Carlos Cámara reviewed The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Good ideas, bad story
2 stars
Content warning It contains spoilers
After having enjoyed a lot The Dispossessed, and having read so many great reviews about this book, I cannot stop but feeling disappointed or under the impression that I failed to understand it or it was not the right time for me to read it.
I must recognize the originality of describing a whole hermaphrodite species in a forever frozen world, with their own culture and social organisation (something I enjoyed). But I felt that the story that was promised was weak, full of Deus ex machinas, unnecessary interruptions, and not even as strong and moving as I had imagined. Is the bonding between Therem and Genly as strong as suggested or is it merely survival? Are their beliefs about the other so shaken and deconstructed as suggested or were simply weak prejudices broken by the forced coexistence?
The fact that I found the narrative unconsistent and unnecessarily complex, didn't help at all. Genli's trip is littered with plenty of complex concepts that are not fully developed, (I am still unsure about what the Shifgrethor is -I had to look at Wikipedia and stack exchange), legends, explanations about calendars or chapters written from somedody else's perspective, without a clear criteria or rhythm on when those interludes are added. But probably, what I found most disappointing was the constant mentions to the how different gethenian culture, society and cosmogony are due to their hermaphroditism, but IMHO, it is never not clearly exemplified in anything specific, not to mention the missed opportunity of using they/them pronouns (albeit I'm aware that that might not be that commonplace back in 1969, and probably editors thought that books had to had male characters to be sold).
