Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018)

DNF

Dude goes to a winter world where its inhabitants are ambisexual and he has trouble accepting it.

The writing is fantastic and the world building is well done. This is a very intellectual novel mostly focusing on the topics of gender.
After listening for 4 hours there wasn’t much in way of plot development, and whilst I did find a lot of the discussions thought provoking, I wasn’t that entertained and my interest was waning. I might try another of this authors works but this one wasn’t doing it for me.… (more)

This is my kind of book. It's the best intersection of the historical fiction I grew up loving and the ancient references I know since studying Greek and Roman history and culture from elementary school up. It's told from the point of view of Lavinia, who is more than just Latinus's daughter and Aeneas's bride. She deeply considers what marriage and piety and justice for her land mean.
The writing style- some might find it dry. I liked it. It just takes a little getting into. Once you've been reading for a while, it feels natural to read straightforward narration and poetic descriptions.
Le Guin may not be trying to write a poem in any sense, but her words carry a rhythm of their own. This is a woman who reads A LOT. I love that.
The characters can seem bland on the surface. But all their discussions about the gods and duty didn't seem at all contrived.
The story isn't told in order at first, which gets confusing if you're reading in short spurts. I understand why the author made the choices she did, though.
Overall this book is appropriate for any age (but reading level is certainl middle school or above [maybe I'm overrating reading levels- I who studied Greek and Roman history and mythology could've gotten through this in middle school, I who read Paradise Lost as a high school freshman]). There are however a couple spots that will make people uncomfortable. There's two or three non-graphic sex scenes. Also a couple instances of obscenity that seem really random. I don't think there's reason why the monkey needs to handle its penis or pee on Lavinia, but Le Guin apparently disagrees. None of this has any bearing on the plot so if a parent wanted to "censor" the book before their child read it by blacking out those parts, they could do that.
I'm guessing a lot of people are unsatisfied with the ending. It's not really there. But I think it's beautiful. Vergirl gave Lavinia a name. Le Guin gave her a story and a life.
Lavinia lives on.… (more)

Annals of the Western Shore trilogy, by Ursula K. Le Guin (the individual titles are Gifts, Voices and Powers):

Each book is an independent story, although they are all connected by their themes and also because the main characters of previous books usually play a minor role in the following one. They are coming of age stories. They are also about freedom, and about stories and the power of storytelling.

The first two novels are relatively short and straightforward, while the last is longer and more complex, but the magic of Le Guin's writing is very much apparent in all of them. She writes beautifully, telling her stories with poignancy and hope.

If you are only going to read one, read Powers, the last and best one of the trilogy, but I think it's worth reading the whole trilogy in order to better appreciate the interconnections between them.… (more)

Annals of the Western Shore trilogy, by Ursula K. Le Guin (the individual titles are Gifts, Voices and Powers):

Each book is an independent story, although they are all connected by their themes and also because the main characters of previous books usually play a minor role in the following one. They are coming of age stories. They are also about freedom, and about stories and the power of storytelling.

The first two novels are relatively short and straightforward, while the last is longer and more complex, but the magic of Le Guin's writing is very much apparent in all of them. She writes beautifully, telling her stories with poignancy and hope.

If you are only going to read one, read Powers, the last and best one of the trilogy, but I think it's worth reading the whole trilogy in order to better appreciate the interconnections between them.… (more)