The Left Hand of Darkness: 50th Anniversary Edition
Description
Price: $10.99 - $6.56 (as of Jul 27, 2024 21:32:07 UTC – Details)
By: Ursula K. Le Guin (Author)
50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION—WITH A NEW…
Reviews
Nickolas Landry –
I came for the cool sci-fi premise, I stayed for the beautiful tale
When talking about this book, many will start with “It’s about a cold planet of snow & ice called Winter populated by a race of androgynous humans without a set gender.”But it’s so much more than this. Yes, it’s sci-fi, but not your traditional space opera. It does feature a galaxy spanning human race across 80-some worlds, but this story is told from the perspective of the Envoy, a single man sent to Gethen (Winter) to negotiate and invite nations there into the Ekumen, the alliance of human worlds. There is a greater universe out there, but the story is not about that.It’s slower paced, with extensive descriptions of a fascinating world. It’s a deep dive into a society driven by living in the cold and without set genders, and how this affects their psychology, sociological development, politics, human interactions, conversation, relationships, love, family, generations, courting rituals, industrialization, traditions, legends, and so much more. Le Guin masterfully creates here not one, but multiple political cultures, showcasing the differences on Gethen between living in a Monarchy vs a Bureaucratic (Communist?) Commensality.But beyond that, it’s a story of struggle and love, love between two friends, two aliens, two kindred spirits brought together by circumstances, a growing mutual respect, betrayal, setbacks, adversity, and devotion. It’s a beautiful story that has aged incredibly well despite the five decades since it was written, which is rare for sci-fi.The Audible narration by George Guidall was great, like a story told by a kind and caring grandfather, who changes the voices just enough to make a difference, but without theatrics. It worked, and there is respect for the text in his performance.
Jorge Torres –
 Como el resto de los libros que he pedido de esta colección, llegó perfecto sin ningun detalle.Encaja muy bien en el librero con el resto de los libros de SciFi y la historia ni se diga, casi me hace chillar.
Renato Barbieri Junior –
Ursula K LeGuin is one of the greatest among the likes of Philip K Dick, Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asymov… I remember seeing the film Avatar and how much it reminded me of “The Word for World is Forest”, another touching work from LeGuin. With “The Left Hand of Darkness” LeGuin opens our hearts and minds about pressing themes like gender, love, loyalty. Great works stay with us much longer after the last page. This one will stay with me forever.
Anna B. –
This book is still very well readable at its age. I also found the foreword by the author very interesting, giving an additional context.
This is a first contact novel where the aliens are a long-abandoned subspecies of genetically modified humans who are biologically gender fluid. It’s about trying to overcome our own prejudices about gender and sex and coming to understand the other. The envoy, or the representative of the interplanetary Ekumen is trying to open relations with the planet Gethen, but this is not the typical white man’s burden story. In fact the protagonist’s skin is very dark and the empire is more about the exchange of goods and ideas than colonialism. Although the Ekumen are quite enlightened, the protagonist, Genly Ai, has many sexists and ethnocentric beliefs and views the people of Gethen as strangely as they view him.The first part of the novel has the kind of in-depth world building we have seen from authors such as Tolkien, but built with Le Guine’s unique incite into what it means to be human. The second half focuses more on the two main characters and we get to appreciate their depth and growth while embarking on exciting and dangerous adventures.
