Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Left Hand of Darkness

The positives:
I couldn’t put it down, it contains some wisdom and interesting philosophical thought, and it perfectly depicts the conflicts that arise between people with different ideas of politeness and social norms.

The negatives:
In the intro, Le Guin says that sci-fi tells us nothing about the future and a lot about the present. And this book, written in the 60s, is a great example of that. The narrator disdains women, and his notions about men and women are dated and grating. And even knowing that the content is reflective of the time, it is still displeasing to me to read of a future where very few women are mathematicians or abstract thinkers, and a man, when asked if women are mentally deficient, says, “I don’t know.” It’s a blocker for me; it detracts from the experience.

Additionally, the impact of a man trying to understand gender in an ambisexual society is completely undercut by the narrative using “he” pronouns for everyone; your brain reads “he” as “man”, in much the same way that the narrator reads the locals as men, which I’m sure is at least half the point, but completely dulls the effect.

Finally, the second half of the book contains an absurd number of descriptions of snow and ice that don’t really add anything to the experience.

Content Warnings

matteo_rio's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i love le guin’s intro to this book so much, i love sci-fi

fave quote: “it is a terrible thing, this kindness that human beings do not lose. terrible, because when we are finally naked in the dark and cold, it is all we have. we who are so rich, so full of strength, end up with that small change. we have nothing else to give.”

Content Warnings

ocheeva's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

subrosian's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.75

Content Warnings

maryellen's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

coolfijiwater's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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

4.0

Content Warnings

emilo's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

3.0

Content Warnings

blazingquill's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

This is an older book written in a classical science fiction style - which is to say, sometimes a slog to get through. In addition, while it takes several meaningful steps to deconstruct the gender binary, it does so in a way which is very accessible, and therefore doesn’t push as far at it perhaps could, as Le Guin herself commented on several times.

That being said, it’s a very profound look into the difference between things that are societally decided and things that are innately human, in a way that thoughtfully offers solutions to the world we currently live in rather than just pointing out the bad. (From what I understand, this is often a core tenant of Le Guin’s work, and makes me excited to read more.) At it’s core, despite the way it sometimes reads, it’s a story about friendship and love. The line, “I do not know if we were right,” inflicted psychic damage upon me, and just barely manages to push the heavy queer coding into explicitly queer.

If you have experience reading dense science fiction, and don’t mind it, I would highly recommend.

Content Warnings

More...