Ursula K Le Guin RIP

[troutman]

Ursula K Le Guin, by Margaret Atwood: ‘One of the literary greats of the 20th century’

https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...atwood-tribute

[Locke]

That is a real shame, she was an amazing author.

The world has lost some real talent here.

RIP Ursula.

[troutman]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/o...ead-at-88.html

“The Left Hand of Darkness,” published in 1969, takes place on a planet called Gethen, where people are neither male nor female but assume the attributes of either sex during brief periods of reproductive fervor. Speaking with an anthropological dispassion, Ms. Le Guin later referred to her novel as a “thought experiment” designed to explore the nature of human societies.

“I eliminated gender to find out what was left,” she told The Guardian.

But there is nothing dispassionate about the relationship at the core of the book, between an androgynous native of Gethen and a human male from Earth. The book won the two major prizes in science fiction, the Hugo and Nebula awards, and is widely taught in secondary schools and colleges.

[CliffFletcher]

I first read A Wizard of Earthsea when I was 10, and re-read it several times over the years. It's one of those rare childhood reads that doesn't lose any of its magic when read again as an adult. Probably why I could never get into Harry Potter - it seemed like a superficial and bloated take on the slim and near-perfect novel that inspired it.

I feel another re-read coming on. Maybe do the whole Earthsea series this time.

[Itse]

Truly one of the all time greats.