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The Dispossessed

The Dispossessed

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

The Dispossessed has been acclaimed as a new approach to utopian literature, but we should pay attention to the subtitle that appears in most editions of the book: "An Ambiguous Utopia". Le Guin is never straightforward in her presentation of the various societies in her novels, there is always a subtlety, an ambiguity, which is what makes her undoubtedly one of the finest of all science fiction writers.On the planet Urras, the societies reflect the time when Le Guin was writing the novel. There is one state, A-Io, that calls to mind the capitalist society of the United States, and another, Thu, that has something of the statist communism of the Soviet Union. In contrast, on the moon Anarres, there is a functioning anarchist society based on the teaching of Odo. But we should not read Anarres as utopian, there are all sorts of restrictions on life there, as our protagonist, Shevek, discovers.He is a scientist working on a revolutionary new theory of time, and there are limitations on how far he can advance while on Anarres. So he travels to Urras in order to exchange ideas with the scientists there, only to discover that he faces different but equally frustrating restrictions there.In alternating chapters we follow Shevek on Anarres and on Urras, incidents in one often being reflected in a similar incident in the other, so that we are constantly able to compare and contrast the different societies. And while the purity of the anarchist society is presented very positively, we also see ways in which the capitalist and communist societies of Urras have an advantage.Why It's On the ListBeautifully written, vividly realised, and packed with ideas that make us constantly reassess our views on the different political systems in the novel, this is a prime example of science fiction as the literature of ideas. Little wonder that it won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards.Alternative ChoiceAs an alternative choice for this spot on the list we can present Le Guin's other work as an alternative read if you want another choice. Ursula Le Guin is, deservedly, one of the most highly acclaimed writers in science fiction. Picking the best of her books it was an almost impossible choice between The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. This is another book that won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and Locus magazine ranked it number two in a list of âAll-Time Best SF Novelsâ. Like The Dispossessed it is a part of the Hainish Cycle, and it also has a very serious political undertone, though in this case it is centrally concerned with gender politics. Set on a planet known as Winter, it describes a society in which people are gender neutral and only take on sexual characteristics once a month at a time known as kemmer. At this time an individual might take on the characteristics of either sex, so the novel works as a thought experiment about what it would be like to have no male and no female. The result is one of the most challenging and the most inspiring books in science fiction.

Books in Hainish Cycle Series (8)

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If you love the Dispossessed, then you should absolutely look at these other works.

The Lathe of Heaven is another classic novel by Le Guin, in this instance set in near-future Seattle where George Orr has effective dreams,that is, dreams that can affect reality. Under the direction of an ambitious psychiatrist, Orr tries to change the world for the better, but each change only makes things worse, until reality itself starts to break down.

The political and sexual thought-experiments that are such a feature of Le Guin's work are also to be found in the short stories of James Tiptree Jr., the best of which are gathered together in Her Smoke Rose Up Forever. Look out,in particular, for 'The Last Flight of Dr Ain', 'And I Awoke And Found Me Here On The Cold Hill' s Side, 'A Momentary Taste of Being and particularly The Women Men Don't See.

Remembering that The Dispossessed is called 'An Ambiguous Utopia', it is also worth comparing it to Trouble on Triton by Samuel R.Delany, which is described as An Ambiguous Heterotopia and which was deliberately written in dialogue with The Dispossessed. A heterotopia is a place outside of normal social institutions, a liminal place where different types of people might come together, and on Triton there is a thoroughgoing libertarian society where citizens are mostly free to live any way they wish, and regularly change their gender, sexual orientation and so forth. Against the backdrop of a war between Earth and Triton, we follow the adventures of a man from Mars who is out of sympathy with the society in which he finds himself.