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timmoydaen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
smithjasont01's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
"Alone, I cannot change your world. But I can be changed by it."
A new world is identified to invited into the Ekumen, a confederation of planets inhabited by humionds. Genly Ai is sent alone as an envoy to this icy world to persuade the various counties. The Gethenian's, while human, are physically quite different from Genly the Terrain. For all but a few days out of each month, they are physically and biologically androgynous. However, for a few days each month they enter a reproductive state taking on either a male or female state depending on who they are with at the time.
This makes Genly an outsider in more ways than just being an alien. He is taken aback by more than just their sexual habits. While having cars they have no mode of air travel or rocketry, they don't engage in large scale wars, and other quirks. Before he can talk to the monarch of one realm his only defender on the planet is forced into exile. Genly is then forced to wander and learn what it takes to convince these people to join them.
There is so much to take in throughout this novel, from Le Guin flipping the stereotypical sci-fi protagonist trope on its head with him being a heterosexual on a planet of gender fluid humans, the power dynamics and cultural dynamics or lack there of that this sexuality brings about. We see aspects of the cold war as one of the nations on the planet is a full bureaucracy akin to what a Soviet was supposed to be before power corruption. She asks questions like is war a gendered concept if we were all even and genders didn't have differences, would we have war? Or if we weren't constantly being driven sexually would we have wars?
For a book written in 1969 she broke huge ground with the concepts in this one.
A new world is identified to invited into the Ekumen, a confederation of planets inhabited by humionds. Genly Ai is sent alone as an envoy to this icy world to persuade the various counties. The Gethenian's, while human, are physically quite different from Genly the Terrain. For all but a few days out of each month, they are physically and biologically androgynous. However, for a few days each month they enter a reproductive state taking on either a male or female state depending on who they are with at the time.
This makes Genly an outsider in more ways than just being an alien. He is taken aback by more than just their sexual habits. While having cars they have no mode of air travel or rocketry, they don't engage in large scale wars, and other quirks. Before he can talk to the monarch of one realm his only defender on the planet is forced into exile. Genly is then forced to wander and learn what it takes to convince these people to join them.
There is so much to take in throughout this novel, from Le Guin flipping the stereotypical sci-fi protagonist trope on its head with him being a heterosexual on a planet of gender fluid humans, the power dynamics and cultural dynamics or lack there of that this sexuality brings about. We see aspects of the cold war as one of the nations on the planet is a full bureaucracy akin to what a Soviet was supposed to be before power corruption. She asks questions like is war a gendered concept if we were all even and genders didn't have differences, would we have war? Or if we weren't constantly being driven sexually would we have wars?
For a book written in 1969 she broke huge ground with the concepts in this one.
nekoshka's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
elizabethrad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
luckylikesreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
Fascinating world building
haircurtains's review against another edition
“A profound love between two people involves, after all, the power and chance of doing profound hurt.”
mameti's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
itsme_hi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
simonipatel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
starcrossedstacks's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly think this book came to me at a bad time, and I plan on rereading it in the future.
This Sci-Fi book by one of my favorite Sci-Fi authors, Ursula K. Le Guin, is of course a masterclass in the genre. It heavily covers the topics of androgyny, sexuality, nationalism, propaganda, oppression, and hunger for power.
The story follows Genly, who at his core is an extremely flawed narrator who has obvious wrestles with sexism, among other issues. This I think is what made getting through this book hard for me at the moment, though was done artfully. As a traveler from another planet, even surrounded by completely androgynous individuals he struggles to not always see the "woman" in those around him, and often is put off when he does. The commentary here was well done, and in certain instances, it is heartbreaking to watch him hurt those around him because of these biases.
While this is a large theme, the political themes here hit home as well. From hatred taking over radio stations to blatant lies that can easily destroy the honor-bound people of this planet, you see the ugly of power-hungry nationalists and those around them.
As with any of Le Guin's writings, I highly recommend reading this. For me, I think The Dispossessed hit me harder in many ways, and would recommend that above this novel unless these themes are super interesting to you!
For me, this book goes back on the shelf until I am ready to wrestle with it and the themes in it a bit deeper and more intimately.
Quotes:
“It is a terrible thing, this kindess that human beings do not lose. Terrible, because when we are finally naked in the dark and cold, it is all we have. We who are so rich, so full of strength, we end up with that small change. We have nothing else to give. ”
“No, I don't mean love, when I say patriotism. I mean fear. The fear of the other. And its expressions are political, not poetical: hate, rivalry, aggression.”
“But it doesn't take a thousand men to open a door, my lord."
"It might to keep it open.”
⭐⭐⭐.5 /5
This Sci-Fi book by one of my favorite Sci-Fi authors, Ursula K. Le Guin, is of course a masterclass in the genre. It heavily covers the topics of androgyny, sexuality, nationalism, propaganda, oppression, and hunger for power.
The story follows Genly, who at his core is an extremely flawed narrator who has obvious wrestles with sexism, among other issues. This I think is what made getting through this book hard for me at the moment, though was done artfully. As a traveler from another planet, even surrounded by completely androgynous individuals he struggles to not always see the "woman" in those around him, and often is put off when he does. The commentary here was well done, and in certain instances, it is heartbreaking to watch him hurt those around him because of these biases.
While this is a large theme, the political themes here hit home as well. From hatred taking over radio stations to blatant lies that can easily destroy the honor-bound people of this planet, you see the ugly of power-hungry nationalists and those around them.
As with any of Le Guin's writings, I highly recommend reading this. For me, I think The Dispossessed hit me harder in many ways, and would recommend that above this novel unless these themes are super interesting to you!
For me, this book goes back on the shelf until I am ready to wrestle with it and the themes in it a bit deeper and more intimately.
Quotes:
“It is a terrible thing, this kindess that human beings do not lose. Terrible, because when we are finally naked in the dark and cold, it is all we have. We who are so rich, so full of strength, we end up with that small change. We have nothing else to give. ”
“No, I don't mean love, when I say patriotism. I mean fear. The fear of the other. And its expressions are political, not poetical: hate, rivalry, aggression.”
“But it doesn't take a thousand men to open a door, my lord."
"It might to keep it open.”
⭐⭐⭐.5 /5