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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
A charming and innovative collection of short stories, perfect for casual or repeated reading. LeGuin's anthropological focus has never been so graceful or poised.
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I bought this book at a fair because i liked the greek cover a lot and it was leguin. I skipped through a couple of the stories that really felt too blatantly like hought experiments and in general i wasn't that much into the worldbuilding thought experiment setting of the book. I did though lenjoy a couple of the dimensions, namely the migratory beak people one, the people who were bred without sleep, some aspects of the society with the branching language , and the people with wings. But generally it didn't click much with me.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny yet tense account of inter dimensional travel
Le Guin is so creative. This is a collection of stories from worlds that contain diverse human-like beings. It presents a lot of interesting thought experiments.
In one of my favorite stories, one in a thousand "people" develop wings in adolescence. The wings come with drawbacks though. First, it's a terribly painful, long growing process. Second, many fliers die from unexplainable wing failure. Lastly, the large wings literally get in the way of normal life. Wings are often seen as a handicap. So some "people" with wings choose to bind them and never fly. Others choose flying over everything else. I like pondering what I would do if I had wings and had to choose between those two extreme choices in this world. I still don't know my answer.
In one of my favorite stories, one in a thousand "people" develop wings in adolescence. The wings come with drawbacks though. First, it's a terribly painful, long growing process. Second, many fliers die from unexplainable wing failure. Lastly, the large wings literally get in the way of normal life. Wings are often seen as a handicap. So some "people" with wings choose to bind them and never fly. Others choose flying over everything else. I like pondering what I would do if I had wings and had to choose between those two extreme choices in this world. I still don't know my answer.
A very good collection of short stories based around a theme. I take most of them to be satirical.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Dreamy introspections coated in imagination. Very much like invisible cities. Moves very slowly.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
The best part about this collection of loosely-related stories is captured by the pun in its title, reflecting the overall conceit that the unique combination of boredom and frustration experienced by a person waiting at the airport can enable travel to a different astral plane. And as an ethnographic travelogue of alien worlds, the book is evocative and wildly inventive, but there's almost no plot even within individual planes. It's basically just a placid stroll through the multiverse, which is nice but not particularly fulfilling.