Orsinian Tales: Stories

by Ursula K. Le Guin
Orsinian Tales: Stories  
published 2004 by Harper Perennial
binding Paperback
isbn 0060763434   (isbn13: 9780060763435)
pages 240
description

Orsinia ... a land of medieval forests, stonewalled cities, and railways reaching into the mountains where the old gods dwell. A country where life is harsh, dreams are gentle, and people feel torn by powerful forces and fight to remain whole. In this enchanting collection, Ursula K. Le Guin brings to mainstream fiction the same compelling mastery of word and deed, of story and character, of violence and love, that has won her the Pushcart Prize, and the Kafka and National Book Awards.

...more
date added
02-11-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 122)



Kirsten
Kirsten rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/14/08

bookshelves: corsetswandsandcoincidence, readinthelastyearish, short-stories
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Kirsten by: Jenny
recommends it for: philosophically-minded escapists
This collection is just what the doctor ordered: a seamless prose world of forests, shadows and light, great cities, young (and imperiled) love...in creating her fictionalized country, LeGuin goes further than presenting fantasy; rather, she uses the opportunity to explore states, subjugations of all sorts, insidious hopes, and the delicate power of art in an otherwise unsympathetic environment, among other things.

For the most part, I found myself very drawn in and read through these stories...more
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Adam
Adam rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
06/12/07

Read in May, 2007
recommends it for: Everyone
Ursula K. Le Guin is one of our greatest living writers. My interest in sci-fi has decreased as I've gotten older, as most of it is just poorly written or hackneyed. Le Guin doesn't have that problem at all:a her prose is beautifully crisp, and her stories are always thought-provoking.

This collection of short stories is somewhat atypical of Le Guin, as it is not really fantasy or science fiction, though it takes place in the fictional country of Orsinia. However, Le Guin spins some truly...more
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Sam
Sam rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/13/08

I am going to be devastated on the day that I see Ursula K. Le Guin's obituary in the papers, and this book is one of many reasons why. This is some of the best prose that I've read recently. She writes like Batman fights: no jazzy wire-fu whirl and leap, no showy moulinette pirouette lunar gravity twirl--just the right phrase in the right place at exactly the right time.
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Erika
Erika rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/14/08

Read in March, 2008
I don't know about this book. I really usually love LeGuin, but this book was an oddity. I kept waiting for a connection between the short stories or even a reference to the title "Orsinian Tales" but have been unsuccessful thus far. Some of the stories are sweet though, and seem very Germanic. Weird. Weird little book.
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Mira
Mira rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
02/27/08

Read in January, 1999
Favourite story in here is "Conversations at Night" because its hot. Kind of.
Ursula Le Guinn's take on science fiction is here mingled with the absurd of the past. Eastern block peasantry meets minimalist aesthetics for streamlined strange fiction, no ribbons. Yay.
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Mayuran
Mayuran rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/19/07

bookshelves: currently-reading
Read in May, 2007
recommends it for: Fans of evocation short fiction!
Le Guin shifts through hundreds of years of history in a fictional Eastern European country. Each story is self contained. One contains Christian monks being sacrificed to dark nature gods!
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Karim
Karim rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/22/07

 

Jessica
Jessica added it
01/26/08

 

Miranda
Miranda rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
10/27/07

 

Graeme
Graeme rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
09/21/07

bookshelves: short-fiction
 

Virginia
Virginia rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
02/27/08

 

Misty
Misty marked it as to-read
03/24/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Pax
Pax rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
04/07/08

 

CRM
CRM marked it as to-read
05/09/07

bookshelves: to-read
 

Donna
Donna rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
05/31/07

 

Nocdar
01/19/08

Read in January, 1978
 

Simeon
Simeon rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/12/08

 

Michaela
Michaela rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/29/08

Read in January, 2001
 

Jason
Jason rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/07/07

bookshelves: oldhat
 

Greenmtngirl
Greenmtngirl rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/30/07

 


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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.58 (90 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.52 (77 ratings)
number of reviews: 6






other editions

Orsinian tales (Paperback)
Orsinian Tales (Paperback)
Orsinian Tales (Paperback)