From the Bookshelf of The Alternative Worlds…

The Left Hand of Darkness

Ursula K. Le Guin

Start date: November 1, 2011

Finish date: November 30, 2011

Discussion: A-F Book Discussions Archive

Why we're reading this: Classics pick for October 2010.
Buddy Read for November 2011
[close] Classics pick for October 2010.
Buddy Read for November 2011

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What Members Thought

Feb 03, 2009 Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sf, favorites, gender

When I finished reading it last night I put it down for five minutes, then reread the first chapter. I had missed so much, and so much is set up early in the book that I could see why someone might read this multiple times to get all of the implications. What an incredible book. I can't believe I put it off for this long.
I had always imagined that the gender stuff was going to be the all-important theme, but I really found it to be secondary to a lot of other topics: patriotism, alienness & ali ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Dec 12, 2013 Nicky rated it really liked it

Shelves: speculative-fiction, classics

Reread this for my SF/F class on Coursera. I loved it more, this time: read it slowly, appreciated the details, just as the professor suggested. Partially because, of course, I knew it would be rewarding with Ursula Le Guin. I don't think I was ready for this book when I read it before: the fierce joy and love in some parts of it, the devastation, the making-strange of familiar things and the making familiar of strange things.

Some parts were... maybe less subtle than I thought Le Guin would be. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2009 Kara Babcock rated it really liked it

Shelves: feminism, science-fiction, 2009-read, own, nebula-winner, hugo-winner

There are many flavours to science fiction, something that omnivorous readers adore and sceptics of sci-fi" forget. Not all science fiction is Star Wars, with action heroes, fast ships, and big guns (or, you know, swords). Not that there's anything wrong with those stories--but those who pan The Left Hand of Darkness for lacking such things tend to miss the point. It's not supposed to be like those stories; instead, it is a highly-faceted intellectual gem.

So much science fiction and fantasy take ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2008 Terence rated it liked it

Shelves: speculative-fiction

Rereading it in anticipation of a group read. It's been a while, and I'll be interested (if no one else) in how I like it.
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I finished rereading this book the other day. I first read the book about 25 years ago, probably soon after reading Le Guin’s Earthsea trilogy, and I’ll admit that as a 13-14-year old much of it went right over my head (at least on a conscious level) so I’m glad I took the opportunity to read it again for a group discussion.

As Le Gu ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Jul 13, 2011 Kevin Xu rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I love the idea of this book, but I could of a world when the beings were gender less and raceless, plus I don't care much for LeGuin's politics. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2008 Nicky rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction

I liked this book. When I was younger, it was a bit too dense for me to really enjoy, but when I reread it a while ago it was much easier. Le Guin's willingness to twist things and experiment with the structure of society is always interesting. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 28, 2025 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: award_winner, sci-fi, feminism, dtb-own, to-reread

2025: Probably my 3rd time reading this one, but the first in a very long time. Left Hand is a fascinating thought experiment/character study about gender, of course, but this time around I'm more intrigued by the very clever way that Le Guin creates an unreliable narrator via his own perceived competence. Genly Ai has been trained to be an envoy, to make first contact and guide this alien world into conversation and membership with the greater universal Ekumen, he's studied the language and bel ...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Joan rated it it was amazing

This was a reread for me, a much respected novel from my bookworm youth. I hoped it would hold up after the nearly fifty years since its initial publication; thankfully it did. The first half gets a bit mired in Machiavellian political intrigue but the second half is still a remarkable, moving piece of gender identity exploration, just as timely today as it was in 1969. Genly Ai is more naïve and adolescent than I remember him (strange traits in a diplomat), but that's probably because I was naï ...more

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