Review: The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness is a sci-fi classic from way back in 1969. I saw some of Ursula's books talked about online, and referenced as the origin of the word "Ansible" (which was borrowed by the software tool and Enders Game). Also because it took out the Hugo Award in 1970, 4 years after Dune. This confluence of reasons delivered me to the idea that I should give it a read.
Ursula wrote a story that still feels unique and fresh 56 years later, exploring an imaginary society on another planet through the eyes of an interstallar envoy. It was an excellent book, and I personally really enjoyed it, however I certainly wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for an easy read. As usual, if you want a bog-standard review, go read someone else's. Over the last 56 years, I'm sure a good couple have been published. This is my critique:
Vocabulary
I immediately knew this book would be an absolutely brutal read. The Left Hand of Darkness hits you with the one-two punch of:
- Being an old book
- Using an extensive vocabulary
Did people use more words a few generations back? Am I dumb? I guess we'll never know, but I kept a list of some of the words I had to look up. How many of these words do you know? I scored 0:
- Augury
- Disconsolate
- Ignominious
- Impugn
- Limpid
- Obdurate
- Panoply
- Perfidy
- Phlegmatic
- Potentate
- Umbrageous
- Vitperation
On top of these frequent gifts of confusion, Ursula enjoys a the occasional made-up word too, like shifgrethor or pesthry.
On the topic of being old, it feels like old books tend to use slightly different sentence structure that requires more mental effort to parse than modern books. The most brutal book I've read was probably Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, which was written ~1870. The Left Hand of Darkness wasn't as bad, but still comes in second. Just an an example, here is a sentance from the book:
I had a new passport, and a free pass to all transient-houses on my road, and a telegraphed invitation to the Mishnory residence of the first commensal district commissioner of entry-roads and ports, Mr Uth Shusgis.
The Big Snow Journey
In my mind, the book has roughly 5 sections:
Of these 5 sections, the one I've called "The Big Walk" was easily the worst. I get it, it's a 80+ day death defying hike with the two main characters where they both almost die and the reader really learns the ins-and-outs of pushing a sled across a glacier. The main characters talk a little, but very little happens. Compared to the other 30-page sections, it was incredibly slow.
Conclusion
It's a left hand and it's in darkness. Get it?
But for real, it's a damn good book, and a more nuanced and personal sci-fi that explores society more than technology. I enjoyed it.