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teabrewer's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Slavery, Sexism, Misogyny, and Classism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: War, Incest, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Transphobia
keiusify's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Slavery, Miscarriage, Incest, and Xenophobia
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really disliked this, unfortunately. I give it two stars because o can see why it was an important feminist science fiction novel in 1969. I can see how the exploration of gender, region and loyalty is important.
That being said, I found this to be extremely dry and boring during time where it should have felt tense. The pacing was slow, and that’s not something i usually enjoy in a book. I could not connect with the characters or enjoy their faults.
I also really did not like that it specifically envisioned a world where everyone is ambisexual AND then instead of being progressive about it, they also state that sibling incest is common and not forbidden. It had other potential issues that could have been called out with the Kenner system, but it was odd and felt … gross for no reason.
That being said, I found this to be extremely dry and boring during time where it should have felt tense. The pacing was slow, and that’s not something i usually enjoy in a book. I could not connect with the characters or enjoy their faults.
I also really did not like that it specifically envisioned a world where everyone is ambisexual AND then instead of being progressive about it, they also state that sibling incest is common and not forbidden. It had other potential issues that could have been called out with the Kenner system, but it was odd and felt … gross for no reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Suicide and Incest
Minor: Sexism and Pregnancy
acemummerz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Deportation, Death, Gun violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Violence, Torture, Child death, Pregnancy, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Suicide, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Incest
brassmonkey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Incest
Moderate: Grief and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny
tinyjude's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Miscarriage
theelbowparade227's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
5.0
this book was so very "killing myself to change the trajectory of your lives"....what i mean by that is that it did emotionally destroy me and also it changed my brain chemistry. 20/10 amen, incredibly well constructed
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Suicide, and Trafficking
Minor: Incest
amorphousbl0b's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Incest and Suicide
Minor: Sexism
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
I read "The Left Hand of Darkness" in 2018 and didn't really get it. Yeah, I got the subversion of man-as-default, but I didn't get some of the deeper considerations Le Guin was going for regarding societies that previously did not know war and totalitarian systems that don't match one-for-one to our earthly systems. I also found Genly and Estraven's trip over the icefield monotonous - but after four years of serious mountaineering pursuits, it's anything but that, and Le Guin masterfully captured the sheer stress of being on the run for one's lives while also underneath the beauty of the stars. I'm tempted to argue that the gender fiction aspect falls prey to TVTropes' "Seinfeld is Unfunny" given how much has progressed in half a century (like the he/him pronoun aspect not being as radical), but the fact it still makes me think shows it's relevant 25 years into the new millennium. Masterful book, and a good example of "the worst criticism I have is that it could be longer"... and the ending felt a little saccharine, losing the conceit of it being a report. But still!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, and Death
Moderate: Incest, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death, War, Pregnancy, and Sexism
luis_vieira's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Death
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Pregnancy and Incest