatively fixed.
Le Guin's world building is robust and you believe that this planet truly exists, down to it's politics, ideas of love and sex, and the importance of certain values in the absence of fixed genders. We follow Ai as he attempts to navigate an alien world and learn to involve himself within its culture. There are critiques that the book may have benefited from gender neutral pronouns and that there's an absence of truly female characters but I believe that ties into the point discovered by Ai that he assumes masculinity of those he encounters, being a human male.
That's all I'll spoil of it, it's an incredible read and deeply moving. Great for those who want to ponder beyond science fiction in it's essential sense and think of what it means to be an alien society and how that challenges our own conventional norms.
Le Guin's world building is robust and you believe that this planet truly exists, down to it's politics, ideas of love and sex, and the importance of certain values in the absence of fixed genders. We follow Ai as he attempts to navigate an alien world and learn to involve himself within its culture. There are critiques that the book may have benefited from gender neutral pronouns and that there's an absence of truly female characters but I believe that ties into the point discovered by Ai that he assumes masculinity of those he encounters, being a human male.
That's all I'll spoil of it, it's an incredible read and deeply moving. Great for those who want to ponder beyond science fiction in it's essential sense and think of what it means to be an alien society and how that challenges our own conventional norms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Forced institutionalization
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really disliked this, unfortunately. I give it two stars because o can see why it was an important feminist science fiction novel in 1969. I can see how the exploration of gender, region and loyalty is important.
That being said, I found this to be extremely dry and boring during time where it should have felt tense. The pacing was slow, and that’s not something i usually enjoy in a book. I could not connect with the characters or enjoy their faults.
I also really did not like that it specifically envisioned a world where everyone is ambisexual AND then instead of being progressive about it, they also state that sibling incest is common and not forbidden. It had other potential issues that could have been called out with the Kenner system, but it was odd and felt … gross for no reason.
That being said, I found this to be extremely dry and boring during time where it should have felt tense. The pacing was slow, and that’s not something i usually enjoy in a book. I could not connect with the characters or enjoy their faults.
I also really did not like that it specifically envisioned a world where everyone is ambisexual AND then instead of being progressive about it, they also state that sibling incest is common and not forbidden. It had other potential issues that could have been called out with the Kenner system, but it was odd and felt … gross for no reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Incest and Suicide
Minor: Sexism and Pregnancy
brassmonkey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Incest, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Violence and Grief
Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny
kaynova's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, War, and Injury/Injury detail
tinyjude's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The first half of the book is a bit too slow for my taste and when she switched up perspectives suddenly from the protagonist to the secondary character, it was difficult to discern which one was narrating each part at first. I think, given the time it was written, late 60s, it is a brilliant sci-fi novel that dwells on the topic of gender and how the binary structure society constructed limits the human being. The discussions about gender, society, values, perception, sex, social roles, etc are all enthralling. Albeit my issues with the pace and some plot points that seemed to drag on for too long, I think it's an interesting read for those concerned with these topics and fans of sci-fi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Miscarriage
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I read "The Left Hand of Darkness" in 2018 and didn't really get it. Yeah, I got the subversion of man-as-default, but I didn't get some of the deeper considerations Le Guin was going for regarding societies that previously did not know war and totalitarian systems that don't match one-for-one to our earthly systems. I also found Genly and Estraven's trip over the icefield monotonous - but after four years of serious mountaineering pursuits, it's anything but that, and Le Guin masterfully captured the sheer stress of being on the run for one's lives while also underneath the beauty of the stars. I'm tempted to argue that the gender fiction aspect falls prey to TVTropes' "Seinfeld is Unfunny" given how much has progressed in half a century (like the he/him pronoun aspect not being as radical), but the fact it still makes me think shows it's relevant 25 years into the new millennium. Masterful book, and a good example of "the worst criticism I have is that it could be longer"... and the ending felt a little saccharine, losing the conceit of it being a report. But still!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Gun violence, Incest, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Sexism, Pregnancy, and War
paloverdepages's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
stuck between a 4.75 and 5 for this one- there were a few passages about gender that i resonated strongly with. i wish i understood more, hope that reading the rest of the series will give me some insight when i get around to rereading this one. maybe i'm too hesitant to give books 5 stars; i just saw no reason not to with this one. also now i get to talk about it with so many people! so excellent, absolutely merits a reread and maybe some hardcopy annotating.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Animal death, Incest, and Suicide