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A review by macloo
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
3.0
I thought I had read this years ago, but not a single thing in it seemed familiar, so I guess I was wrong. I was looking forward to a Le Guin masterpiece full of interesting characters and human relations, but I was disappointed. I found it slow going. It's well constructed, and really like a perfect clockworks in that the chapters alternate between (a) the time from when Shevek, the main character, arrives on Urras until he leaves, and (b) his life leading up to his leaving Anarres, the moon of Urras, where Shevek had spent his whole life. I like the book better looking back on it than I did while reading it.
Shevek is an okay character, a theoretical physicist born into a well-functioning socialist society that encompasses all of Anarres. It's not a utopia, as there are many hardships, but it's far from the twisted versions of socialism or communism that have existed in many Earth nations. The people of Anarres really own nothing, really do share resources, and there are no enclaves of rich assholes subverting the system. However, it's not perfect. Partly because of resources — the moon is a harsh place to live. But also because power still accrues, and this is how Shevek is more a symbol than a flesh-and-blood character with passion. The population is small. There aren't a ton of intellectuals or theoretical physicists. As a young man, Shevek is fortunate and gets chances to pursue his research, but he is controlled and reined in by an older man in a system every American academic will recognize. Shevek has opportunities befitting his talents, but they are curtailed by the ego and selfishness of his mentor.
Shevek's life on his home world includes a loving partner, whom he loves, and two children. Through them we experience the socialist system of child rearing and education, how housing works for couples and single people, and perhaps most moving, how a system of work assignments that benefits the greater good can cause suffering for two people with rare skills. There's no expectation that couples will stay together, and as a result, they might well be posted to jobs at a great distance from each other. This happened to Shevek when he was a child, and his mother apparently was fine with leaving her only child behind. Lucky for Shevek, his father was a loving parent and stayed in his life.
Some of the most interesting parts of the story, for me, were Shevek's observations of the very different capitalist culture of Urras after he goes there for an extended stay to pursue his research. He is continually struck by the plenty that the Urras people take for granted — water, food, clothing, furnishings, space. It's very different from a "poor boy meets rich people" angle because Shevek has come from a markedly different environment.
Overall I found the book slow going because it often seemed preachy to me, constantly drawing these contrasts between the two societies. This feels much more interesting to me looking back, but while I was reading, I often felt impatient with it.
This book won the Nebula, Hugo and Locus Awards.
.
Shevek is an okay character, a theoretical physicist born into a well-functioning socialist society that encompasses all of Anarres. It's not a utopia, as there are many hardships, but it's far from the twisted versions of socialism or communism that have existed in many Earth nations. The people of Anarres really own nothing, really do share resources, and there are no enclaves of rich assholes subverting the system. However, it's not perfect. Partly because of resources — the moon is a harsh place to live. But also because power still accrues, and this is how Shevek is more a symbol than a flesh-and-blood character with passion. The population is small. There aren't a ton of intellectuals or theoretical physicists. As a young man, Shevek is fortunate and gets chances to pursue his research, but he is controlled and reined in by an older man in a system every American academic will recognize. Shevek has opportunities befitting his talents, but they are curtailed by the ego and selfishness of his mentor.
Shevek's life on his home world includes a loving partner, whom he loves, and two children. Through them we experience the socialist system of child rearing and education, how housing works for couples and single people, and perhaps most moving, how a system of work assignments that benefits the greater good can cause suffering for two people with rare skills. There's no expectation that couples will stay together, and as a result, they might well be posted to jobs at a great distance from each other. This happened to Shevek when he was a child, and his mother apparently was fine with leaving her only child behind. Lucky for Shevek, his father was a loving parent and stayed in his life.
Some of the most interesting parts of the story, for me, were Shevek's observations of the very different capitalist culture of Urras after he goes there for an extended stay to pursue his research. He is continually struck by the plenty that the Urras people take for granted — water, food, clothing, furnishings, space. It's very different from a "poor boy meets rich people" angle because Shevek has come from a markedly different environment.
Overall I found the book slow going because it often seemed preachy to me, constantly drawing these contrasts between the two societies. This feels much more interesting to me looking back, but while I was reading, I often felt impatient with it.
This book won the Nebula, Hugo and Locus Awards.
.