In April we will reading Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin.
Please post your thoughts and opinions in this thread.
In April we will reading Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin.
Please post your thoughts and opinions in this thread.
~
"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
~
I would give it a 4.5, but I usually round up. The originality of the world and culture Le Gun creates is enough to warrant a high rating.
Ya, the novel has a pretty brilliant, yet simplistic, basic premise. What would a society without traditional binaries be like? The most obvious of those binaries absent from the people of Winter is the male/female gender binary. The second most prominent is the summer/winter one, since the planet is nearly always cold.
That's of course reflected in the title, Left Hand of Darkness, taking one half from two different binaries and putting them together
"If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
- Margaret Atwood
Sounds good. I'll have to see if I can get a copy.
I don't think I've read any Le Guin. I've heard some good things though.
Just started the novel. It's interesting how sci fi writers establish the setting. She uses a complex time reference which included 1490 - which immediately put me in mind of the 15th C - especially combined with the Henry VIII type figure of the King. I suppose it's important to establish some terms of reference.
The book is part of a series as well, which is probably why she makes a point of the year, but it's not really important to be aware of the other books and short stories that make up the Hainish Cycle.
"If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
- Margaret Atwood
Her original Earthsea trilogy is amazing. And short. There's a lesson in them that few other fantasy authors have learned: You don't need a couple thousand pages to build a world.Originally Posted by Paulclem
Do you think it helps in your imaginary conception of how the world appears? It's got a castle, and they all wear elaborate robes, and we've just had a procession with the King.
It's a winter world. Ideally it's one I'd like to read in Winter to get into the feel of it - you know - curl up in a cosy corner etc.
TLHoD is part of a series? I didn't know this. What else is part of the series, and is it worth reading?
It's a very loosely connected series, more of a shared universe. The premise being that an interplanetary civilization settled all these planets, then collapsed. Almost all the novels involve emissaries visiting the different planets during the reconstruction of a new interplanetary civilization. Like Genly in Left Hand of Darkness.
The other highly regarded stories in the series are The Dispossessed and the novella The Word for World is Forest. There are a few other novels in the series, but I haven't read them.
"If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
- Margaret Atwood
This could be where Iain M Banks got his inspiration for the culture novels which invlve the management of civilisations' technological ability through covert and overt means until they can join the culture or interact with it.
I am still waiting for my copy to be delivered by the library.
~
"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
~
I will start reading it today. As it was hard to get a printed copy, I've downloaded it to my PC
I'm cracking on with the book. It raises some very interesting points, but seems to conform to the sci-fi genre's pre-occupation with and commentry on present conditions - which is not a criticism. I'm thinking of the two societies on Winter.
Soooo, finally my copy has arrived apparently. Tomorrow I will go and pick it up from the library and start reading.
~
"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
~
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote