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A review by mkhoffs
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
2.0
My last book of this year ended up being my most difficult to read as well as to rate.
I’ve never struggled THIS hard through a book and only began to get the hang of it with less than half the book remaining. It was so complicated and had incredibly dense world building to a point that I ended up using a chapter by chapter synopsis Reddit post to help me move along. The politics, the religions, the sciences, the lore, the social etiquette, the names of places/people, it was a LOT for the first entire HALF of the book, where I felt like nothing was happening along side of world building.
I’ve NEVER been so frustrated reading a book. If it wasn’t a a book club pick, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to persevere. I hate to say it was too smart for me, but it was a bit too smart for me.
That being said, the second half was a beautiful story: way more enjoyable and easy to digest. Overall, my low review relies heavily on the fact that I didn’t understand a lot of the concepts at the speed they were introduced and couldn’t stay focused. The discussions around gender were fascinating and truly revolutionary for the time it was written, for that reason alone I’m still so glad I read it.
I’m confident that if I am ever to reread this book in the future, I would enjoy it much more. That’s no fault of the author or the book itself, more so a personal objective of my own.
I’ve never struggled THIS hard through a book and only began to get the hang of it with less than half the book remaining. It was so complicated and had incredibly dense world building to a point that I ended up using a chapter by chapter synopsis Reddit post to help me move along. The politics, the religions, the sciences, the lore, the social etiquette, the names of places/people, it was a LOT for the first entire HALF of the book, where I felt like nothing was happening along side of world building.
I’ve NEVER been so frustrated reading a book. If it wasn’t a a book club pick, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to persevere. I hate to say it was too smart for me, but it was a bit too smart for me.
That being said, the second half was a beautiful story: way more enjoyable and easy to digest. Overall, my low review relies heavily on the fact that I didn’t understand a lot of the concepts at the speed they were introduced and couldn’t stay focused. The discussions around gender were fascinating and truly revolutionary for the time it was written, for that reason alone I’m still so glad I read it.
I’m confident that if I am ever to reread this book in the future, I would enjoy it much more. That’s no fault of the author or the book itself, more so a personal objective of my own.