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| Image of Antartica is from NSIDC |
New York : Ace Books, 2000, c1969.
304 p. ; 21 cm.
It's been a brutal winter in the Midwest, so this was an excellent book to finish out winter with, and welcome in spring. Le Guin's masterpiece is set on the planet Gethen - nicknamed "Winter" by the first visitors from earth. The novel is told from the viewpoint of Genly Ai - an envoy from earth, who is sent alone to the planet to try and persuade its humanoid dwellers to join the Ekumen - a loose confederation of eighty-plus planets peopled by other human species.
The great twist of Le Guin's novel is that on Winter the humans have no gender until they enter estrus - and the gender that emerges during the 5-7 period of "kemmer" is not set for an individual but is dynamic and requires a partner to fully proceed. Le Guin uses this lack of fixed gender to explore many political, social and cultural concepts that could play out in such a gender free - and non monogamous culture. Imagine a world in which individuals might be both a mother and father and in which there was a bond with "kemmer" partners, but not usually a lifelong bond. Le Guin's spins out her story of Gethen with its two competing "nations" - Karhide and Orgoryen - with skill and creativity, and her storytelling seems effortless and completely believable.
The novel is exciting, interesting, contemplative, and wonderfully satisfying. I would definitely recommend it to any student who likes science fiction, and would recommend it to any student looking for a really intelligent but fun to read novel.
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