The Left Hand of Darkness

A delight to revisit this novel after many years. This edition is also worth reading since it contains introductions by David Mitchell, China Miéville and Le Guin. The latter makes the point (also echoed by Atwood) that the purpose of science fiction is not to be predictive, more to be descriptive and to serve as a thought experiment. The world of Gethen, created by Le Guin, is certainly immersive; different enough to Earth yet with certain commonalities. With the “stranger-in-a-different-world” framing device (Genly Ai, one of the two narrators, is sent from Earth as an envoy), Le Guin explores the idea of what if gender were mutable? Through mental and physical hardship, the survival of Genly and his codependent relationship with Estraven constitutes a call to arms against bigotry and xenophobia. Le Guin wrote this novel in the context of the Stonewall riots, daring to suggest that society could be better and fairer. I found myself thinking similarly about the context of the Trump administration, still a very relevant work. 8 out of 10.

By Ursula K. Le Guin