Reviews

A Very Long Way From Anywhere Else by Ursula K. Le Guin

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blathering's review against another edition

4.0

I think this tiny novella has sat on a bookshelf and moved with me for decades. This evening it fell off the shelf and asked to be read.

I'm some ways it is very mid70s... A $3k new car! And in other ways it us timeless. How do we figure out who we are and how do we find our way in the world. 17 is a long way in my past but I can still remember being lost and LeGuin captures that beautifully.

sharpestlives's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

halfway through the novella, the main character/narrator, Owen, describes Thorn, the imaginary world he came up with when he was still a child. and while there were many emotional, painfully relatable moments throughout the story, it was this description that almost brought me to tears. I'm so glad I read this.

(the Italian edition is titled "Agata e pietra nera", agate and the black rock. as I went into this book without any prior knowledge, I expected Agata to be the name of one of the characters; I was delighted to find out it actually comes from one of the most memorable scenes -- "She gave me the black rock, and I gave her the agate.")

"Safety in numbers. I'm not me. I'm a basketball letter. I'm a popular kid. I'm my friend's friend. I'm a black leather growth on a Honda. I'm a member. I'm a teenager. You can't see me, all you can see is us. We're safe."

mandimsadler's review against another edition

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3.0

A sweet school age story. I enjoyed this brief book!

nicolesuzanne's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

smemmott's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

andreabatlleh's review against another edition

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3.0

im not a big fan of coming-of-age existential books but this was a nice read.

“We decided that it was no good asking what is the meaning of life, because life isn't an answer, life is the question, and you, yourself, are the answer”