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A review by miak2
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
“The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next.” p.70
The Left Hand of Darkness is consistently listed by the internets as one of the best science fiction books and I can certainly see why. Contrary to many modern sci-fis, which are action-packed to the brim, this book is much more introspective. It moves at a slower pace, but never so slow that it became uninteresting. Admittedly, it took me a little bit to get into. As with any other fantasy or sci-fi book, there's a great deal of worldbuilding to do (and here in just about 300 pages), and it can be hard to follow a plot as you're trying to understand new terms like shifgrethor or kemmering . But for me, personally, the early discussions of politics and gender held my interest until the plot picked up.
I thought it was fascinating for much of the story to be told from Genly Ai's perspective, a human not unlike us who's still adjusting to the world of Gethen. And in more ways than one, he certainly struggles with their sexual fluidity, but also with their customs and norms. (And also with the casual -40 degree temperatures, oof). What Le Guin did really well was create not one new world, but multiple, and made clear distinctions between the ways of Karhide and the ways of Orgoreyn.
But let me get into the discussion of gender, because that was the book's primary purpose. Honestly, coming into this book, I expected this discussion to be more heavy-handed. There are certainly a few times where Le Guin takes the time to write out how lack of sexuality (and therefore gender norms and expectations) distinguishes Gethen/Winter from Terran/Earth ( chapter 7, if you're curious ). However, a lot more of her commentary was very subtle, such as when Ai wonders whether his companion's precise rationing of food should be interpreted as "house-wifely or scientific" p. 242. Like Ai, it was difficult for me to keep in mind that, while there is sexuality during kemmer, there is no gender on Gethen, despite the use of the male pronouns to describe everyone he encountered. We see this lack of gender play out in some very subtle ways, which I won't get into in order to avoid spoiling anything of the book.
Tl;dr, sex and gender are different and this book is a great exploration/explanation of that.
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Sexism and Death