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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I think criticisms of the book's gender politics as outdated or essentialist do a disservice to the project of creating Genly Ai the Envoy/Researcher.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.
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I think criticisms of the book's gender politics as outdated or essentialist do a disservice to the project of creating Genly Ai the Envoy/Researcher.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.