The Dispossessed (1974)

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1994)

Simply a stunning, legendary piece of fiction that every reader should experience for themselves. I've successfully recommended this book to quite a few people (not always SF readers) and I often notice that it has stuck with me in a profound way. It also has become some kind of inner reference point whenever thoughts about alternative models of society come up. :) ( )

To be whole is to be part;
true voyage is return.

Shevek is on a journey from his home planet of Anarres, a socialist anarchist settlement, to the mother planet Urras, a Paradise of late-stage capitalism. We follow him as he seeks to bridge the gap between the two worlds, isolated from each as though they were not the other's moon. But to which world does the eponymous "ambiguous utopia" refer to? We never really get a direct answer, as Le Guin is not some daydreaming idealist. There is no denial of the reality of suffering, it all depends on what we - collectively as societies and of our own accord as individuals - are willing to put up with.

There's no doubt though, on my part, which is ideal, which freedoms I am willing to give up, which responsibilities I would be willing to take up. I am no anarchist, though I was once a socialist. And for a moment it really seemed an Anarres was possible–for us, right now. Though it'd be a bitter journey, for sure. It is not all milk and honey on Anarres.

What else can I say. Sometimes it truly feels as if Le Guin is writing for me, like the past decade of my life has lead up to read this book at this exact moment, my hands empty. ( )

Ursula Le Guin er margverðlaunaður höfundur og í flestum bóka hennar eru djúpar pælingar á mannlegum samskiptum og samfélagsgerð. Í þessari sem mætti þýða sem "hinir eignarlausu" segir frá samfélagi á litlu tungli sem er algerlega anarkískt. Enginn á neitt, allir deila með sér og íbúarnir gera sér far um að deila öllu valdi þannig að valdastrúktúrar festist ekki í sessi. Til að tryggja að utanaðkomandi áhrif spilli ekki þessari paradís þá er íbúum nágrannaplánetunnar einungis leyft að lenda á einum stað innan múrveggja til að skiptast á nauðsynlegum varningi.
Eðlisfræðisnillingurinn Shevek hefur hins vegar rekið sig á veggi valdakerfis sem leynast innan stjórnleysingjadýrðarinnar og hann vill koma á framfæri byltingarkenndri uppgvötun sem hann gert. En hann er sanntrúaður stjórnleysingi og vill ekki afhenda neinum einum aðila uppgvötunina.
Hann leitar því til nágrannaplánetunnar en áttar sig fljótlega að þar er kapítalískt eignarsamfélag sem myndi fara enn verr með hugmynd hans og nú eru góð ráð dýr.
Skemmtileg framsetning á hugmyndafræðikerfum og góðar pælingar. ( )

Read for my OU course.

I am very much NOT a science fiction reader, and I understand so little about Physics that I am not sure how much of the Physics in this novel is fact and how much fiction. At times this reminded me of Orwell, with its concerns about government and authority and abuse of power.

I disliked it less than I expected to, but I'll go back to reading genres I enjoy now... ( )