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

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There’s a lot to unpack in this book. LeGuin tackles politics, discrimination, and the gender binary throughout the novel. All of the alien Gethenians in the book are addressed with he/him pronouns, but I don’t actually see that as a huge issue considering this book was written in 1969. I think if it was published today, the Gethenians would have been referred to with gender-neutral pronouns. It was funny to read “The king was pregnant.” The book is beautifully written and the descriptions of scenery make this fictional world feel real and even cozy at times, but there’s also a lot of other things that are missing. What I found strange was the way families in Gethen were handled. There was not that much about what Gethenian kids are like, and the parents in the only established family in the book were estranged. I also feel like the author threw in
incest as an acceptable part of Gethenian society, even between siblings
for extra squick. It seemed so unnecessary to me. The relationship
between Genly and Estraven was kind of reductive, since Estraven presented as a woman when Genly realized his feelings
but I guess it was a good way to have Genly deal with his biases. I’m still not over that ending.
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