The Dispossessed (1974)

I am sorry it took me so long to read this fabulous book. Science fiction has never been a favorite of mine, but I have found a new favorite in an unexpected place nevertheless. There is so much to ponder in this book that it will bear another reading at some point.

I wonder what my younger self would have thought of the ideas in The Dispossessed. Thirty years ago, my idea of an anarchist society would have been Molotov cocktail-throwing, anti-society louts. Today my view of an anarchist society is a group of people that I am ready to join if it engenders the best of the Anarres citizenry. Shevek shows the faults of his world, but they are still vastly superior, in my eyes, to the faults of Urras (and A-Io) which mirror my own country and Earth today.

Le Guin deftly discusses freedom in myriad aspects, individuals rights and responsibilities to society, the responsibilities of society to individuals, world-building, knowledge as power versus knowledge as a gift, and on and on. Such revolutionary ideas which need to be discussed by people today more than ever. What a loss to the world of literature her passing this year was. I look forward to my next Le Guin novel soon. ( )

I really wish that it was easier for me to get into the proper mindset to read Le Guin. Her work is so highly recommended by people whose opinions I respect, but I have such difficultly getting my mind around her concepts and style of presenting a story.

This is really, really good. ( )

Well-written in most every way. The story is compelling. The settings are full of imagination. The ideas are profound. The characters are full. I loved it and recommend it to all. ( )

Urras and Anarres - two planets in one system. They are each other's moon. Anarres was inhabited by people fleeing Urras. They were Odonians, followers of the philosopher Odo, and they wanted a better life. Urras is very much like our earth - materialistic, wasteful, beautiful, green, hostile, greedy, capitalistic. Anarres is the opposite - a desert where very little grows, no animals, only fish, and communities thrive that are true communities - they share everything in common. No one owns anything, everything is shared. They are anarchists and find no need for laws. Utopia?

This story is about Shevek, a brilliant physicist. There is no one on Anarres who can share his theories with him so he sends them to Urras. He ends up winning a prestigious award and making a visit to Urras. He is the first visitor from Anarres in a century or two. What to do with his brilliant theory about space/time is a major puzzle for him.

This novel explores the human psyche. Le Guin poses questions and then gives us answers that we can agree with or not agree with, but definitely can think about. Would a communist society with no rulers sustain itself in the long run? What happens when human emotions come to the fore? After all, don't we all WANT things? Or is that perhaps something we learn and can unlearn? Or not learn at all?

A new language has been created for these people so they can express what they need to express and there are no words for many things that are not part of their life experience. The linguistic implications of this are interesting as language is very much a part of who we are and how we think. We can't separate ourselves from language. This theme isn't expressly stated in this book, but it is clear that the language separates the two planets.

Everything is not perfect on Anarres, however much they think it is. People are people everywhere. Shevek sees through this and tries to change things, to keep the revolution going. There is always hope.

I'm interested now in reading more about the planets in the Hainish Cycle. Earth, called Terra, also plays a part in this novel.

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