3.5
The Left Hand of Darkness
ByPublisher Description
50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION—WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.
Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities5035 Reviews
3.5
JM Bradley
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Bubz
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Sunshine
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“This book was my first Le Guin--my first sci fi--when I first read it when I was in high school, and it made me fall in love with Le Guin's writing and the sci fi genre more broadly. The way Le Guin builds worlds and politics in ways that are both intricate and lived, scientific but numinous is astounding. It is a phenomenal book by an incredible writer and thinker.”
Jes Hellon
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“I listened to the Audiobook for this. It was unclear about the changes in perspective, so I was confused much of the 2nd half. I appreciate that the book touched on important issues, that are still relevant today. It is a bot heartbreaking to realize that though.”
Josh Statly
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“3.5/5 - an enlightening experience
I've been tangentially aware of Ursula K. LeGuin's impact of the science-fiction genre for a long time. I can't look at my bookshelf (physical or digital) without catching the name of an author I love who cites LeGuin as an influence. I frequently walk the streets of downtown Grand Rapids, where she there is a small mural depicting her as an influential American woman.
I chose Left Hand of Darkness as my entry point for LeGuin's work due to a few booktok recommendations, and I have to say I agree with their description of this being something of a "founding text" for the modern sci-fi genre. I often joked with friends while reading that I felt I was "studying" more than reading the novel.
LHoD is theme and motiff heavy, primarily geared at the impact of gender stereotypes and misogyny on a society. Our protagonist, Genly, makes first contact on a planet called Gethen with an ambisexual race, and much of the book is contemplative on comparing Gethen to Earth. He is joined by a second POV character, Estraven, who holds a key focus on broadly defined patriotism, and is a point of frustration in communication between worlds. Dashed in are meditations on spirituality and scientific curiousity, difficulties in true communication between cultures, and comparisons of forms of government (bureaucracy vs monarchy).
The book is propelled by an excellent survival / nearly -romantic sequence between the two POV characters towards the end, and compelling mythos provided as excerpt chapters.
Undoubtedly, LeGuin's greatest strength in this book is creating a world and delivering it to the reader in a way that makes you feel as thought you've visited as well, and you've made the same comparisons to our society as Genly does to the Gethenians.
I resolve to read more from her, but must admit that I thoroughly enjoy the evolutions made in modern sci-fi when it comes to character work and pacing.”
About Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin was born in Berkeley, California, in 1929. She was the bestselling author of the Earthsea books and the Hainish books, including The Left Hand of Darkness, which was awarded both the Nebula and the Hugo Awards. With the awarding of the 1975 Hugo and Nebula Awards to The Dispossessed, she became the first author to win both awards twice for novels. She passed away in 2018.
Other books by Ursula K. Le Guin
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