Review: The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin

    The Left Hand of Darkness (1968), by Ursula K. LeGuin won the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and is widely considered to be one of the 'great' works of science fiction. Original, provocative, and ultimately captivating, this is definitely a must read.

The Setup

    Meet Genly Ai, friendly alien representative of the galactic federation of worlds, sent to offer the planet Gethen a cozy little membership plan; unfortunately, the different rulers of the planet don't quite see it that way. As with most great works of fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness operates on a number of different levels. The sociopolitical fabric of LeGuin's world is both complex and imaginative, threading in themes such as gender perception, duty, and truth.
    As a thought experiment Le Guin's work is a remarkable achievement that successfully envisions the long term effects of a predominantly asexual and genderless society on cultural development. Principally of interest is the fact that inhabitants can either be the male or female during their monthly 'arousal phase'. Part anthropological exploration, part real politik, with a little adventure thrown in to stick it all together, The Left Hand of Darkness is a deeply intellectual work whose very purpose is to push the bounds of imagination.

My Take in Brief

    The first thing I need to throw out there is that I consider this book to be a subtle manifesto on the perception and role of women in society. Remembers that it is Mrs. LeGuin, and not Mr. LeGuin, let me give you line that stuck with me:

They tended to be stolid, slovenly, heavy, and to my eyes effeminate--not in the sense of delicacy, ect., but in just the opposite sense: a gross, bland fleshiness, a bovinity without point or edge. I had for the first time on Winter a certain feeling of being a man among women, or among eunuchs.

It is pretty bold, in my opinion, to characterize the feminine as such, and generally exemplary of LeGuin's quietly implicit treatment of gender perception in society. While the book deals much more blatantly and resolutely with ideas such as communism, mysticism, and patriotism, gender remains the ever present and ever important connecting element. While overt analysis of the subject is generally avoided, LeGuin lets slip (in the voice of Ai) that the planet Genthen has never know war because it lacks a clear male female sexual dichotomy and the consequent social dynamics. Regardless, every line was provocative food for thought as it required LeGuin to not only build a totally unique world, but narrate from the perspective of an alien from a different world, with radically different social dynamics, values, and beliefs. It takes a true master to make that work, and work it did.
    That said, classic or not, this was not my cup of tea. Intellectually, I understand how this is ranked among some of the greatest science fiction novels, but on a personal level it just didn't work. While the prose generally flows clean and sweet, I sometimes found it to be heavy handed and halting. It is difficult to weave a heavily anthropological narrative and still keep me interested on a level that isn't purely intellectual, and in that sense I did not enjoy The Left Hand of Darkness. Nonetheless, I still think that it is worth reading, and I am glad that I did so. If anything, it hammered home how subjective our understanding of the world is, and how the questions we most want answered are those we should never be given the answers to.

Ratings and Links

Amazon: 4/5
B&N: 3.8/5
My Rating: 3.2/5

A very candid interview with Le Guin at the LA Times that explains a lot about the book (wish I had read it before I wrote my review).
Ursula K. Le Guin's Home Page, failing me finding her blog. Does she have one?!

Piqued Your Interest?

The Left Hand of Darkness aches to be read, it deserves to be read, it demands to be read. Read it, because failing to do so will make it seem like the only reason you read science fiction is for the scripted action sequences.

Giveaway

    Want this book for free? Done. Just follow these simple giveaway instructions for your chance to win (giveaway runs for five days from the date of posting):

1) E-mail me your name and address with the title of the book as the subject. Snarky comments increase your chances of winning.
2) Sign up for site updates either in RSS or with Friend Connect on the side. This will also let you know about future giveaways; typically 2-3 per week.
3) Think happy thoughts.
4) (OPTIONAL) Share or link to any post on my blog--this earns you brownie points as well as increasing your (if you have made it this far) already significant odds.