Nickolas Landry –
I came for the cool sci-fi premise, I stayed for the beautiful tale
When talking about this book, many will start with “It’s about a cold planet of snow & ice called Winter populated by a race of androgynous humans without a set gender.”But it’s so much more than this. Yes, it’s sci-fi, but not your traditional space opera. It does feature a galaxy spanning human race across 80-some worlds, but this story is told from the perspective of the Envoy, a single man sent to Gethen (Winter) to negotiate and invite nations there into the Ekumen, the alliance of human worlds. There is a greater universe out there, but the story is not about that.It’s slower paced, with extensive descriptions of a fascinating world. It’s a deep dive into a society driven by living in the cold and without set genders, and how this affects their psychology, sociological development, politics, human interactions, conversation, relationships, love, family, generations, courting rituals, industrialization, traditions, legends, and so much more. Le Guin masterfully creates here not one, but multiple political cultures, showcasing the differences on Gethen between living in a Monarchy vs a Bureaucratic (Communist?) Commensality.But beyond that, it’s a story of struggle and love, love between two friends, two aliens, two kindred spirits brought together by circumstances, a growing mutual respect, betrayal, setbacks, adversity, and devotion. It’s a beautiful story that has aged incredibly well despite the five decades since it was written, which is rare for sci-fi.The Audible narration by George Guidall was great, like a story told by a kind and caring grandfather, who changes the voices just enough to make a difference, but without theatrics. It worked, and there is respect for the text in his performance.
Jorge Torres –
 Como el resto de los libros que he pedido de esta colección, llegó perfecto sin ningun detalle.Encaja muy bien en el librero con el resto de los libros de SciFi y la historia ni se diga, casi me hace chillar.
Renato Barbieri Junior –
Ursula K LeGuin is one of the greatest among the likes of Philip K Dick, Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asymov… I remember seeing the film Avatar and how much it reminded me of “The Word for World is Forest”, another touching work from LeGuin. With “The Left Hand of Darkness” LeGuin opens our hearts and minds about pressing themes like gender, love, loyalty. Great works stay with us much longer after the last page. This one will stay with me forever.
Anna B. –
This book is still very well readable at its age. I also found the foreword by the author very interesting, giving an additional context.
Patidifusa –
Hay que leer este libro sabiendo que se publicó en el 69. Y con ese dato en mente procede a alucinar. En este mundo de 2023 en el que los estereotipos sexistas convierten a una persona en hombre o mujer por obra y gracia de un género entendido como identidad, se nos propone un mundo ideado hace 54 años donde no hay género, pero sà sexo. Un mundo tan binario como el nuestro, porque solo hay dos sexos, pero en el que un mismo individuo encarna a los dos luego no hay género que los clasifique, ni roles diferenciados que se impongan. No hay sexismo ni estereotipos. Al inicio resultará irritante la constante identificación que hace el protagonista de lo “femenino” con lo negativo. Un hombre pensado en el 69 que estarÃa tan a gusto despotricando en una tasca con cualquier incel de nuestra época. Sin embargo llega la escena en la tienda de campaña, en mitad de un glaciar, donde Therem le pregunta a Genly ¿cómo es una mujer? Y este último se da cuenta de que ya no tiene ni idea. Con los estereotipos reventados, ya solo queda la biologÃa, y esta no puede justificar por sà sola el prejuicio (Simone, guiño-guiño- codazo). Es una pregunta que flota en todo el libro como flota hoy en dÃa en el mundo: incontestada, causa de debate y complicadas elucubraciones, pues la respuesta, tan sencilla, lleva consigo el despertar a la injusticia de milenios.
Cam –
This is a first contact novel where the aliens are a long-abandoned subspecies of genetically modified humans who are biologically gender fluid. It’s about trying to overcome our own prejudices about gender and sex and coming to understand the other. The envoy, or the representative of the interplanetary Ekumen is trying to open relations with the planet Gethen, but this is not the typical white man’s burden story. In fact the protagonist’s skin is very dark and the empire is more about the exchange of goods and ideas than colonialism. Although the Ekumen are quite enlightened, the protagonist, Genly Ai, has many sexists and ethnocentric beliefs and views the people of Gethen as strangely as they view him.The first part of the novel has the kind of in-depth world building we have seen from authors such as Tolkien, but built with Le Guine’s unique incite into what it means to be human. The second half focuses more on the two main characters and we get to appreciate their depth and growth while embarking on exciting and dangerous adventures.