The Left Hand of Darkness: 50th Anniversary Edition

‘I asked if these two psychopaths could not be cured. “Cured?” Goss said. “Would you cure a singer of his voice?”’ (p66) While I always enjoy high quality science fiction, I read this book largely as a matter of cultural literacy. Folks say this is an important, historic work. My experience validates that it is – and that’s an understatement. For some reason, though, I expected that I’d have to fight the book – wrestle with it – to make sense of a tangled, impenetrable, quirky work of art. That was not the case. Le Guin’s calm, penetrating prose, her sharp, understated commentary, and the compelling story made this book a pleasure to read. When it hit the streets in 1969 it was both ahead of its time and sensationally timely. Now, nearly sixty years later, it’s clear this book is also timeless. Of course her treatment of unconventional sexual physiology, together with its social and psychological implications, is arguably this novel’s most famous feature. And yes -- all that is as fascinating and weighty as I knew it would be. But Le Guin casts a much wider net; she left me breathless with the depth and range of her insights on just about every aspect of social norms and what it means to be human. Assuming you have the fiftieth anniversary edition, be sure to read the intro by David (“Cloud Atlas”) Mitchell, and the author’s own opening note. They are both spectacular. Once you’ve read the novel itself, I also suggest that you take the time to read Charlie Jane Anders’ afterward. Together, the three commentaries will contribute substantially toward your understanding and appreciation of this extraordinary novel. If this book moves you, check out Mary Doria Russell’s “The Sparrow”, and its sequel, “Children of God”.

On Gethen, human envoy Genly Ai has been sent to convince the planet’s leaders to join the Ekumen, a loose confederation of planets who do not rule one another, but who cooperate in matters of interest to all Ekumen members. Barriers to Ai’s success include Gethenian pride, antipathy and discord between that world’s rival nation-states, and Ai’s lack of understanding in a global culture fueled by the ambisexual nature of Gethenians. The only native who believes the Ekumen can save Gethen is Estraven, a native whom Ai regards with suspicion. But when politics casts Estraven in a criminal light, Ai is dragged into a fierce powerplay and finds himself imprisoned, beaten, and left for dead. Only by abandoning his prejudice—and learning to trust the Otherness of his savior—can he survive his ordeal. The Left Hand of Darkness was originally published in 1969 and is the title that established Le Guin as a science fiction writer. It’s incredibly intricate, an excellent example of worldbuilding. Politics and governance are well-represented, if convoluted, which makes it all the more believable. The climate on Gethen is wintry; inhabitants and their lifestyles reflect this in every detail. But what captivated me most was the nature of Gethenian sexuality. On Gethen, gender is irrelevant. Though Ai uses predominantly masculine pronouns throughout the narrative, native humanoids on Gethen are not born male or female. They are neither—until they enter “kemmer,” a regular period of increased hormonal activity in which Gethenians are driven to find a partner who is also in kemmer, for sex and procreation. Hormone levels determine which partner becomes the inseminator and which becomes the recipient. If the recipient becomes pregnant, they remain “female” throughout the gestation period, after which they return to normal. This cycle drives the entire culture, coloring every aspect of Gethenian society. Though this isn’t the only detail to recommend the book, it’s definitely key to the story. At the time it was written, Gethenian sexuality drew a lot of attention among readers and reviewers; but it’s still relevant today. While some have criticized Le Guin for homophobia, and while Le Guin later expressed regret that she’d portrayed Gethenian norms as heterosexual, the fact remains that the story explores the nature of gender in our own society, as well as on Gethen. For my own part, I found the development of friendship and love between characters so widely diverse much more meaningful than when or how or even whether copulation occurred. In any event, The Left Hand of Darkness is a classic in science fiction literature, a multi-layered story that explores not only cultural divides but sociological ones as well as deep, philosophical quandaries, a must-read for all sci-fi fans. Groundbreaking and evocative, I found myself rooting for both Ai and Estraven, and was sorry to turn the last page. Only one of multiple novels set in the Hainish series, LHoD can be read as a standalone tale. One caveat: Le Guin runs heavy on detail and subtlety. It isn’t exactly an easy read. If that bothers you, dear reader, push through. I promise the payoff is worth it.

