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

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The sort of 5 star read that makes me wonder if my other 5 stars are truly 5 stars. Incredible, incredible book.

Le Guin writes with such texture and attention that not only do you totally follow every gesture she makes but you see how every sci-fi author since has been trying to gesture as effortlessly stylishly as her. Genly is perhaps the single most understandable flawed narrator in fiction, and Estraven slowly reveals himself as a character who stands alone simply through narrative voice.

I think criticisms of the book's gender politics as outdated or essentialist do a disservice to the project of creating Genly Ai the Envoy/Researcher. I think the book approaches its most underratedly interesting moments when thinking about nation states: no other story has made me bristle so much about the latent hate-ability of "equality of opportunity" style politics. I think for a book written in 1969 it manages to avoid the worst of Cold War allegory.

Incredible. Love it. Long live Ursula K Le Guin.