Rating: 
Summary: A Noble Failure
Review: "Birthday of the World" isn't up to the usual standard of Ms. LeGuin's writing -- not in its present form, at any rate.
So, you might be asking: why do I feel this way?
Simple. It's too graphic in spots, and it's way too violent, and finally, the "f-word" is used repeatedly in a jarring manner for no apparent reason other than to shock.
Ms. LeGuin is above this sort of thing; she doesn't _need_ to make her points this way, and further, it wasn't at all what I expected when I opened this collection.
I'm a big fan of her work; I love "Lathe of Heaven" and "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed" and "The Wizard of Earthsea," and enjoyed everything else she's ever written.
And I suspect that if I had encountered these stories one on one, I would have liked them very much, and would have considered them thought-provoking and interesting (and probably wouldn't have been as put off by the graphic violence and swearing, either).
However, only three of these stories _work_ in this collection; the one about the kemmerhouse and the two about the folks living on O (the ones who make four-sided marriages). The other five all need expansion, in my opinion, and four of the five look like they could and should have been made into novels. The fifth, the final story (a novella, "Paradises Lost"), also needed at least 5,000 more words to explain various things left unfinished in the story, such as why the woman in it made the marriage she did and the like.
Those five stories, if I'd read them separately, might have evoked some of the same responses -- after all, I'm not _used_ to graphic violence in Ms. LeGuin's work, and I don't like the unnecessary bad language, either. But all five of 'em put together made me viscerally dislike and despise this book far more than I have disliked anything in the past ten years, mostly because there's just _too much_ going on.
Also, there's an odd juxtaposition of "message stories" going on. Simply put: I do not need to be bludgeoned about the head and shoulders to get the point, and so many "message stories" and stuff being _told_ to me rather than being _shown_ to me was distracting and displeasing.
And finally, between all the swearing (really, why did Ms. LeGuin have to use the term "f***ery" anyway? Why not just say "male brothel?" It's the same thing!) and the unnecessary uses of the term "be aware" in the last four stories (in one story, fine, but all the rest of 'em? Please!) which threw me right out of the reader's trance every time I saw it, I absolutely cannot recommend this work.
If you want to read it anyway, be aware that there is graphic violence in at least three of the stories, bad language in most of 'em, and that it is absolutely _not_ recommended for children under age 16 without parental supervision.
And if you're still insistent on reading it, my advice is to take these stories separately, and read 'em one at a time. Preferably one every few days to a week; that way you won't be _as_ upset when you're done reading this book.
Two stars.
Barb Caffrey
Rating:
Summary: I'm usually a fan of Ursula Le Guin, but . . .
Review: . . . this one, no. I started it with great expectations, remembering the earlier incarnation of this "world" of hers. But to me, this collection just didn't measure up to what I expected of this author. That's not to say I won't read her again: I've read "The Left Hand of Darkness" more than once, and surely will read it again -- something new appears every time. But I can't really recommend this offering. And I'm sorry about that.
Rating: 
Summary: LeGuin Never Disappoints!
Review: As usual, LeGuin draws us into her wonderful imagination and takes us on adventures as if we were there. Some of the stories are better than others, but all of them are very good!
Rating: 
Summary: More tales from our foremost galactic anthropologist
Review: Here's a wonderful book for any fan of Ursula Le Guin. It begins with a foreword by the author in which she outlines each of the stories, most of which take place on worlds of her well-known Ekumen, her “Hainish Universe.”. However alien the cultures may be, however strange their societal structures and customs, Ms. Le Guin uses each tale to underscore what truly unites us and makes us human. These stories comprise the first two-thirds of the book.As much as I relish Le Guin’s Hainish stories, it is the novelette “Paradises Lost,” comprising the final third of the book, that is most rewarding. It’s a change of pace for the author, involving not the worlds of the Ekumen, but rather a generation spacecraft on a 201-year voyage from Earth to a “New Earth” orbiting some unnamed neighboring star. Most of the narrative involves characters who have lived their entire lives in this self-contained bubble of metal and air. They know nothing of Earth save what they have experienced via films and “virtual reality” programs. The simple concept of “sky” is completely unfathomable to them. They have their own rituals and customs with which they structure their lives until it becomes necessary to debark on the surface of a new world. Ultimately, for some hese colonists who have become comfortable in their self-contained universe, the notions of OUTSIDE and NEW WORLD begin to seem rather intimidating and even evil. How will they cope when the spacecraft arrives at its destination? Ms. Le Guin deftly explores this culture and its destiny, and the ending quite literally brought tears to my eyes. Throughout “The Birthday of the World,” we realize how much we have in common as human beings, no matter whether we are on Gethen, in a spaceship, on Earth, or anywhere in the universe, that we have our loves, our hopes, and our fears, and that EVERY DAY is the birthday of the world.
Rating:
Summary: Some of Le Guin's best writing is here
Review: I am a fan of most of Le Guin's books. Although I don't like every one of them, several of her books are among my favorite novels. I really admire her explorations into the "otherness" of gender, which was the primary theme in her greatest novel "The Left Hand of Darkness." In "The Birthday of the World", Le Guin revisits Karhide (where "Left Hand of Darkness" took place) and plays with the idea of complex marriages, unbalanced societies, and the loss of innocence, all themes she has touched on throughout her writing career. If you are new to Le Guin, I'd recommend you read one of her great novels first ("Left Hand of Darkness", "The Dispossessed) Then, these stories should flesh out an appreciation for her work. If you are working on writing your own science fiction or speculative fiction, I'd highly recommend this book of short stories along with "Steering the Craft", her writing workshop handbook. These two volumes really should be packaged together for fiction writers.
Rating:
Summary: Some of Le Guin's best writing is here
Review: I am a fan of most of Le Guin's books. Although I don't like every one of them, several of her books are among my favorite novels. I really admire her explorations into the "otherness" of gender, which was the primary theme in her greatest novel "The Left Hand of Darkness." In "The Birthday of the World", Le Guin revisits Karhide (where "Left Hand of Darkness" took place) and plays with the idea of complex marriages, unbalanced societies, and the loss of innocence, all themes she has touched on throughout her writing career. If you are new to Le Guin, I'd recommend you read one of her great novels first ("Left Hand of Darkness", "The Dispossessed) Then, these stories should flesh out an appreciation for her work. If you are working on writing your own science fiction or speculative fiction, I'd highly recommend this book of short stories along with "Steering the Craft", her writing workshop handbook. These two volumes really should be packaged together for fiction writers.
Rating:
Summary: Collection of novellas, from the master herself
Review: I am ashamed to say I discovered Ursula K LeGuin (UKL) only a couple of years ago. But I am happy to say that she's been my favorite or near-favorite author ever since. For her humanity. For her vision. And for being able to create recognizably human, oh-so-familiar situations and moods, in completely alien settings. For understanding human suffering, oppression, love and cruelty, and the quest for freedom and for happiness. And for understanding what it means to be alien. I know. I'm South Asian and I've lived in the West. I'm secular and have lived in a deeply religious part of my country. How does Ursula know? "Birthday" has been reviewed by far more capable pens than mine; Margaret Atwood wrote a review in "New York Review of Books", you might still find that on the Internet. So maybe it's presumptuous of me, but I'll go ahead and say how I felt about this collection. There's a chatty, personal preface, fun to read. The most memorable part of the book, to me, was the part in this preface where UKL rebuts a critic who suggested that slavery is not a subject worth writing about. UKL asks mildly: I wonder which planet he comes from? Two of the stories ("Coming of Age in Karhide" and "Old Music and the Slave Women") take place on cultures created in previous novels. "Karhide" describes the first "kemmer" of a young person, on the sexless/bisex planet Karhide, where our old friend Gentry Li the black Terran had had his adventures so many years ago in "Left Hand of Darkness." It reads a bit like the teenage pains of boysgirls in any earth culture. Except that you get to look inside a "kemmerhouse" and witness the first sex of these people. I would categorize this story as "fun." My favorite was "Old Music", which is a fifth installment in the "story suite" set in Werel, the planet from the extraordinary book "Four Ways to Forgiveness." The setting is during the uprising of the slaves and lower-castes of Werel, as the owned challenge the owners. The Ekumen diplomat called Old Music gets captured by the masters' side, is tortured on a plantation, and interacts with slave women for the first time. The uprising is shown as a messy business with random violence galore. Realistic and sad, but still full of hope. I liked Old Music, a middle-aged diplomat with nothing but his witty tongue to serve him in danger, so humane, full of belief that the slaves will be free. The Ekumen are probably LeGuin's idea of a ideal people, unobtrusive, moral, egalitarian. I love her vision and wish I could share her hope. "The matter of Seggri" is told from multiple viewpoints, describing the social structure of a people with massively skewed female-to-male ratio. In "Solitude", an Ekumen mother uses her children to learn about a culture of people living in the ruins of a Fallen civilization. Her daughter ends up feeling more a member of this society, learning their ways of solitude and silence, and deciding to spend her life in this culture. In both "Seggri" and "Solitude", the men live rather cruel lives. Both are innovative descriptions of imaginary cultures, and I enjoyed reading them. There are two stories describing Morning-Evening people and their complicated marriages, and one describing how the beliefs of a World fell apart with the arrival of aliens. I did not like these three stories so much. Finally, "Paradises Lost" is a novelette following an inter-generation space-ship, where a sect arises with the belief that their journey is eternal rather than having the goal of settling a new planet. This is excellent writing, with the utterly believable creation of an irrational religion, superstitions interfering with realpolitik, and the happysad description of settling in an alien world. "Birthday of the World" is required reading for Leguin fans. For newcomers, this collection may be a good entry point to her work. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Le Guin at her best
Review: In this collection of short stories, Le Guin returns to her fictional universe of the classics "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Disposessed." The stories in this volume equal the power of her best works. Le Guin discusses superstition and religion in the title story; however, it is surpassed by the novella "Paradises Lost," in which she portrays human nature, sexuality, and deontology vs. teleology in a stunning way. Although this book is not appropriate for young children, all other Le Guin fans and newcomers to her work will certainly enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Le Guin at her best
Review: In this collection of short stories, Le Guin returns to her fictional universe of the classics "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Disposessed." The stories in this volume equal the power of her best works. Le Guin discusses superstition and religion in the title story; however, it is surpassed by the novella "Paradises Lost," in which she portrays human nature, sexuality, and deontology vs. teleology in a stunning way. Although this book is not appropriate for young children, all other Le Guin fans and newcomers to her work will certainly enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Truly awesome!
Review: This book is brilliant, a perfect combination of revisits to old worlds (Gethen, Werel and O) and introductions to completely new ones. "Unchosen Love" was just beautiful, as was "Paradises Lost", and the tales from Seggri were fascinating, if slightly disturbing. Although "Old Music..." (actually Werel in general) didn't do much for me, I've read all the others over and over. Highly recommended - I think this is easily on par with "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed".
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