My introduction to Ursula K. Le Guin was in a college lit class where “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” was on the syllabus. That short story touched me profoundly and I’ve read it many times through the years. Despite that, I’ve never dove further into her œuvre simply because I’m not a sci-fi fan and that was her lane. But I read an article this year that referenced her 1969 novel The Left Hand of Darkness and it intrigued me, especially the fact that it’s become an “early seminal text” for the LGBT community. So glad I put aside my hesitation for science fiction and read this book. Le Guin’s writing is so incredibly descriptive. She places the reader perfectly on the harsh planet of Gethen where she spins quite the tale. The plot involves Genly Ai, an envoy from a group of other planets who has visited Gethen in hopes of convincing the leaders on that planet to join his federation (The Ekumen). Ai is assisted in his quest by Therem Harth rem ir Estraven (side note, one of the things I dislike about sci-fi is all the crazy names) who is an advisor to King Argaven before a spectacular fall from grace. The reason this book is so revered among the LGBT community is a quirk of the people on Gethen. They are nonbinary most of the time, except for a few days ever month when their sexual organs emerge and they get hot and horny for some action. This is called “kemmering” and the best part is, you never know from one month to the next if you’ll be a male or female in your next kemmer. Indeed when King Argaven gets pregnant it throws the whole idea of sexual identity and gender roles out the window. At the heart of this book is the relationship between Ai and Estraven. It evolves slowly, from mistrust to respect to friendship and even includes a bit of sexual tension when Estraven kemmers while the two of them are in a tent (like the pregnant king, that’s another reminder that we’re not in Kansas anymore). I loved this book. It forced me to reconsider things like patriotism and sexuality and societal norms. But it was also a gripping novel with a sad yet satisfying ending. I may never be a sci-fi fan but I will dig deeper into Le Guin’s works. She’s two for two in my book.

Book Info: Genre: Science Fiction Reading Level: Adult Recommended for: Anyone, especially those interested in gender roles. Please Note: I picked up a used copy of this after reading Nataliya's review on Goodreads. A opinions are my own. Synopsis: Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to Winter, a lost, stray world. His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where people are of no gender - or both - this is a broad gulf indeed. The inventiveness and delicacy with which Le Guin portrays her alien world are not only unusual and inspiring, they are fundamental to almost all decent science fiction that has been written since. In fact, reading Le Guin again may cause the eye to narrow somewhat disapprovingly at the younger generation: what new ground are they breaking that is not already explored here with greater skill and acumen? It cannot be said, however, that this is a rollicking good story. Le Guin takes a lot of time to explore her characters, the world of her creation, and the philosophical themes that arise. My Thoughts: This book is part of a series by Le Guin called the Hainish Cycle; these books can be read interdependently of one another. In the introduction to this book, the author says, "Science fiction is often described, and even defined, as extrapolative. The science fiction writer is supposed to take a trend or phenomenon of the here-and-now, purify and intensify it for dramatic effect, and extend it into the future... a prediction is made. Method and results much resemble those of a scientist... the outcome seems almost inevitably to be cancer... somewhere between the gradual extinction of human liberty and the total extinction of terrestrial life... Almost anything carried to its logical extreme becomes depressing, if not carcinogenic." Her point is that she is telling a story, not extrapolating into the future - and she tells a story very well. Genly Ai is a fascinating character; he's so incredibly biased, but tries to maintain a presence among the people on Winter without letting them know how he really feels; watching him grow and change through the course of the book was a wonderful experience. On the other hand, I'm also fascinated by the King of Karhide who, upon learning there were thousands of other civilizations out there, instead of considering that his people were the odd ones, rather claims that they were the only normal ones and all those thousands of civilizations were full of aberrations and perverts. It's a fascinating study on how people consider themselves and only themselves to be the norm. I do wish some form of gender-neutral terminology had been created for this book. Having Genly call everyone "he" even if he considers some of them feminine is distracting. However, this is not, I am fairly certain, something that was really even considered when this book was written (1969) and it was probably quite a shocking and groundbreaking idea at the time. "Consider: Anyone can turn his hand to anything... The fact that everyone between seventeen and thirty-five or so is liable to be (as Nim put it) `tied down to childbearing,' implies that no one is quite so thoroughly `tied down' here as women elsewhere are likely to be... burden and privilege are shared out pretty equally, everybody has the same risk to run or choice to make. therefore nobody here is quite so free as a free male anywhere else." A fascinating thought, and one that is dealt with in only an ancillary way throughout the course of the book, as are all other ideas being expressed by this text. Definitely an interesting book, a great story, wonderful world-building. I'm very happy that I was introduced to this book and took the chance to grab a copy when I had a gift certificate. I think this is an important book that should be study in gender-study classes at the university level; I think it is a book most everyone should read and spend some time thinking about.

