A review by mitskacir
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

4.0

This book was slow to start - political intrigue is not my jam in almost any story. However, my attention was grabbed early on by the chapters of folk lore. They are unusual, disturbing, and don't always make sense, which instills them with the strong sense that they are from a culture alien to the reader. The second half of the story is what really made me love the book, which dives into the friendship between Genly and Estraven during an epic arctic trek for survival. Overall, I'm not sure how strongly the big themes and deeper meanings resonated with me - I think partly because the central tenant of gender fluidity and sexual homogeneity was a bit pedestrian to me as a reader in 2020, perhaps particularly because male pronouns and personalities were still the default. Themes of duality and wholeness were explored through gender as well as government, folklore, and religion.