Reviews

El día antes de la revolución by Ursula K. Le Guin, Arnal Ballester, Enrique Maldonado Roldán

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nathaliebr's review against another edition

4.0

Breve relato, que cuenta los últimos días de una mujer revolucionaria, que ve en la actualidad en que se ha convertido la sociedad en la que vive luego de esta revolución y luego de la libertad, y medita con un trago amargo el resultado final.

will_cherico's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

This is a fairly depressing meditation on grief and aging, specifically in the lens of what happens to an old revolutionary when they're past their revolution days. The film has a really brutal description of old age and focuses a lot more on the self-loathing that comes with that time than it does the revolution itself. It's interesting to see the little aspects of her ideology that Odo doesn't follow despite teaching it to those below her, and I wish more was said there. It feels like by the time the story ends, Odo is tired of being the leader of the revolution even if she still believes it was for a good cause.

sambora's review against another edition

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4.0

Melancholic, thoughtful, compassionate, self-aware and somewhat meta.

The Day Before The Revolution is a Hainish short story from the perspective of a woman known the world over for her work in starting a revolution... the same woman whom has now grown old, contemplative and forgetful.
She mulls over how she is perceived in the eyes of others, now that her work has taken on a life of it's own. She questions her purpose, she questions her worth as an old person and she questions what the next generation will do with what she worked hard to lay before them.
The story is entirely steeped in her character's emotions and scattered memories - ranging from loss, grief, bitterness and frustration, to love and passion and a personal fire and drive that still lives within her rapidly aging body.
It's a superb short tale that didn't need to have a plot or even a particular sense of direction to be moving and emotional.

The Day Before The Revolution perfectly encapsulates why Le Guin's work is (and always will be) important. In my mind Le Guin herself here questioned her own worth as an older woman and she questioned her work's value, despite it's success - without any ego.

There is no doubt in my mind that I will carry what Le Guin has taught me (and is still teaching me), via both her stories and essays, with me for the rest of my life.
She was a remarkable woman and she is a voice that deserves to be heard and read more of these days.

shri_ace13's review against another edition

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hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

mireiaaaaaa3's review against another edition

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5.0

La Le Guin és capaç de fer-te pensar en qualsevol tema, però aquesta reflexió sobre la vellesa i tot el que això comporta és una meravella. Probablement és un llibre que hauria de llegir tothom.