The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Dispossessed (Hainish Cycle)

by Ursula K. Le Guin

One of the very best must-read novels of all time - with a new introduction by Roddy Doyle

'A well told tale signifying a good deal; one to be read again and again' THE TIMES

'The book I wish I had written ... It's so far away from my own imagination, I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin' Roddy Doyle

'Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power' OBSERVER

The Principle of Simultaneity is a scientific breakthrough which will revolutionize interstellar civilization by making possible instantaneous communication. It is the life work of Shevek, a brilliant physicist from the arid anarchist world of Anarres.

But Shevek's work is being stifled by jealous colleagues, so he travels to Anarres's sister-planet Urras, hoping to find more liberty and tolerance there. But he soon finds himself being used as a pawn in a deadly political game.

Reviewed by jamiereadthis on

5 of 5 stars

Share
Sublime. Carefully constructed, nuanced, warmly empathetic, passionately human, complex. If you want a rose-colored ideologue that purports to fix problems with simplistic utopias, look elsewhere. If you want an accounting of our society’s ills, and alternatives that are just as complicated and imperfect, you’re in the right place. She doesn’t shout, preach, or point, just shifts the frame of reference in order to examine our assumptions. Each word choice has weight. Quiet, lovely, and profound. And just as timely now, nearly 50 years later.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 29 July, 2020: Finished reading
  • 29 July, 2020: Reviewed