“One of the greats….Not just a science fiction writer; a literary icon.” – Stephen KingFrom the brilliant and award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a classic tale of two planets torn apart by conflict and mistrust — and the man who risks everything to reunite them.A bleak moon settled by utopian anarchists, Anarres has long been isolated from other worlds, including its mother planet, … from other worlds, including its mother planet, Urras—a civilization of warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth. Now Shevek, a brilliant physicist, is determined to reunite the two planets, which have been divided by centuries of distrust. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have kept them apart.
To visit Urras—to learn, to teach, to share—will require great sacrifice and risks, which Shevek willingly accepts. But the ambitious scientist’s gift is soon seen as a threat, and in the profound conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs even as he ignites the fires of change.
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There are books that shape one’s life. This is one. It is dated in a sense — the Cold War pressures that underlie it are gone — but in another it is timeless. The themes that govern the book are important ones. Freedom, most of all.
The writing, the language, the vividness of detail
I love this book and have read it many times. Glad to get a Kindle version. It is a haunting story and one of my favorite Ursala L. Guin books.
A classic. Shows the best that sci fi can be: literate and intelligent. A superb story with superlative ideas.
A classic.
This book was a selection by a fellow member of my feminist book club and was the first Le Guin book I’d ever read. The main character is a theoretical physicist, Shevek, who lives as part of a utopic society on the moon Anarres. His people moved to Anarres after a revolution on the nearby planet Urras about 150 years ago. Anarres is mineral rich …