false 13648 16 <div>Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability--with a glance, a gesture, a word--to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another. Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill. <br> <br>In this beautifully crafted story, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light.<br><br><b><i> Includes a reader's guide and a sample chapter from the companion title </i>Voices<i>.</i></b><br></div> 1257800 book 2004 Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore #1) total:855|5:131|4:306|3:324|2:78|1:16| 855 3023 1268 138 4 2 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 20 16:39:46 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 20 16:49:54 -0700 2007 Voices as well.]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 09:13:05 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 07:14:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 18:27:08 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 18:38:03 -0700 2007
I read the books out of order, Voices first and this one second, and I didn't love this one the way I loved the other one; Orrec's Uplands culture is interesting but harsh, cruel, and kind o...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 16:09:57 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 16:31:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jun 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 26 13:35:43 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 26 13:36:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Aug 09 16:30:31 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 21:44:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 21:41:17 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 21:41:17 -0700 2009
"Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability--with a glance, a gesture, a word--to summon ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 10:00:22 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 08:26:19 -0700 2009 1 2.5 Stars
In first person past tense we see 'through the eyes' of a young man, Orrec, who's heterogeneous blood line may have given him the unstable gift of great power?
In standard Le Guiniean fashion Gifts started out slow and slightly obtuse. It followed the no...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 09 13:03:46 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 13:19:23 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 31 08:00:35 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 08:00:54 -0700 2009
Most of the story is told by Orrec as it happened in the past (a technique I just couldn't appreciat...more...]]> 3 1 true false Sun Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 19 20:45:40 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 21 08:39:18 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Fri Feb 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 19:43:13 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 19:48:17 -0800 2009 That said, it is a very interesting world, with powers passed as linea...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Apr 02 04:41:28 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 04:52:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Sep 17 09:53:28 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 09:59:16 -0700 2009
This was a very well-don...more...]]> 4 0 false true Sun Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 11:05:26 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 23:16:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 18 19:47:33 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 19:47:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 03 09:45:32 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 09:47:34 -0700 2009
It was a really good book, but I think I would have liked to know more of Gry's story rather tha...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Sep 04 06:31:35 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 06:31:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 08:35:09 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 10 08:49:44 -0700 2008 Twice Gifts is the first book. It is narrated by Orrec Caspro son of his clan's leader. The clans of the uplands have unc...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 13:04:50 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 13:04:50 -0700 2008 more...]]>