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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
the concept of this book is what stood out to me most. it’s so inventive and playful and that reads through the whole book. as with most short story collections, they were hit and miss, but the hits definitely made up for the misses. i’m really interested in what this book has to say about tourism culture in general, the americanness of travel and the cultural self centredness of the implied american-as-earthling. my favourites were probably the introduction and the first story about genetic modification, the one about sleeplessness, and the one about the untranslatable language.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A delightful, comprehensive collection of short stories about other planes of existence. You'd think a collection of what are basically the author's throwaway worldbuilding ideas would get boring, but the stories are shaped variously and there are enough evocative question marks and parallels to grasp the attention.
adventurous
slow-paced
Porridge on Islac: ★★★★★
The Silence of the Asonu: ★★★★★
Feeling at Home with the Hennebet: ★★★★
The Ire of the Veski: ★★★★
Seasons of the Ansarac: ★★★★★
Social Dreaming of the Frin: ★★★★★
The Royals of Hegn: ★★★★
Woeful Tales from Mahigul: ★★★★
Great Joy: ★★★★
Wake Island: ★★★★
The Nma Mmoy Language: ★★★
The Building: ★★★★
The Fliers of Gy: ★★★★
The Island of the Immortals: ★★★★★
Confusions of Uni: ★★★.5
The Silence of the Asonu: ★★★★★
Feeling at Home with the Hennebet: ★★★★
The Ire of the Veski: ★★★★
Seasons of the Ansarac: ★★★★★
Social Dreaming of the Frin: ★★★★★
The Royals of Hegn: ★★★★
Woeful Tales from Mahigul: ★★★★
Great Joy: ★★★★
Wake Island: ★★★★
The Nma Mmoy Language: ★★★
The Building: ★★★★
The Fliers of Gy: ★★★★
The Island of the Immortals: ★★★★★
Confusions of Uni: ★★★.5
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
"Many people would have to hang by their teeth from a frayed cord suspended by a paper clip from a leaking hot air balloon over the Grand Canyon in order to feel what I feel standing on the third step of a stepladder trying to put millet in the bird feeder."
Very masterful world building by Ursula Le Guin, whose imagination was a gift to this world. Some worlds were more interesting than others, but overall, I found this book extremely compelling and spellbinding. Amazing ideas, intriguing concepts, and a lot of humor as well. The only flaw, if I put my nitpicking cap on, is the utter lack of character development. This reads more like an encyclopedia, as opposed to a traditional novel.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced