/lit/ - Literature

>>15942465
The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin, Hainish Cycle #6 (1974)
Usually I don't like novels that are so ideological, but this really worked for me. It was great almost 100% of the time. I think it's an improvement in many ways over The Left Hand of Darkness which I already gave the highest rating. This is definitely one of the best books I'll have read this year and one of the top novels I've ever read. Does that mean it's perfect and I would recommended it to anyone? Obviously not, nothing can be like that. The novel is literally almost all talking, so if you need action, this isn't for you. The novel follows the life of Shevek, a physicist, from birth to around forty years old using alternating chapters of his past and present. I wasn't immediately enthralled. The first chapter was lacking and second wasn't particularly likeable. I later understood why the first was as it is, but I remain conflicted about having the audience experience how the character felt in such a way. The second is because that's simply how youth are. There are many lengthy sections explaining various ideas in detail, which no doubt is a serious consideration for some. Much of the book compares two societies. One is basically anarcho-communist and the other is decidedly capitalist. Others exist but are only briefly mentioned. Although the cover says "ambiguous utopia", I disagree with that and it wasn't originally included. They are both realistic seeming depictions, though I don't believe there has ever been an existent society that existed for the duration and scale of the anarcho-communist one so I don't know how realistic it actually is. I see the capitalist society as an intended nightmare by the powerful and the anarchic one as a nightmare by circumstance. It's difficult to say how their society would be if their circumstances were better. I wouldn't prefer to be in either of them as they are, though the anarchic is closer to my ideal, though I have many disagreements with it. Despite saying so, this passage entirely resonated with me: "But when you said that, you did not really believe. You don't believe in Anarres. You don't believe in me, though I stand with you in this room, in this moment..." "You would rather destroy us rather than admit there is hope! We cannot come to you. We can only wait for you to come to us." Ah, I want to believe, I really do. Fiction will have to suffice, because I won't be the revolution. How disappointing. There was various times where I felt like I was reading Christian anarchism despite their lack of religion. How much of my enjoyment came from me agreeing with the novel? Probably a significant amount.

The Day Before Revolution (1974)
An amusing take on how people are made into myths.

The study guide was interesting, but reminded me I would hate doing formal discussions if I were reading this for a class. Ugh.
It included a list of 26 common attitudes of 70s feminists. I found them to be generally agreeable.