You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Besides the never-ending winter, the most remarkable aspect of the planet is the people. As Ai notes, they are neither men nor women, but at the same time, both men and women. The people of Winter can switch gender, but in doing so, don't discard the other gender. It's fluid, both unified and disparate, and Ai has a hard time wrapping his mind around it, and thus accepting the people as more than anomalies. But the residents find Ai perverse, too. They can't imagine being constantly in one state of being.
Sci-fi isn't a genre I typically gravitate towards, as the focus is usually on world building and less on character development. Sure, there can be both, but the characters tend to be flatter - authors relying instead on the unique worlds they create to captivate readers. Winter's world was interesting, but not to the point where I felt fully immersed. The characters didn't compel me strongly, either.
What I found most compelling were the philosophies behind the plot - the relationship and essentiality of both light and dark, as well as the deep, almost painful desire we have to connect with others and know, really truly know, that we are not alone.
Sci-fi isn't a genre I typically gravitate towards, as the focus is usually on world building and less on character development. Sure, there can be both, but the characters tend to be flatter - authors relying instead on the unique worlds they create to captivate readers. Winter's world was interesting, but not to the point where I felt fully immersed. The characters didn't compel me strongly, either.
What I found most compelling were the philosophies behind the plot - the relationship and essentiality of both light and dark, as well as the deep, almost painful desire we have to connect with others and know, really truly know, that we are not alone.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Initially I found this frustrating and a bit dull, but later came to appreciate the detail and confusing invented language of the first section as effectively putting us in the perspective of Genly experiencing this new, unfamiliar world. I loved the whole journey across the ice and the relationship developing between Genly and Estraven. I wonder if this had been written nowadays a homoerotic relationship would/could have been explored more. I’m conflicted about Le Guin’s use of androgynous characters as for me they still presented as very masculine (similar to the notion even today that often ‘gender neutral’ is more masculine presenting) but perhaps this was from Genly’s understanding of their androgyny and his struggling to accept it.
adventurous
reflective
tense
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:
Complicated
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot was incomprehensible to me but I enjoyed the exploration of gender and sex in society.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Truly excellent. A gripping, complex and insightful work that challenges the roles of sex and gender in a society that ultimately has no need to distinguish them. A remarkable achievement for a book published in the late 60s. The world feels lived in despite my not understanding some of the terms, and the makes no effort to hold the reader’s hand.
Definitely a book I will have to reread.
Definitely a book I will have to reread.