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

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

UKLG is a master storyteller. This story is utterly unique in that one cannot take any of the people in it out of it, and one cannot put someone else back into it. It’s fanfiction-resistant, and that causes me glee. I love the ways that Handdara and Yomeshta philosophies underwrite fables, folktales, and the substance of the actual story. I love that the book starts when Genly says he will tell us a story and that the book ends when Therem’s son asks Genly for a story.

I don’t like that UKLG does not examine, in the book itself, the fact that Genly is supposedly an envoy from an enlightened, civilized confederation sent to bring a primitive universe—geographically remote, sexually singular, and meteorologically cold/desolate/unforgiving—into its fold. I especially find it puzzling that she does not delve into this clusterfuck when the story she writes concerns itself with jingoism and Machiavellian governance. I know that there are other books and short stories set in the same world, though, so I am waiting to read them all before I make any strong conclusions based on my feelings.
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