Reviews

Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin

magicnarwhal's review against another edition

slow-paced

aleahlitt's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

I absolutely love this book. It reads to me as if the Horse & His Boy merged with the Alchemist. It’s beautifully written - simple but powerful. It’s crafted a bit more like folklore/fable with less focus on the world building and more on the message & relaying of the story. It may not be one of LeGuin’s most popular reads but it holds a special place for me. 

persychan'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? No

4.0

Quella stella in meno non è colpa sua, ma sono io: per quanto mi sforzi e per quanto non possa lamentarmi espressamente di qualcosa del libro, come spesso accade con i libri della signora Le Guin, per il mio gusto c'è qualcosa che manca per avere quell'esperienza perfetta.
Credo sia solo un'incompatibilità di gusti, tra i temi e i modi in cui li scrive e il mio gusto personale, ma il fatto che nonostate questo è un 4 stelle è rappresentativo della sua abilità artistica, di prosa e trama.
Posso anche dire che ho AMATO il setting e il world building, asssolutamente 10/10 da quel punto.

Leggero i seguiti qualora la mondadori si degnasse di pubblicarli in questa nuova edizione.

mylibrarybooks's review against another edition

I think I’m also going to wait for a star review on this one too. Staring out the new year strong! Lol

chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

This is a strange but fascinating read—which can probably be said about many of Ursula Le Guin's books.  I like how we get a variety of what are essentially super powers, but the most dangerous ones do not cause physical destruction on a single person but rather widespread famine and crop failure on a larger scale.  And although it's marked as part of a series, this novel stands alone fairly well; the ending is open and leaves space for further novels, but it isn't a cliffhanger.  

My biggest reservation about this book is the way that it treats blindness.  There's a subtle difference between a character's opinion/resentment at their lot in life (which can incorporate complex topics such as internalized ableism) and an author's assumption that is often rooted in ableism.  For instance, to have a character say that they "feel" useless because they cannot do their usual tasks is one thing; but to have the author include a matter-of-fact-sounding statement about how useless the one (1) blind character has been all year long on account of their blindness is quite another—although to be fair, this sort of comment may tie into the fact that the blind character in question has only recently lost his vision; perhaps the narrative would have been kinder to a person who was blind for the majority of their life, although I have a bad feeling that it (like many other fantasy novels) might have veered into "blind prophet" territory instead.  (Blind characters often seem to be pigeonholed into one of two categories: useless or mystical.) 

At any rate, while this is a good book and can teach readers a lot about fantasy and worldbuilding techniques, it makes me uncomfortable to imagine someone listening to it and hearing such casually ingrained ableist remarks.  Having a character willingly and temporarily blind himself makes for an interesting story certainly, and that in itself isn't bad; I just wish that the narrative seemed more aware of and avoided common ableist pitfalls.  

katmarhan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

9/10
A coming-of-age story complicated by mysterious “gifts” and clan politics. As in her Earthsea books, Le Guin explores deep themes under the guise of a seemingly simple and straightforward story.

lucyblack's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

How can a story be so wild and free but still cosy and close? Ursula Le Guin writes about riding a horse over empty hillsides and jumping into ice cold river water in one passage and about oat porridge and the details of a woven shawl in the next. Le Guin perfectly balances the details of this coming of age fantasy. Orrec is an only child of a clan leader and his foreign wife. He lives in a time that seems like our medieval age but in this world things run differently and some clans have magical powers. The family are close and the reader gets to know Orrec and his parents well, the mother is included and the details or her domesticity are not left out. Orrec and his best friend/ sweetheart Gry struggle with usual teenage issues and growing up as well as grappling with the fact they come from magical lineages and are heavy with the expectations of their clans. Gifts was a joy to read, sophisticated and thoughtful, it has the depth and sense of reading a much longer novel.

sb5435's review

3.0

I hadn't ever started the Annals of the Western Shore books because they came out a bit after my peak Ursula K. Le Guin reading period, but since I've recently re-read the Earthsea books I decided to give it a shot. It feels like Earthsea lite. I love Le Guin's writing style - I always feel the emptiness and beauty of the worlds she sets up, and this is no exception - the Uplands are described in a way to make you really imagine a cold, distant country.

But the story felt way too similar to A Wizard of Earthsea and I just didn't care much about the YA romance that the book was built around. Le Guin had much better books. I might come back to the series but I'd rather read [b:The Dispossessed|13651|The Dispossessed (Hainish Cycle, #6)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353467455l/13651._SY75_.jpg|2684122] again!

mitziatratum's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

anydream's review against another edition

emotional reflective

3.25