A review by abrswf
Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin

5.0

I love and miss Ursula LeGuin. This is a playful book, written around the premise that it might be possible to “travel” to other worlds instead of staying staked in place in airport waiting lounges between airplanes. That’s why the title of this book is a pun. Every chapter is essentially a summary of a possible other world, and they are all interesting enough that I wish LeGuin had lived long enough to develop a book around each. As usual, this book shows how ahead of her time LeGuin was in sensitivity to gender fluidity, environmental destruction, and similar modern themes, and as usual, it is beautifully written. It is more satirical and laugh out loud funny at times than more serious entries in her oeuvre, but that’s part of its charm. This is a great book to take along for those. . . . endless airport waits when “changing planes.”