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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-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:
Complicated
God-level. Actually legendary. Deeply wise???? In a bunch of mundane ways, though. Haven't processed the big message of the book yet and I don't think that's the most important thing I'll get from it.
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a better version of Animal Farm and I don't mean that as a compliment. The job of revolutionary artists is to make revolution irresistible. We're constantly bombarded with propaganda telling us that communism can't work. Why should anyone interested in making communism a reality put any effort into muddying how liberating communism will be for humanity?
I recognize that telling an engaging story about a utopian society is challenging and arguably impossible. Thankfully those of us who want an end to capitalism don't need a fully fleshed out idea of how that world will look. Maybe a story about the successful struggle to create the world of Anarres would have allowed Le Guin to explore the concepts of collectivism and the abolition of class society without a protagonist disillusioned by the relative paradise their people eventually build.
There are a lot of ideas in this book that I really like. I'm surprised something like this would even get published in the 1970s and I do think we're better off for it. I'm sure some people are going to read this book and for the first time seriously consider that we can have a functioning society without money, landlords, prisons, heteronomativity, etc. I just wish it would also leave those readers with an even more optimistic perspective on how life would be for people on Anarres.
Finally, I just flat out disagree with the book's framing of free will under communism. A healthy society should in fact do everything it can to minimize if not eliminate opportunities for individuals to undermine the needs of collective. The social pressure that people on Anarres feel to do what's morally correct even when it conflicts with a person's individual desires is something I wish we had today. The portrayal of this as something negative in their culture is even funnier when you consider that there's no mechanism for organized violence to enforce these rules like you would find in a typical state. The book is all "Oh no people who do bad things might feel shame and be ostracized by their peers" as if there's anything wrong with that.
I recognize that telling an engaging story about a utopian society is challenging and arguably impossible. Thankfully those of us who want an end to capitalism don't need a fully fleshed out idea of how that world will look. Maybe a story about the successful struggle to create the world of Anarres would have allowed Le Guin to explore the concepts of collectivism and the abolition of class society without a protagonist disillusioned by the relative paradise their people eventually build.
There are a lot of ideas in this book that I really like. I'm surprised something like this would even get published in the 1970s and I do think we're better off for it. I'm sure some people are going to read this book and for the first time seriously consider that we can have a functioning society without money, landlords, prisons, heteronomativity, etc. I just wish it would also leave those readers with an even more optimistic perspective on how life would be for people on Anarres.
Spoiler
Finally, I just flat out disagree with the book's framing of free will under communism. A healthy society should in fact do everything it can to minimize if not eliminate opportunities for individuals to undermine the needs of collective. The social pressure that people on Anarres feel to do what's morally correct even when it conflicts with a person's individual desires is something I wish we had today. The portrayal of this as something negative in their culture is even funnier when you consider that there's no mechanism for organized violence to enforce these rules like you would find in a typical state. The book is all "Oh no people who do bad things might feel shame and be ostracized by their peers" as if there's anything wrong with that.
dark
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
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced