Reviews

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

cvacz's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

prungojumpty's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad slow-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

“And I saw then again, and for good, what I had always been afraid to see, and had pretended not to see in him: that he was a woman as well as a man. Any need to explain the sources of that fear vanished with the fear; what I was left with was, at last, acceptance of him as he was. Until then I had rejected him, refused him his own reality. He had been quite right to say that he, the only person on Gethen who trusted me, was the only Gethenian I distrusted. For he was the only one who had entirely accepted me as a human being: who had liked me personally and given me entire personal loyalty, and who therefore had demanded of me an equal degree of recognition, of acceptance. I had not been willing to give it. I had been afraid to give it. I had not wanted to give my trust, my friendship to a man who was a woman, a woman who was a man.”

cait331's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.25

libellum_aphrodite's review against another edition

4.0

It took me a while to warm up to this book (first time only got a few pages in before due back to the library; second time didn't even open it before the due date; third time's the charm!), but flew once it clicked. I suspect the first part being full of Gethenian terms and bureaucratic shifgrethor (formal unspoken social rules of [indirect] interaction) creates a barrier between the world and the reader, a nice mirror of our protagonist Genly's experience.

I became hooked at the Handdarrata foretelling, as religious mythology proved a strong entry point to connect to Gethen, being generally prevalent in our Earth's cultures (plus the foretelling's specific parallels to real ancient practices). I fell in love with the story during Estraven and Genly's trek across the Gobrin ice sheet. It's probably more accurate to say I fell in love with Estraven, from his backstory to his dedication to Gethen joining to Ekumen.

The book's main claim to fame (seemingly the first mention in all articles about it) is the ambisexual Gethenians, who are sexually latent most of the time, with a monthly cycle of sexual receptiveness called kemmer. While I enjoyed that thought experiment, it ultimately didn't have much to do with my excitement about the book. The bridging of the cultural differences between Genly and Estraven was more important than the particular source of that difference, though conception of gender was definitely a good one.

maggs_brooks_'s review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

crowsherondale's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious 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? No

3.75

weeedoodle's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense 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

4.0

breatheforme's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense 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? Yes

3.5

hakimbriki's review against another edition

4.0

3.5

Ursula Le Guin's breathtaking descriptive style, imagination, and her ability to appeal to a wide array of emotions are unmatched in science fiction. The alien race in this book is fascinating and very atypical, in ways that will make you meditate on the binary concept of gender and the fluidity of identity, human connection, and culture shock. The antagonists are much less fleshed out than the heroes, and remain rather passive throughout the book.. which is a detriment to the experience as a whole. Nevertheless, The Left Hand of Darkness remains a very emotional and thought-provoking journey.

ginnyfrost's review against another edition

I couldn't make sense of the audiobook the names the places it's just all washed together