Grounding the Reader - The Importance of Familiarity

I recently finished The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, an excellent science fiction novel originally published in 1969 that examines gender and sexual identity through an alien society that is androgynous—being neither male nor female—save for a few days every month.

The Left Hand of Darkness is one of those books that is so beautifully written and so thought-provoking that by the end of it you’ve gained a new perspective on life. It is an example of the best fiction out there; prove...