Rating: ⭐ 3.5/5 Stars Add one star for Character Development. Add one star for World Building. Add one star for being an Ace Built Society with depth in thought (Over and above criteria) Add half star for plot/story. No star added for enjoyment. Let's start with the good things. I can see why it is considered a classic for the LGBT+ community. The descriptions and the theory behind a near sexless society was rather intriguing to learn. It was well thought out and the confusion of the main character through most of the novel definitely reflects how many people in modern day society feels about these "Sexless" individuals. Our society consistently thinks Sex defines everything from interest to relationships which is entirely not true. For that, I added one star to the rating. It definitely challenges the reader with the idea of how society would naturally function without the basis of sex behind every corner. The world building was fantastic. There were small pieces of lore that broke up any droll, long strung chapters, resetting the reader when doing so. It helped pace the chapters a bit better. Winter is definitely a wasteland that is harsh and forces those who live on it to depend on each other and general human kindness when it is thought to be non-existent on a cold, isolated world. You could feel the winds and the bitter cold in every chapter with the precise and decisive descriptions. I liked the world and the politics of each country. They each had their own short comings and that was explored many times in this novel. I honestly cannot tell which society would be a better choice since both had equal and opposite evils. Another star was added for the character building. The main character struggled the entire time just trying to understand those around him and determine who was actually his ally, when his true friend was guiding him the whole time. My favorite character is Estroven. He is well fleshed out and a very complicated character in his simplicity. The way he thinks and the way he approaches things are right on par with how I see myself handling a similar situation. His story is both a sad and heartfelt one. He is definitely included as one of my top favorite characters. The plot was straightforward and made sense but was very confusing on the way there; hence, being given the half star. I understand looking at this from a confused prideful man's prospective, but the way it was developed and written definitely did not make it enjoyable. This leads to my last point. No stars were added for enjoyment. This book was HARD to read and HARD to really get into. I had to push my way through the ENTIRE book except for a small part on the cross country journey because I love it when characters communicate and bond. I don't know if it was the writing or how it was broken up along the novel, but it was DEFINITELY a CHORE. Since this book was considered a classic for the Ace community, I wanted to do my 'do diligence' and actually finish the book. I had to get the audiobook just to power through right to the end. What was the most confusing aspect was that everyone was defined as a "He" when I didn't know what they were. It made me so confused that it took out any pleasure I had of reading and wrung it out. I understand it is an old book so I am giving it a pass for this. But, that choice of defining an entire race as "He" instead of "They", since they were no gender for most of the year and can switch genders when in kemmering, REALLY messed me up. In the end, I would recommend getting the audiobook with the text in order to get through the roughness of the book's flow. It is a good book to broaden your prospective; however, it isn't one for enjoyment.

Let me preface this review by saying I went into this book blind. I haven’t read anything by the author previously, but this book is mentioned and recommended often enough in some of the reader groups I follow that I thought I’d check it out. I like most science fiction, so it seemed like a good pick. Originally published in 1969, the writing is definitely indicative of its era. It is at times very dense with a tendency to throw an overwhelming amount of information at the reader (not quite to the same level as say, Tolkien, but it’s not far behind.) The writing style itself is what I’ve come to expect from books written at the time; even though it’s written in first-person, there is a distinct level of detachment between the reader and the characters. But the story itself was fascinating. The man character is Genly Ai, an Envoy sent to a world his people have called “Winter” with the hopes of incorporating the planet and its people into a trade network spanning eighty-three other worlds. He’s mired in politics from the start, and struggles to understand the motives and subtleties that drive Winter’s government officials. All of the eighty-three worlds (or eighty-four, if you count Winter) are the home to some variety of human. There is some discussion about how that came to be, with hints at genetic experimentation long ago that may have created some of the human species. Genly Ai seems to be from our Earth (though it’s referred to as Terra more often than not.) The people of Winter are similar in form, but are a distinctly different species, and an anomaly when compared with the other eighty-three in terms of gender and reproduction. Their genetics and biochemistry was fascinating when it was discussed (but I’ve always had an interest in that stuff.) There were two predominant factions (or Hearths) on Winter. Karhide was based on the monarchy system of government, replete with court intrigue and subterfuge. It was common for Karhiders to talk around a subject, neither lying nor coming to the truth. Orgoreyn seemed to be based off a true communist state, where the government found employment for everyone and ensured they had a place, but there was no single person in charge of making decisions. The people of Orgoreyn seemed happy on the surface, but they were often kept in ignorance of the events going on around them, as news and communications were strictly controlled. Beyond all of that, this was at its core a story of finding true friendship despite the major differences between Genly Ai and the man who ultimately becomes his closest acquaintance on Winter. It’s a story of overcoming those differences and seeing the other person as they are. It’s a story of acceptance—across worlds, across cultures, across political divides. I can see why this book was considered so groundbreaking at the time of its publication. While this isn’t a new book, I believe much of it is still relevant today. If you haven't read The Left Hand of Darkness and enjoy science fiction, I recommend you give this book a try.

Genly Ai , an envoy is sent to the planet Gethen an icy ,desolate and insular world with the sole mission to get them to become part of the Ekumen , an alliance of 83 planets. He is met with fear and hostility from the two largest Gethenian nations Karhide & Orgoreyn . No one seems to trust that he has only good intentions to enrich their society with trade and equip them with science and technology. Only Estraven , a prime minister of Karhide believes in him & as a result falls from grace & is exiled . What follows is a strong bond between Estraven and Genly Ai as they go on a dangerous journey across an especially treacherous stretch of ice in the land to bring about the alliance between Gethen and the Ekumen. Ursula Le Guin has created a strange , complex , ambisexual society in Gethen . The people there are genderless except during kemmer ( mating cycle ) and while in kemmer they can choose to be male or female. Many of these inhabitants as a result have both masculine and feminine features about them. There's even a calendar and metric system that's created here. The world building is astounding! The characters, especially Estraven are so richly drawn and compelling that I found him to be the true protagonist in the story. I feel like the story teaches you -to Embrace other cultures, there is strength in different cultures coming together & that fear only prevents the advancement of society .

When talking about this book, many will start with "It's about a cold planet of snow & ice called Winter populated by a race of androgynous humans without a set gender." But it's so much more than this. Yes, it's sci-fi, but not your traditional space opera. It does feature a galaxy spanning human race across 80-some worlds, but this story is told from the perspective of the Envoy, a single man sent to Gethen (Winter) to negotiate and invite nations there into the Ekumen, the alliance of human worlds. There is a greater universe out there, but the story is not about that. It's slower paced, with extensive descriptions of a fascinating world. It's a deep dive into a society driven by living in the cold and without set genders, and how this affects their psychology, sociological development, politics, human interactions, conversation, relationships, love, family, generations, courting rituals, industrialization, traditions, legends, and so much more. Le Guin masterfully creates here not one, but multiple political cultures, showcasing the differences on Gethen between living in a Monarchy vs a Bureaucratic (Communist?) Commensality. But beyond that, it's a story of struggle and love, love between two friends, two aliens, two kindred spirits brought together by circumstances, a growing mutual respect, betrayal, setbacks, adversity, and devotion. It's a beautiful story that has aged incredibly well despite the five decades since it was written, which is rare for sci-fi. The Audible narration by George Guidall was great, like a story told by a kind and caring grandfather, who changes the voices just enough to make a difference, but without theatrics. It worked, and there is respect for the text in his performance.