Scan barcode
A review by kahell
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
5.0
To be whole is to be part;
true voyage is return.
Shevek is on a journey from his home planet of Anarres, a socialist anarchist settlement, to the mother planet Urras, a Paradise of late-stage capitalism. We follow him as he seeks to bridge the gap between the two worlds, isolated from each other as though they were not each other's moons. But to which world does the eponymous "ambiguous utopia" refer to? We never really get a direct answer, as Le Guin is not some daydreaming idealist. There is no denial of the reality of suffering, it all depends on what we - collectively as societies and of our own accord as individuals - are willing to put up with.
There's no doubt though, on my part, which is ideal, which freedoms I am willing to give up, which responsibilities I would be willing to take up.I am no anarchist, though I was once a socialist. And for a moment it really seemed an Anarres was possible–for us, right now. Though it'd be a bitter journey, for sure. It is not all milk and honey on Anarres.
What else can I say. Sometimes it truly feels as if Le Guin is writing for me, like the past decade of my life has lead up to read this book at this exact moment, my hands empty.
true voyage is return.
Shevek is on a journey from his home planet of Anarres, a socialist anarchist settlement, to the mother planet Urras, a Paradise of late-stage capitalism. We follow him as he seeks to bridge the gap between the two worlds, isolated from each other as though they were not each other's moons. But to which world does the eponymous "ambiguous utopia" refer to? We never really get a direct answer, as Le Guin is not some daydreaming idealist. There is no denial of the reality of suffering, it all depends on what we - collectively as societies and of our own accord as individuals - are willing to put up with.
There's no doubt though, on my part, which is ideal, which freedoms I am willing to give up, which responsibilities I would be willing to take up.
What else can I say. Sometimes it truly feels as if Le Guin is writing for me, like the past decade of my life has lead up to read this book at this exact moment, my hands empty.