Book Review: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life—Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Urras, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

I think Ursula Le Guin is not for me. This is the second time I’ve read a book by her, and it didn’t resonate with me again. I thought Le Guin proposed very interesting and thought-provoking concepts, but the writing felt clunky, and the characters didn’t seem to be fully developed. Shevek, the main character, remains passive from the start; there is not enough character development for me to care for him, to understand his motivations, to relate to him. Events happen, one after the other, and Shevek just goes through the motions, as if he doesn’t care enough.

An interesting idea is not enough for me. I need interesting characters that move the story, that make me feel things, that I could relate to. And this didn’t happen here at all.

The book begins in the present, with Shevek traveling to Urras. Alternating with this main timeline, there are chapters that go back into his past, showing how he ended up deciding to leave his planet. I think I was more drawn to the present timeline, since it felt like a continuous story, while the past chapters were more like static snapshots.

It took me a significant amount of will to get into this story, and while I ended up enjoying the concepts and yuxtaposition between the anarchy in Arraes and the capitalist society of Urras, the lack of character development prevented me from fully enjoying the story.

I’m glad I finally got around to reading this book, which has been on my TBR pile for many years. I can now say that even though Ursula Le Guin has fantastic ideas, her writing is not for me.

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lomeraniel

My name is Elena. Since I was a little child I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t resist a good novel. In 2015, while wait I started to listen to audiobooks and I discovered the pleasure in being able to read while doing my daily tasks, so there’s always an audiobook playing on my phone. If you see me with my Bluetooth headphones on, please be gentle, I get easily startled.

I live with my boyfriend, which I met during my six-year stay in Belgium, four cockatiels, eight lovebirds, and a hamster in Madrid, Spain; and I like to spend my free time knitting and sewing while listening to audiobooks.