The novel by Ursula K. LeGuin, of course. I saw it referred to recently and realized that I didn't remember anything but was sure I had read it. It turns out that I had read it more than once as my old paperback is quite battered. This story from over fifty years ago seems as if it could have been written with todays headlines in mind. My favorite of her Hainish universe books remains The Dispossessed, but anyone thinking about gender or the national political discourse on the meaning of patriotism will be intrigued by this book.
The Left Hand of Darkness
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Comments
Agree completely!
Ursula LeGuin was an amazing writer and thinker, and both the Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed are fantastic. Her better-known Earthsea series, while written in the epic style, bent the tropes in numerous ways. I was so sad when she passed away. Wasn’t all that long ago.
— Emma
The Left Hand of Darkness
It seems as if we have somewhat similar tastes in literature. I have my own hard bound copy of her book in a book case beside me. From my years with the Science Fiction Bookclub back in the day.
Blossom
I remeber the Sci-Fi book club
I had to quit the club because I ran out of room to store books. I eventually donated all but a few to a library. I now have a Nook and with the cloud storage there's no problem with room to store books.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
Science Fiction Book Club
I was in it for a long time -- joined in the mid-60s and I see that I have SFBC editions from the early 2000s. (Hadn't realized it had been that long. At some point they let members opt in rather than having to opt out, so I stayed on even after I stopped buying anything until they discontinued me.)
I have six shelves of books from them, plus a bin with around thirty more that I never got around to.
I bought Lathe of Heaven from them, but not LHoD.
Eric
Hit the Nostalgia Button!
I was a member of the Science Fiction Book Club for a couple critical years in my teens. It was fabulous, even if the bindings on their books were cheap cheap cheap! I remember that’s how I was introduced to the Foundation Trilogy, The Fountains of Paradise, The Chronicles of Amber, the Dragonriders of Pern (back before McCaffrey turned it into an eternal franchise) and even more obscure works like The Masters of Solitude. Stories that sank deep roots in my young brain that I trip over to this day. I had no idea, back then, just how amazing it was. I just thought that’s the way people wrote . . . and thought!
— Emma
A different taste
I was given a review copy of LHoD, and I couldn't get into it. I don't even remember why. Maybe I should dig it out and give it another shot. Seems to me she had another book out at about the same time, Book of the Duncow or something like that. That one didn't even make it to my bookshelves, but I remember keeping LHoD.
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
The book of the dun cow
That was a nice little anthropomorphic fantasy by an author named Wagnerin, I believe. It was a somewhat religious allegory without being heavy handed.
The Word for World is Forest
Yes, I agree -- The Left Hand of Darkness is worth reading and re-reading. What's amazing about it is that -- even though she picks up that idea of "how different the world would be if men could become pregnant" -- BUT it's not even the central feature or core of the book. She is amazing in the way she plays with what-the-story-is-about.
Two other, shorter works of hers also more recently blew me away: The Word for World is Forest and Changing Planes.
She has this way of floating the story on the surface, while "deep imponderables move in the depths" (as Henry James put it).
- iolanthe
I’ve got a little list . . .
And I’m going to have to add those short stories to it. I thought I had read all of her published works at one time or another, but I don’t recognize either title. BTW: Hi, Iolanthe! I hope you’re cooking up another great story. :)
— Emma
To those who liked LHoD...
... I would suggest reading also "Coming of Age in Karhide". It is a short story, and a very good one.