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applescruff1981's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
sraev19's review against another edition
3.0
If I had read [b:Gulliver's Travels|16102452|Gulliver's Travels|Jonathon Swift|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1350926376s/16102452.jpg|21913167], I would probably be able to tell you that Changing Planes is very similar in style and content. Since I have not read Gulliver’s Travels, and only know that it is a novel my fiction workshop professor detested but recommended to me in a heartbeat for its ethnographic style, I will hazard to say that Changing Planes is similar to Gulliver’s Travels.
Each chapter takes the reader into an alternate plane of existence inhabited by creatures not so dissimilar to humans. The chapters are short – only a few are longer than twenty pages – but illuminate each alternate plane with colourful images and vivid details so that every chapter becomes a story unto itself. Well, the seeds for a mighty story waiting to be watered, bathed in sunlight, and let blossom.
Although the book jacket describes the protagonist, Sita, discovering the method of changing planes and then encountering cultures and “exotic landscapes whose denizens are fundamentally human,” there is ultimately no plot to the novel. Instead, Changing Planes is a collection of beautiful ideas. The narrator of each chapter, sometimes Sita, sometimes her nameless friend or another plane traveller, is a curious and observant guide who explores the histories, peoples, cultures, and customs of the planes with the patient acumen of an anthropologist. And the planes are fascinating: extreme bioengineering to the point that one woman’s DNA is part corn; the restricted Holiday Plane where its inhabitants were coerced to make the ultimate holiday travel destination; the natural, random ability of flight is a crippling disability to be feared; and so on.
You will be disappointed if you read Changing Planes expecting a typical storyline following a set of characters overcoming obstacles leading to the final climax. The novel does not deliver the ‘normal’ reading experience – and for that, and the book jacket’s misleading copy, I detracted some rating points. Changing Planes does, however, deliver the imaginative seeds of ideas. Be sure to bring your watering can and sun hat.
Each chapter takes the reader into an alternate plane of existence inhabited by creatures not so dissimilar to humans. The chapters are short – only a few are longer than twenty pages – but illuminate each alternate plane with colourful images and vivid details so that every chapter becomes a story unto itself. Well, the seeds for a mighty story waiting to be watered, bathed in sunlight, and let blossom.
Although the book jacket describes the protagonist, Sita, discovering the method of changing planes and then encountering cultures and “exotic landscapes whose denizens are fundamentally human,” there is ultimately no plot to the novel. Instead, Changing Planes is a collection of beautiful ideas. The narrator of each chapter, sometimes Sita, sometimes her nameless friend or another plane traveller, is a curious and observant guide who explores the histories, peoples, cultures, and customs of the planes with the patient acumen of an anthropologist. And the planes are fascinating: extreme bioengineering to the point that one woman’s DNA is part corn; the restricted Holiday Plane where its inhabitants were coerced to make the ultimate holiday travel destination; the natural, random ability of flight is a crippling disability to be feared; and so on.
You will be disappointed if you read Changing Planes expecting a typical storyline following a set of characters overcoming obstacles leading to the final climax. The novel does not deliver the ‘normal’ reading experience – and for that, and the book jacket’s misleading copy, I detracted some rating points. Changing Planes does, however, deliver the imaginative seeds of ideas. Be sure to bring your watering can and sun hat.
reb321's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
idajoh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
As always I love Le Guin. And this must be one of my favorites, although I didn't know what to expect going into it.
It was filled with social critique (and probably critiques of some sci-fi authors that I didn't recognize). This was immensely creepy, and most of it came down to the values in our own society. Some stories were on the other hand heartwarming.
It was filled with social critique (and probably critiques of some sci-fi authors that I didn't recognize). This was immensely creepy, and most of it came down to the values in our own society. Some stories were on the other hand heartwarming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
bmarkslash7's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The main focus of the books are the planes and what they say about our own plane.
chickpeagal's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
aseasoninseason's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the setup of describing different fictional societies as if they were real. I was less interested in the connective interplanary agency. The insular worldbuilding of different chapters was engaging with some being better than others, but how people interact with different planes felt inconsistent. The inclusion of the interplanary agency led me to question "how do people who travel have money if they're traveling mentally," "how is the great joy company able to transport physical items for their themes islands," etc. I think being vaguer about travel methods and/or reducing travel to a smaller demographic would have been more beneficial.
indrabindra's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5