Book Review
Sep. 20th, 2024 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
by Ursula K. Le Guin
This sci-fi novel takes place on two connected worlds: Urras and its moon Anarres. Urras is a very familiar-sounding late capitalist society with more or less authoritarian government. Anarres is an anarchic-socialist society based on the principle of mutual aid and has no centralized or codified government. The story follows Shevek, a brilliant physicist from Anarres who travels to Urras to further and share his knowledge. The fairly simple plot and Shevek himself provide a framework for exploring the two societies and the ideas behind them. Le Guin looks at the nature and workings of freedom, community, social constraint, ethics, and relationships.
This is really a novel of ideas rather than plot or even character, although Shevek's personality and perceptions and how they interact with each society are very important. There is so much to think about here, and I will be processing it all for a while. One of the coolest things about it is that while Le Guin clearly portrays Anarres as preferable to Urras, it's not a perfect paradise. Her take on what the issues are in each society is extremely astute. As with the other Hainish novels, love and close bonds between people are the crucial factor in making a better world, and I think that is my favorite thing about her work.
by Ursula K. Le Guin
This sci-fi novel takes place on two connected worlds: Urras and its moon Anarres. Urras is a very familiar-sounding late capitalist society with more or less authoritarian government. Anarres is an anarchic-socialist society based on the principle of mutual aid and has no centralized or codified government. The story follows Shevek, a brilliant physicist from Anarres who travels to Urras to further and share his knowledge. The fairly simple plot and Shevek himself provide a framework for exploring the two societies and the ideas behind them. Le Guin looks at the nature and workings of freedom, community, social constraint, ethics, and relationships.
This is really a novel of ideas rather than plot or even character, although Shevek's personality and perceptions and how they interact with each society are very important. There is so much to think about here, and I will be processing it all for a while. One of the coolest things about it is that while Le Guin clearly portrays Anarres as preferable to Urras, it's not a perfect paradise. Her take on what the issues are in each society is extremely astute. As with the other Hainish novels, love and close bonds between people are the crucial factor in making a better world, and I think that is my favorite thing about her work.
