Wonderful

My first experience of le Guin’s sci fi works. Loved it and will be reading more

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A fantastic introduction to Le Guin

This was my first experience of Ursula Le Guin’s writing and it is hard to put into words what a powerful experience it was.

Some reviewers have disparaged the narrator but I felt his reading was in keeping with the subtle understatement of the novel overall, and therefore enjoyed it very much.

The storyline was almost unbearably, certainly compellingly, intriguing; the world building and imagery, incredibly vivid. The relationship between Ai and Estrevan was almost perfectly portrayed by the author. I particularly enjoyed the way the book deconstructed some of the deep questions of humanity- philosophical, ecological and so on, so insightfully, without ever being anything like moralising.

In a way, I experienced the novel as an intellectual journey as well as en emotional and narrative one. Thought-provoking is too feeble a description. Also, it kept defying my expectations- a rare experience for someone who has read so much.

I will now rush to read/listen to the other books in the Hainish cycle.

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Brilliant book, Horrifying Narration

Don't waste your money! The narrator slurs his words and CAN'T READ. He will pause at random stops in a sentence and often he mumbles to the point I had to strain to understand what he was saying. I ended up purchasing a physical copy of the book. Audible was also EXTREMELY DISHONEST because when I listened to the sample they picked the one chapter read by a different, way superior voice. I feel robbed of a credit. It made me want to cancel my subscription altogether.

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2 people found this helpful

Vintage sci-fi with modern relevance

One of those books that's been on the TBR pile for many years, and I'm glad I got around to it. thought provoking themes of friendship, culture, and gender were dealt with in a sympathetic narrative that made me realise Ursula Le Guin's remarkable talent.
narration might not suit everyone; George Guidall is one of the most prolific audiobook narrators, but it took a while to settle with his voice and, at times, breathless delivery.
that said, I'd definitely recommend for those with a taste for classic sci-fi.

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Great story!

Loved this book. Such a great tempo. Like a laidback Dune - less epic but leaves more to think about.
I liked the narrator too. His voice seems a bit wobbly to start but you tune into it, and then it sounds just right.
Definitely recommended!

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5 people found this helpful

Title getting returned

I didn't think it was possible for a narrator to destroy one of my absolute favourite books. George Guidell manages just that.
His narration, with its total lack of rhythm and occasional idiosyncratic pronunciations, makes a mockery of Leguin's elegant use of language.
Better versions exist. Find them.

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3 people found this helpful

Just magnificent scifi!

I adore the vivid imaginings of Ursula Le Guin, and this is just another beautiful example.

The alien-ness and the humanity of the different peoples, the weirdness of the world, the depth of the characters and the weaving plot all blew my mind as I was transported to the world of Winter.

I'm so glad I finally took the time to read it.

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Quite simply a great work of fiction.

Re-reading this book after a gap of many years confirmed to me that it's the finest work of science fiction that I've ever read. But it's far more than that. In truth, the 'science' aspect is rather minor.

Yes, it's the 4th book in Le Guin's 'Hainish Cycle' but there is absolutely no need to read any of the other books in the cycle before this one. All the books in the cycle stand on their own merits.

The Left Hand of Darkness postulates a world peopled by androgynous natives whose biological sex is determined once a month when, for a brief period, they become sexually active. They acquire a gender and become, temporarily, either male or female but there is no prior way of knowing which it will be.

It's the way Le Guin explores the ramifications of this unique biology on culture and interpersonal relations that elevates the book beyond the boundaries of mere genre. It is, quite simply, a great work of fiction.

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Awful narrator

I couldn't follow this book at all because I just couldn't tune in to the narrator! I found it so difficult to follow what he was saying I could hardly take the story in. something about his pace, tone, cadence, I don't know, but I began listening again to the same story by a different narrator and it was like hearing it anew! I had missed so much! So I can't carry on with this version unfortunately

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5 people found this helpful

A classic

An excellent and seminal story - one of the greats of SF.

The narration took some getting used to at first - the narrator's voice can be slightly difficult to understand in places, but after the first few chapters I was used to it and no longer found it difficult. He did a good job of converting the emotional tone of some parts - particularly the last section of the book.

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4 people found this helpful