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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I want to be clear, the four stars are solely for the novelette, the rest of the book I could've done without.
The Wild Girls is a wonderful read and lives up to what a reader is expecting when they pick up writing by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's frank, honest, and absolutely heartbreaking. It confronts an oft-hushed aspect of fantasy but through the eyes of the young women abused.
The essays are nothing to write home about, they're interesting enough ideas with a few thought-provoking lines here and there, and a healthy amount of pomp. If you haven't encountered essays on publishing/literature capitalism or gender roles, it's worth reading. I could recommend tens of better essays on the same topics but these are not bad.
I don't care for Ursula K. Le Guin's poetry, but it's par for the course, just depends on whether you like it or not.
The interview is hilarious, she truly elevates it with the wit she always has.
I'd pick up the book if I were you and will be re-reading The Wild Girls again, but maybe skip the rest.
The Wild Girls is a wonderful read and lives up to what a reader is expecting when they pick up writing by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's frank, honest, and absolutely heartbreaking. It confronts an oft-hushed aspect of fantasy but through the eyes of the young women abused.
The essays are nothing to write home about, they're interesting enough ideas with a few thought-provoking lines here and there, and a healthy amount of pomp. If you haven't encountered essays on publishing/literature capitalism or gender roles, it's worth reading. I could recommend tens of better essays on the same topics but these are not bad.
I don't care for Ursula K. Le Guin's poetry, but it's par for the course, just depends on whether you like it or not.
The interview is hilarious, she truly elevates it with the wit she always has.
I'd pick up the book if I were you and will be re-reading The Wild Girls again, but maybe skip the rest.
I found the story to be a bit too depressing for my taste, but it was well written. The rest - essays, poems, the interview - was great.
This is a short collection of work by LeGuin.
“Wild Girls,” the title story, follows two nomadic girls captured as slaves as they maneuver the caste system of their new city. Genre-wise, it’s less a fantasy story and more of a fable. There’s nothing fantastical or surprising about the oppression that the girls go through and how they feel empowered to react to it.
The essays include a critique of the the publishing industry and capitalism’s obsession with growth in general, and support for the classic definition of modesty. The overall message being that not everything is a commodity to be promoted and cashed in on, especially good art.
But honestly it felt like the publisher, PM Press, had the opportunity to get some of LeGuin’s material and wanted to cram in as much as possible. The few poems are nice but don’t add much, and the interview feels like mostly filler, with dead-end questions and answers left in to add to the page count. But the story and essays make up for this.
“Wild Girls,” the title story, follows two nomadic girls captured as slaves as they maneuver the caste system of their new city. Genre-wise, it’s less a fantasy story and more of a fable. There’s nothing fantastical or surprising about the oppression that the girls go through and how they feel empowered to react to it.
The essays include a critique of the the publishing industry and capitalism’s obsession with growth in general, and support for the classic definition of modesty. The overall message being that not everything is a commodity to be promoted and cashed in on, especially good art.
But honestly it felt like the publisher, PM Press, had the opportunity to get some of LeGuin’s material and wanted to cram in as much as possible. The few poems are nice but don’t add much, and the interview feels like mostly filler, with dead-end questions and answers left in to add to the page count. But the story and essays make up for this.
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
**The Wild Girls** by *Ursula K. Le Guin* contains a short story/novelly named like the book, two essays, a couple of poems, and an interview with the author. I liked the short story well enough, but it was like the remainder of the book: agreeable but inconsequential. The essays held opinions I liked, without anything actionable, and the interview showed a person I liked, but nothing more than that.
El cuarto (edit: quinto!) libro que leo de la serie Outspoken Authors, y el mejor. Si bien la entrevista es algo inconexa, ambos ensayos, y por sobre todo el cuento principal, The wild girls, son superlativos. Solo Le Guin genera mundos tan extranjeros y familiares a la vez.
The actual short story in this volume, The Wild Girls, was lovely, and makes me want to read more of Le Guin's work (surprisingly, this is actually the first thing of hers that I've read!). She had an excellent economy of phrasing; from world building to climax to end took a mere 54 pages. The civilization she created was quite vibrant. I'm looking forward to more of her sci-fi
The volume also includes 2 essays, some short poems, and an interview with her. The essays included were more frustrating to me; they seemed to espouse a "wasn't everything better back when..." attitude to the topics they discussed–reading and the concept of modesty–that never fails to frustrate me, particularly when the pieces themselves are extremely well-written. The poetry was lovely, but not overwhelmingly interesting. The interview held up the image of her I had gotten from the essays: that of an irascible elder stateswoman.
Bottom line - I will probably not seek out any further non-fiction of hers, but am definitely interested in finding more of her sci-fi!
The volume also includes 2 essays, some short poems, and an interview with her. The essays included were more frustrating to me; they seemed to espouse a "wasn't everything better back when..." attitude to the topics they discussed–reading and the concept of modesty–that never fails to frustrate me, particularly when the pieces themselves are extremely well-written. The poetry was lovely, but not overwhelmingly interesting. The interview held up the image of her I had gotten from the essays: that of an irascible elder stateswoman.
Bottom line - I will probably not seek out any further non-fiction of hers, but am definitely interested in finding more of her sci-fi!
A strange book, repackaged, reimagined with a hilarious interview at the end an essay about modesty -- honestly, each of the parts was great and was vintage LeGuin, but the sum is confusing -- felt like a grab bag that didn't hold together.
Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes