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A review by isabellarobinson7
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
The Word for World is Forest is so expertly written, it should be the globally recognised template for novellas. You start of the story thinking one character is the good guy, but you end the story thinking the complete opposite. Le Guin, as always, is so brilliant at subverting expectations. This is one of the books I wish I had read while I was still at school, because I feel like dissecting every inch of it would only enhance the experience.
And yes, because it is an Ursula K. Le Guin book, we have to talk about her incredible quotes, of which this is the stand out:
The Word for World is Forest is so expertly written, it should be the globally recognised template for novellas. You start of the story thinking one character is the good guy, but you end the story thinking the complete opposite. Le Guin, as always, is so brilliant at subverting expectations. This is one of the books I wish I had read while I was still at school, because I feel like dissecting every inch of it would only enhance the experience.
And yes, because it is an Ursula K. Le Guin book, we have to talk about her incredible quotes, of which this is the stand out:
For if it's all the rest of us who were killed by the suicide, it's himself whom the murderer kills; only has to do it over, and over, and over.
I have read those lines so many times, and yet they still take me aback. I can only aspire to write like this some day.
But Le Guin is also a master of comedy. I will now be referring to all vegans and vegetarians as soybeansuckers. Thank you, Le Guin, for some more deep introspection and social commentary we can all appreciate.