A review by corabookworm
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

adventurous challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I only gave this book such a low rating because I think it was written for people smarter than I am. It was genuinely interesting, with good commentary on politics, society, gender, power, humanity, etc. etc.. But I was completely lost for the first half of it. All the politics and worldbuilding were super hard to follow, especially with the complex writing style. And at points it felt like it just wandered down weird tangents and storylines that didn't really matter. But the last half of the book went by much faster, and I liked it a lot. The action picked up and everything twisted back together into a more concrete plot. The Left Hand of Darkness is half-story, half-field journal from a guy in an alien world. It was a challenging read, but if you're willing to dedicate time and energy to consuming it, an intriguing one.

I liked when they became friends at the end! It was so cute! And then he died! What the heck!! I was very sad.