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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ursula K. Le Guin is, indisputably, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, but because she was a woman and because she wrote science fiction (and okay yes, what she writes is radical) we don't treat her like the groundbreaking scholar that she was. (If a man had written a book of such political and philosophical importance, had demonstrated such stunning mastery of writing, would we not be reading it alongside Dickens and Twain in our high school or college English classes?) This is only the second book by her that I've read, but her talent for envisioning and then creating absolutely a thought experiment that is so expansive yet understated is abundantly clear and awesome (as in like, the old use of the word). She is in no uncertain terms a genius - but a rare genius that welcomes others into the fold; she writes with a deftness and precision that transforms complex topics into something tractable. Her style is sparse and unadorned, yet teeming with humanity and emotion. You are swept away with dialogue that feels like you're listening to a debate among real people - among friends - and challenged, gently and firmly, to constantly revisit and revise your views on the world. She challenges you to be radical, and to hold on to hope. What a time in the world to have read this book.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wouldn’t recommend listening to the audiobook bc it was hard at times to follow everything since it’s science fiction.
The first thing I wanna say use that after finishing this book I felt the eager to read more sci-fi. It wasn't so fast paced at the beginning. And the world and characters with their strange names felt so confusing. But I got used to it. My main problem with other sci-fis that I had read before which were really high rated books too, was that although the world building was intriguing, but the plot wasn't my favorite. Like I felt incomplete about the story at it's ending. But this one was different. The plot was as good as the world building. Also my favorite thing about this book is it's protagonist. Shevek was a great protagonist, he didn't make dumb decisions, he was who he was, and his view towards the things was fascinating.
This book. It is not an easy read but it is unquestionably worth the struggle. I want to quote the whole book. UKL is an unpeered author, in any genre.
"His gentleness was uncompromising. Because he would not complete for dominance, he was indomitable."
--
"Do they expect students not to be anarchists? What else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up."
--
"You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere."
--
"You can’t crush ideas by suppressing them. You can only crush them by ignoring them. By refusing to think, refusing to change."
--
"We don’t want purity, but complexity, the relationship of cause and effect, means and end. Our model of the cosmos must be as inexhaustible as the cosmos. A complexity that includes not only duration but creation, not only being but becoming, not only geometry but ethics. It is not the answer we are after, but only how to ask the question. . . .”
"His gentleness was uncompromising. Because he would not complete for dominance, he was indomitable."
--
"Do they expect students not to be anarchists? What else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up."
--
"You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere."
--
"You can’t crush ideas by suppressing them. You can only crush them by ignoring them. By refusing to think, refusing to change."
--
"We don’t want purity, but complexity, the relationship of cause and effect, means and end. Our model of the cosmos must be as inexhaustible as the cosmos. A complexity that includes not only duration but creation, not only being but becoming, not only geometry but ethics. It is not the answer we are after, but only how to ask the question. . . .”
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Too political. Looking for more sci-fi focused.