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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I’ve really been enjoying Ursula K Le Guin’s work lately. Overall I found this one very fresh and thought provoking. George was really not what I expected from the synopsis and I thought his characterization was very interesting. I liked seeing his very honest and genuine affection for Heather, though at times it felt a bit underdeveloped. I also found the exploration of what “benevolent intentions” would mean for someone like Dr. Haber interesting.
Still, the book could be a bit stilted and awkward at times, some moments dragged on a bit, and it could be a tad on-the-nose at times. However, some of those on-the-nose bits I enjoyed—the directness and simplicity of them came across as earnestness.
Thematically speaking, I do think it suffers a bit from the natural passage of time though—some in broader ways, some in minor ways. I wouldn’t say this significantly affected my enjoyment or rating of the book, as I do think part of the interest in reading older works is having a window into the thoughts and worldview of the past. Plus, this is a risk that all sci-fi novels about the “future” carry once they age to the point that the original “future” setting (2002 here) is now in the past. But it did make it slightly more difficult for me to take one of the plot points seriously, and some of her made up throw-away references to foreign politics, while mostly minor anecdotes, sometimes took me out of the story or even rubbed me the wrong way.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
"Sapeva che quando si nega ciò che si è, si finisce con l'essere posseduti da ciò che non si è: dalle coazioni, le fantasie, i terrori che accorrono a colmare il vuoto. "
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
Interesting plot and premise. Intriguing and distinct characters. The last 50 pages were a bit confusing (past the basic plot). Overall rating, 3/5 stars. Would probably not recommend to others based on my own personal confusion on what happened.
Recommended to me by John Beaver. I’d never read anything by LeGuin. He mentioned it because it’s set in Portland. Reading it as the US continues its descent into madness, confusing book and news like the dream-shifting reality of the novel.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
