The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Sixth book in the Hainish Cycle (can be read as standalone)
3 stars
“No man considers himself a traitor: this makes it hard to find out.”
On the planet of Gethen (also known as Winter), the Gethenians are a genderless species that can choose to become male or female during their mating cycle. The Ekumen of Known Worlds has sent Genly Ai or Genry Ai as he called by the Gethenians because they can’t pronounce the letter ‘l’ to be an ambassador and a connector between the universe with a very closed off planet. This icy planet isn’t easy to win over as a politics and grappling with a culture foreign to him become almost impossible to struggle, Genly finds himself fighting to survive the harsh landscape and the even harsher inhabitants of Gethen. I want to preface this by saying that this novel is brilliant. The concept is rich and ahead of its time. I can see why it’s considered one of the best scifi novels and is always highly recommended, but I felt like I was slugging through an anthropology textbook. The excursion concept is interesting to me, but like when I took an anthropology course, I find it boring. The premise intrigues me, but the meat loses my interest. That’s how I felt about The Left Hand of Darkness. It isn’t the worst novel I’ve ever read, but it’s one of the biggest disappointments I’ve read. This novel appeals to a lot of readers though, so I’m just probably the judgmental black sheep. One of my biggest problems with this novel is that it is so hard to get into. It’s an epic infodump where the reader is thrust into an alien world (keep in mind that the narrator himself is not, so this creates a jarring disconnect almost immediately since he’s been on Gethen for months) with an influx of names, dates, customs, and procedures. It was overwhelming and if I’m being honest my eyes were glazing over with boredom and I couldn’t bring myself to care. I’m just going to say that Le Guin’s style is probably not my style and that’s okay, but can I say that I’m incredibly saddened by this because I thought I would love her writing and she’d become a new favorite. The story does eventually pick up and find its stride. My favorite sections were the ones were Genly Ai was put into concentration camps because I felt like this was interesting commentary on WWII as well as social dynamics and oppression of those who could rise above the regime. There are great themes about prejudice towards the unknown or unbelievable to customs that have been set in stone and I really admire Le Guin’s commentary. There are some really beautiful lines in this novel, but there are too many pages of boredom. It didn’t balance well for me.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 2.5
The characters are where my problem with this novel lies. More so, the actions of the characters and the ending of the novel so look away friends because I’m about to spoil a whole lot of stuff Genly develops this weird semi-romantic relationship with Estraven. We are told that they have developed a desperate love for one another, but I sure didn’t feel that. I wasn’t sold on these two characters in the first place because they felt like walking, talking stick figures. Well, wouldn’t you know that Estraven sacrifices himself and dies for pretty much no reason. You know why it was pointless because Genly went to prison anyway and it was just one of those horrible writing techniques that I loathe to further one character’s story arc by killing off another. That’s just some bad writing and storytelling. I thought I was over this because I read this book last summer, but no, I’m still fuming.
Character Scale: 2
The Villain- Gethen doesn’t play. At times they reminded me of a dystopian society and they definitely weren’t opposed to concentration camps, shooting to kill, and other forms of torture. It was pretty much Big Brother on ice. It was one of the things I did admire about this novel.
Villain Scale: 5
I actually wrote this review because I was contemplating getting rid of this book, but I don’t think it’ll be one that I unhaul. There’s just something about it that I’m not ready to part with even though I hated the ending with a fiery passion. Maybe it’s the brilliant concept or maybe it’s because it’s a classic. I don’t know, but I’ll hold onto it for just a little while longer. Overall, this isn’t a bad novel. It has a lot of great attributes and it should’ve been a favorite for me. Sadly, it wasn’t, but maybe it’ll be a favorite for you.
Plotastic Scale: 3
Cover Thoughts: It’s pretty bland. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it.
Sixth book in the Hainish Cycle (can be read as standalone)
3 stars
“No man considers himself a traitor: this makes it hard to find out.”
On the planet of Gethen (also known as Winter), the Gethenians are a genderless species that can choose to become male or female during their mating cycle. The Ekumen of Known Worlds has sent Genly Ai or Genry Ai as he called by the Gethenians because they can’t pronounce the letter ‘l’ to be an ambassador and a connector between the universe with a very closed off planet. This icy planet isn’t easy to win over as a politics and grappling with a culture foreign to him become almost impossible to struggle, Genly finds himself fighting to survive the harsh landscape and the even harsher inhabitants of Gethen. I want to preface this by saying that this novel is brilliant. The concept is rich and ahead of its time. I can see why it’s considered one of the best scifi novels and is always highly recommended, but I felt like I was slugging through an anthropology textbook. The excursion concept is interesting to me, but like when I took an anthropology course, I find it boring. The premise intrigues me, but the meat loses my interest. That’s how I felt about The Left Hand of Darkness. It isn’t the worst novel I’ve ever read, but it’s one of the biggest disappointments I’ve read. This novel appeals to a lot of readers though, so I’m just probably the judgmental black sheep. One of my biggest problems with this novel is that it is so hard to get into. It’s an epic infodump where the reader is thrust into an alien world (keep in mind that the narrator himself is not, so this creates a jarring disconnect almost immediately since he’s been on Gethen for months) with an influx of names, dates, customs, and procedures. It was overwhelming and if I’m being honest my eyes were glazing over with boredom and I couldn’t bring myself to care. I’m just going to say that Le Guin’s style is probably not my style and that’s okay, but can I say that I’m incredibly saddened by this because I thought I would love her writing and she’d become a new favorite. The story does eventually pick up and find its stride. My favorite sections were the ones were Genly Ai was put into concentration camps because I felt like this was interesting commentary on WWII as well as social dynamics and oppression of those who could rise above the regime. There are great themes about prejudice towards the unknown or unbelievable to customs that have been set in stone and I really admire Le Guin’s commentary. There are some really beautiful lines in this novel, but there are too many pages of boredom. It didn’t balance well for me.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 2.5
The characters are where my problem with this novel lies. More so, the actions of the characters and the ending of the novel so look away friends because I’m about to spoil a whole lot of stuff Genly develops this weird semi-romantic relationship with Estraven. We are told that they have developed a desperate love for one another, but I sure didn’t feel that. I wasn’t sold on these two characters in the first place because they felt like walking, talking stick figures. Well, wouldn’t you know that Estraven sacrifices himself and dies for pretty much no reason. You know why it was pointless because Genly went to prison anyway and it was just one of those horrible writing techniques that I loathe to further one character’s story arc by killing off another. That’s just some bad writing and storytelling. I thought I was over this because I read this book last summer, but no, I’m still fuming.
Character Scale: 2
The Villain- Gethen doesn’t play. At times they reminded me of a dystopian society and they definitely weren’t opposed to concentration camps, shooting to kill, and other forms of torture. It was pretty much Big Brother on ice. It was one of the things I did admire about this novel.
Villain Scale: 5
I actually wrote this review because I was contemplating getting rid of this book, but I don’t think it’ll be one that I unhaul. There’s just something about it that I’m not ready to part with even though I hated the ending with a fiery passion. Maybe it’s the brilliant concept or maybe it’s because it’s a classic. I don’t know, but I’ll hold onto it for just a little while longer. Overall, this isn’t a bad novel. It has a lot of great attributes and it should’ve been a favorite for me. Sadly, it wasn’t, but maybe it’ll be a favorite for you.
Plotastic Scale: 3
Cover Thoughts: It’s pretty bland. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it.
Have you read The Left Hand of Darkness? Are you a fan of Le Guin? What are some of your favorite scifi novels that you think everyone must read? Let me know down below in the comments!
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