book review: The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) by Ursula K. Le Guin
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
As a literature graduate I read an entire paper on science fiction. After reading Asimov’s Foundation series, I knew that I had found my true love in a genre. My love for star gazing and love for worlds apart from our own combined when I picked a book like The Foundation. Since that time The Left Hand of Darkness has been on my list of books to read.
Having finally read it, I find it hard to say that in this book I saw a love story more than science fiction. To me this book represent love that transcends galaxies and species and yet remains unfulfilled.
As I started this book for many many chapters I kept going back to understand what had happened. This isn’t an easy book to read. But the premise is very. It’s the words and languages thrown in there that can make you feel you missed something. This book gives due credit to its readers to figure it out. I loved that about it. It doesn’t spell it out for you. And it that you may have to go back and read the chapter again but the beauty of the words is hard to ignore.
To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.
The story moves around the journey of an envoy from earth Genly Ai who is on a mission to get a collection of planets to join their alliance. Through his journey he meets Estraven, the Prime Minister of Karhide who decides to help him in his mission. Genly initially trusts him but soon Estraven is declared as a traitor in Karhide. It is hard for Genly to then know whether his trust was misplaced. What happens after is a study of relationships, culture, politics and sex.
“A profound love between two people involves, after all, the power and chance of doing profound hurt.”
As a reader, the book wants to challenge and question what you consider as a norm. The concept of a gender and norms associated with it lead you to ask what would you have done in that situation. In true star crossed lovers style you find yourself in the middle of a love story that is doomed from the beginning yet as an unsuspecting bystander you are as shocked by it as you are delighted.
“Light is the left hand of darkness
and darkness the right hand of light.
Two are one, life and death, lying
together like lovers in kemmer,
like hands joined together,
like the end and the way.”
Rating: 4/5