Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Left Hand of Darkness

This book confuses me. Not because of the plot, but because I'm not sure if I liked it or not. The wirld building is well done and the concept of making the gender binary foreign is very interesting. To listen to this story through the words of Genly Ai, a average 1960's man despite being from a futuristic space travelling society, made it even more interesting. The book may not seem revolutionary, but that's because it revolutionized. I didn't get the critics about it being heteronormative, have you read the same book as I? Despite the Author herself regreting the decision, I think Genly Ai refering to all people from gethen as "he" makes sense to the society he came from. I didn't get the incest stuff though, and I have been, and will be, ignoring it. I'm not sure if I got the ending either

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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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.

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swrrlgrrl's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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yuripiano's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Gosh. Okay.
Should I sit with my thoughts before writing a review?
Probably.
Will I?
...
So anyway, I just finished reading this - there's so much here, where to even begin...

Genly Ai. Sometimes, I wish to beat you with a stick.
Estraven, my sweet Gethenian, I wish to give you the stick to beat Genly Ai.

This is a gross over-exaggeration but MMMNGH Genly I swear some of the choices you made are questionable at best and misogynistic at worst and AAAAGH you're truly one of the protagonists of all time.

Is protagonist even the word I want? I mean I suppose so, but... it doesn't really feel like a story with a protagonist or even a pair of protagonists, so much as a story that happens, and there happens to be two main characters living that story, and through them, things happen, if that makes sense? It's strange and compelling, and for some reason I'm having a hard time describing it, and consequently my feelings about it.

It was good, though.
I want to make that clear - there often are books where I read them and think "wow, that was a lot, I probably need to reread it to really get it," but I know I never will as a function of lack of time/will.
This is one I could easily see myself actually rereading.

Because, I mean, there's just so much - the interludes breaking up Estraven and Genly's stories serve as such wonderful world building, but I don't think I would truly be able to get every last ounce of meaning from them without multiple rereads and analyses, and I think that's really cool!

But, at the same time, I feel like I'm maybe slightly biased by having just finished it and also knowing it's a pretty revered book in its own right.

To that end, I'm not sure if this is another reason why I need to reread this, but, I wasn't... satisfied with the exploration of gender in it.
Like, I enjoyed what was there!
But coming through the voice of a flawed and misogynistic main character in Genly Ai, I feel like I was left... wanting for more. A big part of that comes in Le Guin's usage of he/him pronouns for the Gethenians as a whole - she has expressed her feelings over her pronoun usage in essay, but I really just want to reiterate what she's already noted elsewhere that I really don't feel like I got a sense of the "duality" of most Gethenians, least of all Estraven.
Heck, any time showing this came up, it was always at the anger or disappointment of Genly, which, I know, kind of was the point, but it still annoyed me.
... I guess, this was supposed to make me feel uncomfortable, and while that's fine, I still wanted "more" overall - show me this side possibly from Estraven's perspective more, and this would have been nice, and additionally, if we're going with the usage of he/him pronouns being a function of Genly's internalized misogyny/sexism/conformity to expected gender roles, would it have hurt for sections from Estraven's perspective to use they/them, it/its, or some other form of neopronoun instead?
(According to the author at the time, yes, but she would later go on to say that she was okay with they/them pronoun usage... and stars, I really wish she had put them in here)

This is turning out so long I'm so sorry sljkdfjklsd I just, have so many feelings, and I really did enjoy this a lot, and there's so much to talk about, and while the story did make me think about gender and the role it plays in society, I find myself wanting for more from an already progressive book for its time.
Solid read, definitely would recommend to anyone, but Genly, I hope you stub your toe or step on an Ekumenical Lego.

Pros:
- The world building is top notch, Karhide and Orgoreyn feel real and distinct
- The writing itself is beautiful
- Estraven is a darling

Cons:
- He/Him pronoun usage is jarring and exclusionary given the gender construct the book seeks to dismantle
- The emphasis on duality seems to leave out any sort of gender expression outside it, which leaves me feeling like nonbinary voices are "unheard" in a way
- I am eternally upset that

Genly and Estraven did not have a steamy moment together in the tent on the Gobrin Ice, like, COME ON, YOU WERE SO CLOSE, but I guess that's what AO3 is for

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amorphousbl0b's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

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sunn_bleach's review against another edition

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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!

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