Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

38 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.

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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

timmytunter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Incest, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Murder

rodile's review against another edition

adventurous reflective

• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed what I perceived as the romantic subplot. After the first 75 pages or so, I was drawn in and read the rest very quickly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual content and War

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. 

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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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, and Deportation

Minor: Incest

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Incest

Minor: Death, Suicide, and Violence

gilnean's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

verytwilly's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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? No

Striking, beautiful, elegant in its prose, consideration of topics, and motifs. This novel is both a work of art and of philosophy. I enjoyed it to such an extent that I’m lost for words to describe how much it fascinated, compelled, and inspired me…

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide, and Violence

angorarabbit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

TLDR:  A bit challenging, it needs a closer reading than many first contact sci-fi novels, but is worth the effort for the ideas and the writing. 

 

Clarketech:  Mind speech, near light speed space travel, ftl communications, Chabe stoves, cryosleep or hibernation during space flights. 

 

Context:  I loved what had been published in the Earthsea series in the late 1970’s so tried to read this then. Sadly, my head was too full of wizards and dragons for me to appreciate this gem. I am sorry I didn’t rectify my error before now. 

 

I did have difficulty getting into the novel. The book is written first person singular with short hearth-tales, interspersed for the first quarter of the novel. Then a second voice is added. You then go back and forth between povs with the only indication being the context of the chapter.. 

 

Ms LeGuin does not hold your hand introducing you to this new world. While my edition did have a few helpful footnotes and a Gethenian Calendar and Clock addendum; there are many words are in the native languages with little to no explanation as to what an earth translation might be. It took me awhile to understand that Estraven was writing in a journal and that the strange words were dates. 

 

I have read that there is some controversy over the use of the pronoun he to describe the inhabitants of Gethen. Ms LeGuin has appologized for this. I would point out that he was used instead of they in the US in the 1960’s The author has also acknowledged and apologised for the presumption that all Gethens were heterosexual . So much of the novel being Genly’s report, I don’t think there is enough information to judge how the Gethens actually felt about orientation. I would agree that Genly does appear to be homophobic or perhaps in denial over his own orientation, especially in the middle chapters. 

 

I also wondered at Genly’s statement that very few women were known as mathematicians, composers, or inventors. He seems to be at a loss when talking about women at all and seems to be uncomfortable with what he sees as feminine characteristics. It seemed that the Ekumen would have an equal division of labour on its ships. In fact the first Ekumen off the ship in the last chapter is identified as female. One would also think that their first contact on a planet would be more comfortable with any gender. 

 

There are many thoughtful and beautiful passages in the book and it is a great starting point to discussing gender and orientation. I did not see any passages that would be problematic for a tween to read. I would like to get the collected Hainish Cycle and read the novels and stories in sequence, plus reread this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcohol

gender and orientation diversity is complicated

acemummerz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, and Deportation

Minor: Child death, Incest, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail