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A review by ldasoqi
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An absolutely stunning read, this is a classic in the SF canon for a reason. I continue to be shocked by how much I love these old SF classics, I know that they're considered all-time-greats for a reason but for me reading is believing, and I am really glad to have read this!
For anyone that's unaware of the Hanish Cycle, this is one of Le Guin's most famous collections of stories. The Hanish Cycle stories focus on various types/species of humans (including our Terran variety) who have established unique civilizations on planets scattered around neighboring stars. In this universe, the origins of man are tied to the Hanish, an ancient species of humans who seeded these planets with life far in the past (take that, Genesis!). As these civilizations evolve, they begin to explore the stars and interact with their new-found neighbors. Each of these books is simultaneously an SF romp and a sociological/anthropological reflection of our social issues here on earth.
This Novella (and I hesitate to call this a Novella because it's right at the cusp of being a full length novel) takes us to the planet of Athshe and the Terran military logging colony of New Tahiti. Athshe is a planet of forests and oceans, home to the Athsheans, a race of short green-furred people who populate the forests and live in a fairly primitive society. Now I'm sure you're thinking to yourself: "oh, a Terran military colony and a population of "primitive" locals? I know where this is going." Yeah, this is not a happy story, the Terran colonists have nothing nice planned for the Athsheans, and almost as soon as they land they conscript the locals as slave labor.
Forest was an important read for me this year. I really didn't expect this story to hit me so strongly, but given the course of recent world events, I could not help establishing such a deep connection with the Athshean plight. As a Palestinian, the current height of the conflict in Gaza is something that's been pressing on me whether I am conscious of it or not, and the portrayal of the coke-classic form of colonialism in this book managed to tap into that angst. As I read this, the news blared loud about the man-made famine that has begun in Gaza, about Israeli protestors stopping the flow of aid trucks while chanting for the extermination of the Palestinian people. Within that context, the descriptions of the colonialist mindset, the purposeful dehumanization of the Athsheans, the ineffective intervention by outside parties, and the chapters from Davidson's (Read: Cl. Kurtz) perspective, truly disgusted me and took my personal connection with this work to the next level.
This book was originally written for a 1972 SF anthology. History buffs will no doubt note that this is around the time of peak anti-Vietnam sentiment here in the states, the year of George McGovern's campaign which promised "immediate-withdrawal from Vietnam" and a year in advance of the Paris Peace accords. This was written post Kent State shooting, post Mai Lai massacre, and the content of the book is telling of that fact. If you've read Heart of Darkness or have seen Apocalypse Now (1979) then you know exactly what kind of statement this book is trying to make.
I think an issue that crops up for modern readers of this novella is just how similar it is to many other popular stories that were published afterward. This precedes Apocalypse Now by 7 years, but the thematic overlap is startling when you consider that Heart of Darkness is not credited as an influence by Le Guin. I think the main comparison that gets thrown around is the Avatar (2009) one, and yeah, Avatar is nearly a carbon copy of this book, just with tall and blue aliens. I'd throw an accusation of plagiarism James Cameron's way, but honestly I thought he ripped off Dances with Wolves before I even read this book, so maybe there was some parallel thinking at work. There's one key difference between this and Avatar (not counting the color of the locals) and that's that as a textual work Forest is not neutered by censors and studio influence and that unfiltered edge made a huge difference on just how impactful this was to me (and likely to other readers).
All-in-all, this is a classic for a reason. If you liked Avatar, well good news: This is like Rated-R Avatar, without the CGI, or platitudes, or the bloated runtime.
For anyone that's unaware of the Hanish Cycle, this is one of Le Guin's most famous collections of stories. The Hanish Cycle stories focus on various types/species of humans (including our Terran variety) who have established unique civilizations on planets scattered around neighboring stars. In this universe, the origins of man are tied to the Hanish, an ancient species of humans who seeded these planets with life far in the past (take that, Genesis!). As these civilizations evolve, they begin to explore the stars and interact with their new-found neighbors. Each of these books is simultaneously an SF romp and a sociological/anthropological reflection of our social issues here on earth.
This Novella (and I hesitate to call this a Novella because it's right at the cusp of being a full length novel) takes us to the planet of Athshe and the Terran military logging colony of New Tahiti. Athshe is a planet of forests and oceans, home to the Athsheans, a race of short green-furred people who populate the forests and live in a fairly primitive society. Now I'm sure you're thinking to yourself: "oh, a Terran military colony and a population of "primitive" locals? I know where this is going." Yeah, this is not a happy story, the Terran colonists have nothing nice planned for the Athsheans, and almost as soon as they land they conscript the locals as slave labor.
Forest was an important read for me this year. I really didn't expect this story to hit me so strongly, but given the course of recent world events, I could not help establishing such a deep connection with the Athshean plight. As a Palestinian, the current height of the conflict in Gaza is something that's been pressing on me whether I am conscious of it or not, and the portrayal of the coke-classic form of colonialism in this book managed to tap into that angst. As I read this, the news blared loud about the man-made famine that has begun in Gaza, about Israeli protestors stopping the flow of aid trucks while chanting for the extermination of the Palestinian people. Within that context, the descriptions of the colonialist mindset, the purposeful dehumanization of the Athsheans, the ineffective intervention by outside parties, and the chapters from Davidson's (Read: Cl. Kurtz) perspective, truly disgusted me and took my personal connection with this work to the next level.
This book was originally written for a 1972 SF anthology. History buffs will no doubt note that this is around the time of peak anti-Vietnam sentiment here in the states, the year of George McGovern's campaign which promised "immediate-withdrawal from Vietnam" and a year in advance of the Paris Peace accords. This was written post Kent State shooting, post Mai Lai massacre, and the content of the book is telling of that fact. If you've read Heart of Darkness or have seen Apocalypse Now (1979) then you know exactly what kind of statement this book is trying to make.
I think an issue that crops up for modern readers of this novella is just how similar it is to many other popular stories that were published afterward. This precedes Apocalypse Now by 7 years, but the thematic overlap is startling when you consider that Heart of Darkness is not credited as an influence by Le Guin. I think the main comparison that gets thrown around is the Avatar (2009) one, and yeah, Avatar is nearly a carbon copy of this book, just with tall and blue aliens. I'd throw an accusation of plagiarism James Cameron's way, but honestly I thought he ripped off Dances with Wolves before I even read this book, so maybe there was some parallel thinking at work. There's one key difference between this and Avatar (not counting the color of the locals) and that's that as a textual work Forest is not neutered by censors and studio influence and that unfiltered edge made a huge difference on just how impactful this was to me (and likely to other readers).
All-in-all, this is a classic for a reason. If you liked Avatar, well good news: This is like Rated-R Avatar, without the CGI, or platitudes, or the bloated runtime.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Rape