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A review by sambora
The Day Before the Revolution by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
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.