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Book Review
May. 1st, 2024 06:31 pmPlanet of Exile
by Ursula K. Le Guin
This is the second novel Le Guin wrote in the Hainish cycle. This one is set on the planet Werel,where a season lasts for the equivalent of 15 years. The nomadic native Tevarans live side by side with the farborn, a group of humans who came from the distant League many, many seasons ago. With both winter and the marauding Gaals bearing down on them, Tevarans and farborn must find a way to survive, ideally together. When Rolery, a Tevaran woman, and Jakob Agat, a farborn man, enter into a forbidden relationship, the ability of the two groups to work together is undermined.
Planet of Exile is a very short book with a rather simple and straightforward plot. Le Guin is able to put so much depth and meaning into every aspect of the plot and characters, despite the outward simplicity. She is a master of doing a lot with economy and elegance. Both Rolery and Agat are fully drawn people, and I liked seeing how their relationship changed and deepened under the stress of attack and siege. The world building is done very simply and subtly, but still results in a setting that feels full and alive and very lived in. I really loved her take on what is required to face and survive the most dire threats.
by Ursula K. Le Guin
This is the second novel Le Guin wrote in the Hainish cycle. This one is set on the planet Werel,where a season lasts for the equivalent of 15 years. The nomadic native Tevarans live side by side with the farborn, a group of humans who came from the distant League many, many seasons ago. With both winter and the marauding Gaals bearing down on them, Tevarans and farborn must find a way to survive, ideally together. When Rolery, a Tevaran woman, and Jakob Agat, a farborn man, enter into a forbidden relationship, the ability of the two groups to work together is undermined.
Planet of Exile is a very short book with a rather simple and straightforward plot. Le Guin is able to put so much depth and meaning into every aspect of the plot and characters, despite the outward simplicity. She is a master of doing a lot with economy and elegance. Both Rolery and Agat are fully drawn people, and I liked seeing how their relationship changed and deepened under the stress of attack and siege. The world building is done very simply and subtly, but still results in a setting that feels full and alive and very lived in. I really loved her take on what is required to face and survive the most dire threats.
