Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

94 reviews

ekgranstro's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I unironically think this book has changed me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Abandonment

fbc_2122's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Moderate: Torture and Xenophobia

Minor: Incest, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

jadziaaudrey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

bridgedeebookish95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Le Guin writes with such clarity. Her worldbuilding is incredible. The world of Gethen felt very much alive. This was my first read of a science fiction book that wasn't written by Octavia Butler, so I was a bit shook. Sometimes I didn't always understand what was being said (like in the first half of the book), but after chapter 12, Genly Ai and Estraven's journey was harrowing and fascinating to follow. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Torture, and Violence

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

dokujoy's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-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? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse and Police brutality

Minor: Death, Incest, and Suicide

shugentobler's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Death

that_vnr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

!!! MILD SPOILERS AHAID !!! I genuinely don't want to touch another book for a month. This book broke my heart in all the good ways a book can. Leaves you wanting for more, leaves you numb and speechless. It's the book I always needed. A sci fi story that challenges you. The reader and the protagonist are informed very early on what the outcome of the story will be, so it leaves you wondering about what truly, in my opinion, matters: What is love, what is gender, what is humanity? What makes us so different from the androgynous dwellers of Gethen? Why as a reader did it feel so natural to assign a gender to these genderless people, just as Genly Ai did, but why did I also feel then need to reprimand him and myself while doing so? Why as a person in real life do i do the same? I don't throw the word masterpiece around easily, but this is a treasure for sure.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Incest

Minor: Death, Suicide, and Violence

bakatan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Torture

Minor: Incest and Miscarriage

libellumartinae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Alrightie, this book was... intense. beautifully so, but I can't help but deny that partnering this book with another was a bad choice in my part that inevitably staunched my enjoyment of it. One of the things, in fact, I struggle with the most is a sort of initial confusion that didn't diminish throughout the reading experience as I tried to piece together the author's world. It's also true that as I have noted from other reviews not much happens throughout this book and this brought it to be a boring in some parts.

But gods! the whole architecture and meaning of this is utterly fabolous, alongside the knowledge that everything written is somehow already happened and you can see the echoes of it throughout the writing. An enchanting scifi reads.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Blood, Grief, Dysphoria, War, Classism, and Deportation