The Left Hand of Darkness

I Could Not Put This Book Down!

I didn't expect to like this book, but it came to me highly recommended, so I gave it a try. I was rivetted. It's not just a science fiction novel, but a novel of human relationships. This is truely a classic piece of literature.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A book I refuse to live without

- Which is how I titled my Essentials List.

LeGuin has an uncanny ability to pack her prose with thought-provoking philosophical asides which still give me pause, as do her depictions of the intricacies of this utterly alien civilization. "The houses and islands and Hearths sit every which way, chaotic, in a profuse, prodigious confusion that suddenly culminates (as anarchy will do in Karhide) in splendor" still resonates. Perhaps I'm just farfetching though.

However, I confess that what I found riveting is their journey over the Ice. As one who yearly went winter-backpacking, I know first hand how huge the sound of wind is in the winter wilderness, and of nightime silences so profound that the tick of a falling ice crystal grabs your attention, and of "...the susurus of windblown snow...." I can attest to the immensity of the solitary winter landscape (and you attend to it, for it can hurt, kill, or cause you misery otherwise) as well as the constant preoccupation with the tiny details of comfort and survival, and with food, which equals strength, warmth, and well-being. I found her depiction of this wonderfully evocative. It is absolutely authentic.

Others may feel that the bond between Ai and Estraven is lacking in the end. I assure you that, apart from their dramatic situation, the comradeship, the otherworldly sharing, entailed with long winter treks is deep and lasting.

Difficult to share with others, nonetheless, this is a fat, multifaceted story which works well on many levels. I highly recommend it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

It was ok

This was the first book i have read by Le Guin and i thought it was just ok. It was highly recommended to me but it was not the best. I felt the story moved very slow, and Instead of eliciting a strong bond with the characters, you see the story as textbook. It¿s this stiff objectiveness that prevents the read from forming a deep connection with the characters. As far as innovation, i can't say i saw any new sci fi thinking but the writing and the philosophical thoughts behind the embodiment of the dualistic pit falls of humanity in the Gethen race. If you are a reader then you wont mind this one. I will definitely read more from Le Guin

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fascinating!

Genly Ai, an envoy from the human galaxy is sent to the alien planet Winter/Gethen on a mission to bring the planet Winter into the fold of an evolving intergalactic civilization. He must do so by closing the gap between his own culture and the prejudices of those that he comes across. On a planet where people are of no sex, but have the ability to change into either gender, this is a large gap indeed. I found the novel fascinating and was amazed with Le Guin¿s intellectual and creative storytelling. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a book that makes you sit back and ponder.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Both exciting and fascinating

The author of the Earthsea books brings readers to a frozen world that challenges traditional views of gender and society. Both exciting and fascinating, the adventures of Earth Ambassador Genly Ai on the planet Winter represent science fiction storytelling at its best!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Whew, wait while I stand up.

I enjoyed the read about as much as any other. The idea of a both-sex civilization alone would probably keep me hooked to the book but LeGuin instead gives me other ideas to feast on. Religion, humankinds speeding about issues,and many many more. The reading gets tough from time to time but overall it was a very satisfying read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Brilliant

This is one of those books you want all your friends to read so that you can discuss it with them.

Didn't do it for me

I found this story to drag somewhat. It reflected the US and Soviet Union as they were back in the 60's - but I really can't say that I enjoyed the book. It was boring.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Classic Science Fiction Book to Make You Think

The Emissary has come and Gethen will never be the same again. Genly Ai accepted that his mission as first representative of the Ekumen would not be easy to a world so different as the planet known colloquially as Winter. He knew that his own physical makeup being unique in comparison to the natives could not only prove to be difficult to accept but would also serve as proof of his claims. As he finds his mission stalling out after two years, and Winter coming no closer to actual contact with the greater human community- change comes to stolid Karhide. With it comes treachery and deceit. Suddenly whom Genly can trust is the most precious commodity he owns. Spurned by the King of Karhide, Genly decides to take his message to the rival nation of Orgoreyn. Here in the communal state, he finds himself the pawn of power brokers who would use him to forward their own agendas. His eventual incarceration and escape place him in the debt of the one person whom he has vowed not to trust, the exiled former premier of Kharhide. Together Genly and Estraven will forge a bond that will see them through adversity to the final success of the Emissary's mission.

Leguin's work stands the test of time and takes its reader to not only a unique world but asks questions that are relevant today.

Great Sci Fi

I am reading two Ursula Le Guin Books now, I got hooked on them from the Jane Austen Book club.

Makes you think...

It's not that the story is so fantastic on its own, it is how it makes you think about how we are so lashed into our male/female thinking. Everything in our world seems to be related to gender, and it really isn't a positive. While initially I thought how wierd, how awful, how ironic that "they" saw the normal male/female seperation as perveted, as the story concluded I began to see it from a different perspective. Le Guin managed to write a science fiction story that makes one look at reality in a new way. It definitely deserved the praise it recieved.

Captivating

It was a little difficult to read but I truly enjoyed it. I am considering going back to read it again since I now know the basic story the beginning will make more sense. It took me a while to get into the characters but when I did I enjoyed it and connected with them. I would recommend this book. Before you read this you may want to try one of her other books. Do not judge her writing by this one book.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Science fiction and Fantasy lots of books

Because it Chapter 1 it says' In white tunic and shirt and breeches'. How many awards they have? 2 of Hugo and Nebula Awards. He loves Science fiction and fantasy books. Ok, We have a lot of read to do we checked out in the library copy.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of my ALL-TIME favorites

Enjoyed greatly, though I had to read it twice to 'get it all', that FIRST time! Author leGuin shook the conventions of the times (I was educated in the American South in the 1960s; female Merit Scholar in Hell!) in a most positive way. LeGuin creates a planet where the 'people' don't have PERMANENT gender. Sex came in 'season' and a person (I longed to be a real PERSON, not a mere woman!) would become (temporarily) male or female without being stuck there (unless SHE becomes pregnant; motherhood is interesting there, too.) The results of all people being created truly equal make for an interesting story. Then there is Winter, all the time! Read it and love it. Can be a guy story, too; I've been married to a great guy for 36 years, he just doesn't like fantasy.

interesting, but hard to understand

i found the left hand of darkness very hard to understand, and that has never happened to me before. i have a very broad taste in literature, but i found this book kind of confusing. unknown words are thrown at you on every page, and it is hard to remember what each of them means. i found the concept of a sexless generation fascinating. very interesting book, but i would only recommend it for older teenagers and adults.

Excellent

In addition to the thematic elements discussed in other comments, this is also just a plain good story--complete with intrigue and adventure--about two guys (well, one guy and a sort-of-guy). Although the single-sex society is an intriguing concept and the images of various opposites that require one another in order to form a whole (the image we are most familiar with is the yin-yang symbol) make it interesting from a literary standpoint, it's also a compelling story of friendship and sacrifice, as Genly Ai and Estraven come to know each other.

Science Fiction never dates

The narrator of this story is a human whose job is to travel the universe as an envoy, assessing whether other civilizations are worthy to become members of an alliance. The planet is called Winter and that is the only description it needs for it is perpetually cold, almost like the Earth poles. The other big difference is that though the inhabitants have certain characteristics of humans they have differences too. The main one being that they are sexless, or more accurately they can change from male to female as the occasion requires. Le Guin won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards for this work and she keeps the reader enthralled from first to last.

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