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

3.0

This was a labor to read. While I am glad I read it, I do not recommend reading it. Hearing about the book is so much more interesting than reading the book itself. When I describe the world I think "Wow, I want to read that book!" but unfortunately this the book does not even try to fulfill the promise of the premise.

Le Guin's writing didn't pull me into the culture or the atmosphere like so many reviews said, instead I finally got pulled in around chapter 13 (of 22) by the action. The feminist credit given to this book requires careful examination to find, and if I hadn't had a book club to discuss the book with I would have likely missed.

Spoiler

In addition to all above, the main character/narrator is incompetent at his job and so obtuse it was difficult for me to read about him. I was told he was supposed to represent a misogynistic every-day man, but I just don't prefer to read about them.