Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
reflective
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
I have a hard time assigning a rating to this book, as it feels so singular. I'm amazed by Le Guin's way with world building, that makes it feel infinitely more vast than we could ever fathom in a single book. I found myself feeling quite alien and unsettled as I read the first half of the story, the world and it's people feeling strange, but I found as Genly begins to embrace the humanity of the Other, I too felt more at home in the story. The attention to detail was stunning, the insights about humanity striking and stark and shocking. I generally prefer books that lean more emotional, and I found the anthrolopological tone to make me feel distant from the story at first. But I found that I warmed to it as the story went on, and there were surprising moments of feeling that arose. All in all, an incredible read.
adventurous
emotional
slow-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
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
A very profound book, which definitely needs to be read more than once to fully appreciate (though it definitely is not hard to get into, even for someone mostly unfamiliar with science fiction).
I loved the social commentary on gender & sex, the ambiguity of Genly's and Estraven's relationship and how this progressed, as well as the subtle expressions of the immigrant experience, through Genly's curiosity and continuous struggle to understand Gethenian society & culture and his feeling of being a stranger among his own people when he is reunited with them.
There is so much more within this book that I have not included, but for that you will need to read the book yourself!
I loved the social commentary on gender & sex, the ambiguity of Genly's and Estraven's relationship and how this progressed, as well as the subtle expressions of the immigrant experience, through Genly's curiosity and continuous struggle to understand Gethenian society & culture and his feeling of being a stranger among his own people when he is reunited with them.
There is so much more within this book that I have not included, but for that you will need to read the book yourself!
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated