The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin

Title: The Left Hand of Darkness

Author: Ursula K Le Guin

Publisher: 1969

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 315

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...

I tried reading this one again as part of the Nerdy Bookish Friends book club read. And I still didn’t like it. Back in 2011, I found this very clunky, slow-moving, and confusing. This time, I mostly still agree with that. While I can appreciate Le Guin’s attempt to discuss the big questions in sci-fi and her inspiration of many modern writers, I still find her work oddly stilted and non-engaging. I disliked every singly character we meet and was not engaged in the supposed plot line. The discussion of non-gender can be interesting, but I found many of the passages to contain a lot of misogynistic language. Feminine behaviors and attributes are almost always deemed to be unsavory. I would prefer to read a more modern take on gender and questions of gender than this ponderous tome.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Title: The Left Hand of Darkness

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Publisher: Ace Books 1969

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Science Fiction; 2011- Show It Who is Boss

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.  --L. Blunt Jackson

I am at a loss about this book.  I went in thinking "This is a classic, I will love it.  I'm digging science fiction right now.  I loved Madeliene L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time series.  I loved Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale.  I enjoyed Heinlein's Have Spacesuit-Will Travel.  I adored Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.  I am going to love this."

And I was completely disappointed.   Oh sure there were parts that I liked.  But overall, I kept waiting for the story to really start.  I wanted more.  And it didn't help that all the names, geography, and customs were very confusing.  I got hopelessly loss in a sea of words.  I just couldn't truly get into the story like I wanted to.  Definitely not going to appear on my Favorites of 2011 list.  Oh well.  Onto something else...