Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - The Left Hand of Darkness

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

29 reviews

angorarabbit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

TLDR: A bit challenging, it needs a closer reading than many first contact sci-fi novels, but is worth the effort for the ideas and the writing.

Clarketech: Mind speech, near light speed space travel, ftl communications, Chabe stoves, cryosleep or hibernation during space flights.

Context: I loved what had been published in the Earthsea series in the late 1970’s so tried to read this then. Sadly, my head was too full of wizards and dragons for me to appreciate this gem. I am sorry I didn’t rectify my error before now.

I did have difficulty getting into the novel. The book is written first person singular with short hearth-tales, interspersed for the first quarter of the novel. Then a second voice is added. You then go back and forth between povs with the only indication being the context of the chapter..

Ms LeGuin does not hold your hand introducing you to this new world. While my edition did have a few helpful footnotes and a Gethenian Calendar and Clock addendum; there are many words are in the native languages with little to no explanation as to what an earth translation might be. It took me awhile to understand that Estraven was writing in a journal and that the strange words were dates.

I have read that there is some controversy over the use of the pronoun he to describe the inhabitants of Gethen. Ms LeGuin has appologized for this. I would point out that he was used instead of they in the US in the 1960’s The author has also acknowledged and apologised for the presumption that all Gethens were heterosexual . So much of the novel being Genly’s report, I don’t think there is enough information to judge how the Gethens actually felt about orientation. I would agree that Genly does appear to be homophobic or perhaps in denial over his own orientation, especially in the middle chapters.

I also wondered at Genly’s statement that very few women were known as mathematicians, composers, or inventors. He seems to be at a loss when talking about women at all and seems to be uncomfortable with what he sees as feminine characteristics. It seemed that the Ekumen would have an equal division of labour on its ships. In fact the first Ekumen off the ship in the last chapter is identified as female. One would also think that their first contact on a planet would be more comfortable with any gender.

There are many thoughtful and beautiful passages in the book and it is a great starting point to discussing gender and orientation. I did not see any passages that would be problematic for a tween to read. I would like to get the collected Hainish Cycle and read the novels and stories in sequence, plus reread this book.

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teabrewer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.75

This book confuses me. Not because of the plot, but because I'm not sure if I liked it or not. The wirld building is well done and the concept of making the gender binary foreign is very interesting. To listen to this story through the words of Genly Ai, a average 1960's man despite being from a futuristic space travelling society, made it even more interesting. The book may not seem revolutionary, but that's because it revolutionized. I didn't get the critics about it being heteronormative, have you read the same book as I? Despite the Author herself regreting the decision, I think Genly Ai refering to all people from gethen as "he" makes sense to the society he came from. I didn't get the incest stuff though, and I have been, and will be, ignoring it. I'm not sure if I got the ending either

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keiusify's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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swrrlgrrl's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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tinyjude's review

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adventurous challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The first half of the book is a bit too slow for my taste and when she switched up perspectives suddenly from the protagonist to the secondary character, it was difficult to discern which one was narrating each part at first. I think, given the time it was written, late 60s, it is a brilliant sci-fi novel that dwells on the topic of gender and how the binary structure society constructed limits the human being. The discussions about gender, society, values, perception, sex, social roles, etc are all enthralling. Albeit my issues with the pace and some plot points that seemed to drag on for too long, I think it's an interesting read for those concerned with these topics and fans of sci-fi.

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luis_vieira's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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_david_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The worldbuilding is masterfully executed, revealing a rich and diverse world and culture within the confines of a relatively short book. The characters are captivating, and the narrative effectively captures the challenges of collaboration with a culture one doesn't fully comprehend and vice versa.

The book successfully presents multiple perspectives, with the main character questioning his own ideas and cultural norms after engaging with Winter's people. What stands out is how Winter and its countries aren't portrayed as utopias nor lesser places than earth. They're not good or bad, just different, with their own moral grey areas. Even the two countries that are shown in the book have big cultural differences. Eventhough gender is a significant theme and the first thing you'll likely learn when looking up the book, the core focus revolves around learning to respect and collaborate with another culture. The way gender is represented in the book is in a world that shows the what-if scenario of a society where gender (or sexuality) has no impact on people's role in it.

The only aspect I wish were different is that 'neutral' pronouns and other terms are male to the reader. Perhaps it highlights the flaws of the main character and his default way of thinking. But I still found it odd.

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renicula's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ford_defect's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.75

Le Guin’s writing is fantastic. I seek out sci-fi to get transported to other worlds, and man, can this woman worldbuild. I could easily picture Winter/Gethen despite it being so foreign. The effort put into the culture, politics, history, and characters is something one doesn't see often (and keeping a coherent storyline, too???). Even within the genre. It almost felt like reading an anthropology book about real people.

However, I was a little disappointed on how the relationship with the two main characters ended. I can only blame my friend who hyped this up as some kind of LGBT-adjacent romance, which it is and isn't simultaneously.

Still, this book has given me a lot to reflect on when it comes to our gendered, heteronormative society. It's something I'll certainly have to re-read in the future.

There were a couple things that rubbed me the wrong way, though. CW: incest, sexism, misogyny, transphobia

For one, incest is somewhat acceptable in Gethenian culture, which was certainly a choice. The main character also had inherently sexist views since he came from a gendered society and seemed to get uncomfortable when Gethenians displayed femininity. (Albeit, he does grow). Lastly, I found it a little problematic when they wrote about Gethenian procreation like they were animals mating instead of regular people having sex. It comes off as a little transphobic, but I do understand why it's there.

But overall, my discomfort didn't sour this book for me. The uncomfortable parts had their place in the story. It's still an amazing work that certainly deserves a spot in SF history.
4.75/5

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cdc95's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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