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jjfragier13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.75
danilanglie's review against another edition
4.0
This is obviously as much a work of pure genius as Le Guin's other work; I'm giving it four stars instead of five because it didn't completely knock my socks off like The Left Hand of Darkness did.
I really enjoyed this book, it made me think deep thoughts and it didn't hand answers to me about the best path forward for humanity. It's an ambitious novel that's told in deft, gorgeous language, with tightly drawn characters and so many brilliant thematic moments tangled all up together.
This was published in the 1970s, and it's a good reminder for a modern reader that our most left-leaning liberal ideas of the day aren't contemporary inventions but in fact have deep roots. I was surprised by the casual fact of Shevek having sex with both men and women, and I shouldn't have been. I was surprised by the environmentalist message, and I shouldn't have been. There's a lot going on here that I wasn't expecting when the book first started out!
The big theme here concerns the experiment of Anarres, an anarchist utopia. I loved how the book explored the fact that while Anarres is quite different from Urras in the way that it play with power and influence and systems of government, nevertheless a system does crop up, and power becomes a currency, even against the very founding ideals of that world. The individualism vs. collective good aspect was developed so deftly here that I was learning to appreciate Shevek's argument alongside him, even as I saw how the outcome of his daring was going so poorly on Urras. The choice to alternate with flashback chapters was inspired, and didn't feel like it dragged the pacing down at all. It grounded the story in the stakes quite brilliantly.
One other note, just because I want to mention it for my own record here: the copy of the book I have was pretty heavy on the typos... just in my casual reading without trying, I found half a dozen typos, some of them pretty egregious, like a misspelling of Shevek's name on one of the book's final pages. So I thought that was odd.
In any case - I am of course so happy I read this, Le Guin continues to astonish me.
I really enjoyed this book, it made me think deep thoughts and it didn't hand answers to me about the best path forward for humanity. It's an ambitious novel that's told in deft, gorgeous language, with tightly drawn characters and so many brilliant thematic moments tangled all up together.
This was published in the 1970s, and it's a good reminder for a modern reader that our most left-leaning liberal ideas of the day aren't contemporary inventions but in fact have deep roots. I was surprised by the casual fact of Shevek having sex with both men and women, and I shouldn't have been. I was surprised by the environmentalist message, and I shouldn't have been. There's a lot going on here that I wasn't expecting when the book first started out!
The big theme here concerns the experiment of Anarres, an anarchist utopia. I loved how the book explored the fact that while Anarres is quite different from Urras in the way that it play with power and influence and systems of government, nevertheless a system does crop up, and power becomes a currency, even against the very founding ideals of that world. The individualism vs. collective good aspect was developed so deftly here that I was learning to appreciate Shevek's argument alongside him, even as I saw how the outcome of his daring was going so poorly on Urras. The choice to alternate with flashback chapters was inspired, and didn't feel like it dragged the pacing down at all. It grounded the story in the stakes quite brilliantly.
One other note, just because I want to mention it for my own record here: the copy of the book I have was pretty heavy on the typos... just in my casual reading without trying, I found half a dozen typos, some of them pretty egregious, like a misspelling of Shevek's name on one of the book's final pages. So I thought that was odd.
In any case - I am of course so happy I read this, Le Guin continues to astonish me.
tomleetang's review against another edition
3.0
I think I like Ursula K LeGuin more for her ideas and philosophy than I do her style, her world building and her characters. Nothing feels organic to me; all of the people, places and things are a function of her thought experiments. Whether it's the Hainish Cycle of Earthsea, she always poses interesting questions for me to chew over, but never anything with a soul that I could love.
But hey, that's just me, and I'm probably waffling.
But hey, that's just me, and I'm probably waffling.
drips's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
haven't made up my mind yet
jw101's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
chocolatybear's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
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
4.75
quinnwyr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
4.75
blueberrysubmarine's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Being my first Le Guin book, The Dispossessed struck me as an almost perfect sociological novel with some deep philosophical untertones. To me it's about rethinking our culture which is very much based on property and possession, by contrasting two very different societies. This is done without painting any of the societies only positively or negatively. Especially the reflections about love and relationships and also resistance I found incredibly eye-opening and moving. I couldn't quite believe that Le Guin published this in 1974 because it is so modern and ahead. And I love that it's not a simple utopian (or dystopian) novel - throughout the book it's never just black or white. The reason why it's not a full 5 star is because I felt like the characters remained a bit too pale, maybe unemotional for my taste and I think some more on the characters would've suited the story.
jconnuck's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
poiv8's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0