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juushikaTitle: The Left Hand of Darkness
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Published: New York: Ace, 2000 (1969)
Page Count: 304
Total Page Count: 36,093
Text Number: 103
Read For: my own enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Genly Ai is a human, sent as an ambassador to an alien world called Winter, so called because it exists in an extended ice age. The inhabitants of Winter are also human, but they are neuter hermaphrodites, living in neither gender for most of the time, and assuming either gender when in estrus. Genly Ai must bridge the gap of culture and gender in order to bring Winter and its inhabitants into the growing galactic civilization. Writing with thoughtful detail about her characters, life on Winter, and issues of culture shock, politics, and gender, Le Guin’s text is skillful, thought-provoking, and readable despite the various and difficult contents. This is a science fiction classic, and while I don’t consider it a personal favorite, I do recommend it.
The strength of this text is Le Guin’s skillful grasp of the realism and detail of her fictional alien planet and species. The inhabitants of Winter may be human, but there are significant details between the humans that the readers are familiar with, embodied in the character of Genly, and the alien residents. The primary difference is the issue of gender, which is a large focus of the book—so much so that this focus feels blatant at times. The narrator’s sexism is also somewhat dated, making the focus on gender all the more clunky and exaggerated. On the whole, however, the issue of gender and how it defines both the individual and human interactions, is relevant, dynamic, and addressed from many angles, including that of the realistically biased narrator and the sensitive author.
The habitant and life on Winter also makes up a significant section of the text, and Le Guin approaches this in incredible, realistic detail—enough to tell a gritty extended story but, thankfully, never enough to bore the reader. This is a thin line to tread on, and Le Guin does so with skill and grace. While not the most alien of alien cultures, Winter and its inhabitants are skillfully rendered and open up a new, wide world to the reader.
All this lauding aside, I didn’t find this to be an exceptional or memorable text. I suspect that this may simply be a matter of personal preference: I enjoyed reading this book and appreciate the author’s skill in writing it, but I can’t imagine rereading it, nor did I find it memorable. I just wasn’t particularly taken with plot, character, or story. However, I do recommend it. Your taste may not be mine, so you may find this text more interesting than I did; even if you don’t, the book remains skillful and important, and is a science fiction staple. I recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Published: New York: Ace, 2000 (1969)
Page Count: 304
Total Page Count: 36,093
Text Number: 103
Read For: my own enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Genly Ai is a human, sent as an ambassador to an alien world called Winter, so called because it exists in an extended ice age. The inhabitants of Winter are also human, but they are neuter hermaphrodites, living in neither gender for most of the time, and assuming either gender when in estrus. Genly Ai must bridge the gap of culture and gender in order to bring Winter and its inhabitants into the growing galactic civilization. Writing with thoughtful detail about her characters, life on Winter, and issues of culture shock, politics, and gender, Le Guin’s text is skillful, thought-provoking, and readable despite the various and difficult contents. This is a science fiction classic, and while I don’t consider it a personal favorite, I do recommend it.
The strength of this text is Le Guin’s skillful grasp of the realism and detail of her fictional alien planet and species. The inhabitants of Winter may be human, but there are significant details between the humans that the readers are familiar with, embodied in the character of Genly, and the alien residents. The primary difference is the issue of gender, which is a large focus of the book—so much so that this focus feels blatant at times. The narrator’s sexism is also somewhat dated, making the focus on gender all the more clunky and exaggerated. On the whole, however, the issue of gender and how it defines both the individual and human interactions, is relevant, dynamic, and addressed from many angles, including that of the realistically biased narrator and the sensitive author.
The habitant and life on Winter also makes up a significant section of the text, and Le Guin approaches this in incredible, realistic detail—enough to tell a gritty extended story but, thankfully, never enough to bore the reader. This is a thin line to tread on, and Le Guin does so with skill and grace. While not the most alien of alien cultures, Winter and its inhabitants are skillfully rendered and open up a new, wide world to the reader.
All this lauding aside, I didn’t find this to be an exceptional or memorable text. I suspect that this may simply be a matter of personal preference: I enjoyed reading this book and appreciate the author’s skill in writing it, but I can’t imagine rereading it, nor did I find it memorable. I just wasn’t particularly taken with plot, character, or story. However, I do recommend it. Your taste may not be mine, so you may find this text more interesting than I did; even if you don’t, the book remains skillful and important, and is a science fiction staple. I recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
