3 member(s) found this review helpful.
If you thought Sci-Fi is only about the future..., February 25, 2006
Reviewer: L. Kravitz "Reader/Thinker" (Israel)
It's long been known that since the advent of science fiction, man kind's greatest inventions were foretold in books and stories. In recent decades the focus of this genre has shifted from technology to sociology and psychology. This book, though published more than 30 years ago, is a prime example of how relevant this kind of writing is to our lives today. Even more importantly, with corporation-led globalization, and the protest and antagonism that it breeds, the lessons of this book are becoming more important by the day. The boundary between Utopia and Distopia is never clear (especially in LeGuin's writings), and this story serves to emphasize the differences between a couple of tracks we as a race may choose to follow. Never unbiased, LeGuin takes a strong moral stand, and brings some convincing arguments toward her case. Still, this is a very enjoyable read, but take care- it will make you think more than you might want to.
Reviewer: L. Kravitz "Reader/Thinker" (Israel)
It's long been known that since the advent of science fiction, man kind's greatest inventions were foretold in books and stories. In recent decades the focus of this genre has shifted from technology to sociology and psychology. This book, though published more than 30 years ago, is a prime example of how relevant this kind of writing is to our lives today. Even more importantly, with corporation-led globalization, and the protest and antagonism that it breeds, the lessons of this book are becoming more important by the day. The boundary between Utopia and Distopia is never clear (especially in LeGuin's writings), and this story serves to emphasize the differences between a couple of tracks we as a race may choose to follow. Never unbiased, LeGuin takes a strong moral stand, and brings some convincing arguments toward her case. Still, this is a very enjoyable read, but take care- it will make you think more than you might want to.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
The Dispossessed was about twin planets--one rich in natural resources, and the other possessing a harsh climate and some minerals. Revolutionaries from the rich planet had colonized the poorer one, and at the outset of the novel had been there 150 years or so. Their social experiment was in the main successful, though like revolutions in the author's present, the anarchists had conflict over fostering talent and difference in a society that depended for justice on the enforcement of social approval. The protagonist, Shevek, is an unusual person, a genius, in a society that is about equality. The book follows his struggles to figure out his place.
LeGuin published The Dispossessed, which is apparently part of the same universe as The Left Hand of Darkness, in 1974. I am also reading some of her later books, and it's clear that she better able later in her career to express ideas in the context of the plot, without having to plant long speeches in her character's mouths. On the other hand, in 1974 she was still in the process of feeling her way toward a new political position, and that is very exciting to witness. I was 8 in 1974 and I remember in a vague way some of the political realities that shaped this book.
The Hainish series, of which The Dispossed is one novel, is not one I read in order. I read The Left Hand of Darkness first, which was the fourth she published, and The Telling, the last book in the cycle to date. I think they each stand up well to being read out of the context of the series.
LeGuin published The Dispossessed, which is apparently part of the same universe as The Left Hand of Darkness, in 1974. I am also reading some of her later books, and it's clear that she better able later in her career to express ideas in the context of the plot, without having to plant long speeches in her character's mouths. On the other hand, in 1974 she was still in the process of feeling her way toward a new political position, and that is very exciting to witness. I was 8 in 1974 and I remember in a vague way some of the political realities that shaped this book.
The Hainish series, of which The Dispossed is one novel, is not one I read in order. I read The Left Hand of Darkness first, which was the fourth she published, and The Telling, the last book in the cycle to date. I think they each stand up well to being read out of the context of the series.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. he will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change."
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
The author for this book is Ursula K. LeGuin.