The Left Hand of Darkness

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, if not quite perfect
Review: I don't think it's necessary to resort to hyperbole when describing this book. In a word, it's beautiful. The language is intricate and delicate, as is the structure of the novel, the careful building of a mythology and culture from the ground up. The fact that it's a relatively short book is a reflection on Ursula Le Guin's formidable power as a writer: what she accomplishes in a short space is rarely seen in a much larger and weightier novel.

Perhaps the most striking thing about it is the apparent ease with which legend is woven into the fabric of the story, so that the world and its people reveal themselves slowly and naturally to the reader. This many-threaded structure allows the reader to draw conclusions from mere hints, relating the obscure myths to the concrete story at hand. Much is implied without being stated outright, but this never obscures the story; if anything, it makes it stronger, clearer, and deeper.

Every book has the odd quirk, and "The Left Hand of Darkness" isn't without its own. Although thoroughly modern in sensibilty, it was written in 1969, and in one minor way, that does show. To the modern reader, the amount of attention afforded the "unisexual" society described here feels a little bit out of proportion. Obviously our comfort with gender ambivalence and androgyny has increased over the last three or four decades; at any rate, I found no difficulty in thinking of the characters as simultaneously male and female -- it's especially easy to do when the writing is so compelling.

As with many of Ursula Le Guin's other novels, the characters are a bit abstract. This is a result of the author's focus, rather than insufficient characterisation: Ursula Le Guin is definitely an ideas writer, and a language writer, rather than a character wrtiter. It's not that Genly Ai, Estraven and others are not believable; they are. It's just that Le Guin's characters are almost always created and harnessed to serve the story's ideas, rather than the other way around. The focus isn't on the life and times of an individual human being, but on the big ideas involved, and on their implications for mankind as a whole. There are virtually no attempts to dissect and examine any individual; as with the story itself, much remains hidden, hinted at, unknown.

This is not an entire world, it is a single tale, woven from fragments of myth and narrative, but only the relevant ones. You come away satisfied with a beautifully crafted, intelligent, thought-provoking story -- but also, with a sense of having visited a place that keeps its secrets, with people who will keep theirs.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful...And Wonderful
Review: I must confess. I love Ursula LeGuin. Absolutely love her. I think if she wrote a computer tech manual, I'd rate it a '5'. If she authored the back of a cereal box, ditto.

If you're lucky, there are a few authors who will speak to you, will engage you, will draw you in, in a way that is rare, that is complete, a bit unnerving, and, yes, wonderful.

Ms. LeGuin is one of those writers, for me.

The Left Hand of Darkness, like her other works, is absolutely the best at creating a world, another place, a place where you desperately would love to visit, or to live. It's not a real place, of course; it's free of the day-to-day tensions, pains, disappointment and banalities of the 21st century. No, maybe it's a great place to retreat to, to yearn for, to ache for. Maddenly close in your mind; just out of reach.

Why that is, I'm not sure. Maybe it's the sense of place she creates that allows you the comfort and space to fill in all of the blanks. Yes, life may be tough in Ms. LeGuin's world, but one manages, one copes, and does so in such a damned fine place!

Winter is such a world. The book opens with a rare, sunny, warmish day. Used to searing cold, the weather is suddenly, pleasantly, warm. Except to the residents of this very cold place, it's a bit much. Wrapped in the clothes meant for sub-zero temperatures, sweating from the 'heat' of a 70 degree day must have been a novelty.

Read above and below reviews for the plot details, if you must. My take is different, as I've said. The interesting plot, with the unusual gender variations (which Ms. Le Guin has said she altered from a more conventional story). The Left Hand of Darkness, as her other books, allows one in a beautiful alternative to this world, if only for as long as one doesn't close the book covers. It's like that secret, mystical garden that one only enters in one's dreams.

Enjoy the atmosphere, let is seep into you, let the tantalizing hints of a world that almost, almost, exists. And revel in that world, a world that only Ursula Le Guin could create.

Of course, the only disappointment is when the book ends, and you must put it down. Like the wisps of a stirring, moving, touching dream that fade with the dawn, her books fortunately leave a small bit of the wonder with you for years. Go back to them (as I have, many times), and marvel that they are as enjoyable on the fifth reading as the first.

Most highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but a bit disappointing.
Review: I had heard so much hype about this being "one of the best books by the best SF writer ever," that my expectations were unfairly too high. While this book was really well written and surely deserves to be considered a classic, the story just didn't really overwhem me like I had hoped. It basically consists of an interstellar envoy's (Ai) adventures attempting to convince the leaders of the worled known as Winter to accept the reality of and to become part of the Universal community. Sounds like it could be really exciting right? Well, it should have been a bit more so than it was. For one thing, the book was quite predictable and tended to drag out some boring parts here and there. A lot of time was spent following the characters along a journey over a glacier (about 25% of the book) and it didn't really have a big impact on the plot of the book. Some pretty interesting character relationships were developed and the whole culture of Winter was very interesting (the people there are unisexuals..) So, the book was good but don't expect too much or you'll be disappointed too.

Rating:
Summary: The Right Hand of Elegance
Review: At about the halfway point, I thought that THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS was an okay novel, but not a great one. However, by the time I arrived at the end, trudging through the ice and snow with Ai and Estraven, I found that my opinion had grown more positive. I'm still not quite convinced that it's the awesome and overwhelming classic that its reputation would suggest, but I can definitely see how it has received a lot of its praise.

The book's plot is quite thin; the story is more concerned with world-building and character exploration than it is about events. The universe that Le Guin creates is where the book has its biggest successes and its most notable failure. The planet of Winter and the story of the one man sent to make first contact from a galactic alliance are extremely well realized, as is the society that human Genly Ai encounters in his travels. Their customs are sufficiently alien, yet rational; their non-human physiology is reflected upon in fine detail without becoming belabored; their squabbles and political wranglings are interesting; and their environment is described in depth. These portions of the story are a pleasure to read.

Where the book falls down, I believe, is in the sections told from the point of view of the aliens themselves. A big deal is made out of the fact that for most days of the month, they are neither one gender nor the other, only becoming man or woman for a few days of their reproductive cycle. But while the actions they take reflect this substantial difference, the way they think doesn't. There's really no difference in style between the first person narrations of Ai and Estraven. Le Guin goes through a lot of pain to describe the pure facts of what a non-gender person would be like, yet can't quite convey the emotional responses. This is a pity, mostly because she did such a great job bringing to life all the other details.

Still, while that one portion of the book frustrated me, I found a lot to enjoy in the rest of it. The bulk of the story concerns the relationship between the visitor, Ai, and the insufficiently alien, but realistically human Estraven. They play off each other well and it's fun to see the waxing and waning amounts of trust the two have in each other as the story progresses.

Back when this was published in 1969, the message that gender wasn't really that important in determining one's station in live was probably considered a bit more sophisticated than it is today. Nowadays such an announcement seems rather obvious. Still, the book's other themes (such as the importance of loyalty and trust) have aged much better, and, in fact, the discussions on the exact meanings of nationalism and patriotism seem very apt in today's political climate. This turned out to be a very rewarding read in the end, so if you find yourself getting stuck in the middle, I'd recommend that you keep going. The book as a whole is certainly worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: This has to be one of the best books I've ever read. However, I was a bit apprehensive about reading it, for it sounded a little like a hermaphrodite's dream. However, this book delves into the nature of sex on this world extremely tastefully. No where does it get cheap and degrading to any of the characters. I recommend this book to everyone, even though over a thousand have already done so.