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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
A rare well-written sci-fi novel. Very believable. I'm interested in reading about LeGuin + feminism; there were multiple derogatory statements about women but I'm not sure if they were the author's perspective or the narrator's.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is more of a note/thought than a review, but something I found extremely interesting is that there were hardly any characters referenced to as women, but many who were referenced to as men. Despite this being set in a genderless society. Initially I found it odd, but the way Le Guin writes gender in this book quickly grew on me. It’s confusing and reluctant and noncommittal, and through that you get to experience how Genly Ai, the main character from a world with strong gender binaries, worked through and struggled with the full acknowledgment and acceptance of the fact that such a world can exist. Even as a person who is gender nonconforming, I found it challenging (in the best way) at times to understand the characters and to break the habit of casting them as men and women in my head. Reading this brings to the surface how deeply woven gender is into every aspect of our existence, for better worse, and offers an alternative set in the beautifully fierce world of Winter.
This book is good just for its commentary on gender alone, but it’s made even better through Le Guin’s world-building. Winter is a planet of cold, and Le Guin reminds the reader of that every step of the way. The languages spoken on the planet have extensive lexicons with dozens of words used exclusively to describe various forms of winter weather. Their summers max out at a sunny 30 degrees (Fahrenheit). The scriptures of their faiths speak of snow and winter’s darkness. There are no large nonhuman animals nor any that fly. In fact, even the human species itself is slightly smaller than those of earth. Beyond the culture of cold and snow, although that is a major component, Le Guin even built a new calendar, system of time, and as aforementioned, language. She could’ve easily just dropped her plot and commentary into an unrealistically similar civilization, as I’ve seen done in other books that mix sci fi and social studies, but Le Guin took the time to flesh out the details and convey them in a way that makes the reader want more.
And this is all without even mentioning the subtle but queer romantic subplot which is just <3 *chefs kiss* a lot left unspoken, but still pretty bold for being written in the 1950s/60s.
This book is good just for its commentary on gender alone, but it’s made even better through Le Guin’s world-building. Winter is a planet of cold, and Le Guin reminds the reader of that every step of the way. The languages spoken on the planet have extensive lexicons with dozens of words used exclusively to describe various forms of winter weather. Their summers max out at a sunny 30 degrees (Fahrenheit). The scriptures of their faiths speak of snow and winter’s darkness. There are no large nonhuman animals nor any that fly. In fact, even the human species itself is slightly smaller than those of earth. Beyond the culture of cold and snow, although that is a major component, Le Guin even built a new calendar, system of time, and as aforementioned, language. She could’ve easily just dropped her plot and commentary into an unrealistically similar civilization, as I’ve seen done in other books that mix sci fi and social studies, but Le Guin took the time to flesh out the details and convey them in a way that makes the reader want more.
And this is all without even mentioning the subtle but queer romantic subplot which is just <3 *chefs kiss* a lot left unspoken, but still pretty bold for being written in the 1950s/60s.
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Probably not the most appropriate book to read during a July heatwave, in hindsight...
- Spoiler Free Review -
This is such a hard book to rate because, if I'm being objective about it, I do think it was a good book. I just didn't enjoy it all that much as I was reading.
What's it about?
Genly Ai is an envoy to the planet Winter from the Ekumen - a league of eighty-something planets spread across the galaxy. His job is to bring the people of Winter into union with the Ekumen, but he is caught between the political manoeuvring of two rival factions and the cultural complications of a race of androgynous humans - male and female do not exist on Winter.
What did I like about it?
Ursula K Le Guin is a really remarkable writer. She has a very unique way with words and her prose is truly just beautiful to read. It's almost poetry in places.
There are also a lot of interesting ideas and concepts here: what would human society look like without clearly defined male and female? How do you go about bridging an interplanetary cultural divide? There are also some nice moments exploring crossing boundaries with friendship.
So why didn't I love it?
I'd say this was a very theme-heavy, rather than character focused, book - which could be a positive or a negative, depending on what you prefer. While there were some nice character moments in the second half, I just never ended up feeling much for any of the main characters. Because I didn't feel much for them, I found it a bit hard to care what happened to them, or whether they achieved their goals.
While I enjoyed some of the themes Le Guin chose, I felt like she didn't go all that deeply into some of the things I was most interested in, but would then spend a long time detailing other things I didn't much care about. Obviously, this is just personal preference, another reader could feel the total opposite.
I think I'd just sum up by saying I didn't hate my time with this book, and I think the right reader would really enjoy it, but I never felt excited to pick it up again and there were some patches that definitely felt like a bit of a chore to get through.
Overall: objectively, probably a good book. Just not one that clicked for me.
- Spoiler Free Review -
This is such a hard book to rate because, if I'm being objective about it, I do think it was a good book. I just didn't enjoy it all that much as I was reading.
What's it about?
Genly Ai is an envoy to the planet Winter from the Ekumen - a league of eighty-something planets spread across the galaxy. His job is to bring the people of Winter into union with the Ekumen, but he is caught between the political manoeuvring of two rival factions and the cultural complications of a race of androgynous humans - male and female do not exist on Winter.
What did I like about it?
Ursula K Le Guin is a really remarkable writer. She has a very unique way with words and her prose is truly just beautiful to read. It's almost poetry in places.
There are also a lot of interesting ideas and concepts here: what would human society look like without clearly defined male and female? How do you go about bridging an interplanetary cultural divide? There are also some nice moments exploring crossing boundaries with friendship.
So why didn't I love it?
I'd say this was a very theme-heavy, rather than character focused, book - which could be a positive or a negative, depending on what you prefer. While there were some nice character moments in the second half, I just never ended up feeling much for any of the main characters. Because I didn't feel much for them, I found it a bit hard to care what happened to them, or whether they achieved their goals.
While I enjoyed some of the themes Le Guin chose, I felt like she didn't go all that deeply into some of the things I was most interested in, but would then spend a long time detailing other things I didn't much care about. Obviously, this is just personal preference, another reader could feel the total opposite.
I think I'd just sum up by saying I didn't hate my time with this book, and I think the right reader would really enjoy it, but I never felt excited to pick it up again and there were some patches that definitely felt like a bit of a chore to get through.
Overall: objectively, probably a good book. Just not one that clicked for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated