Book: The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness

Science fiction spin on the usual story as a diplomat falls for a transsexual native.

In the 1960s, science fiction dared reach beyond the dreams of bearded physicists, dispensing rockets and mad robots for stories that explored how people in the future might love and think and feel.

Le Guin writes with a depth of character and literary flair to shame most other science fiction authors. With her background in anthropology, she creates a rich and credible sense of how we could engage with alien cultures.

Gethen, the planet on which the book is set, is a complex, intricate world, whose people are physically androgynous most days of the year. They become male or female for a few days each month. And that's where our diplomat runs into trouble.

Even if it doesn’t quite dare deal with the issues of homosexuality it raises, The Left Hand of Darkness does subvert gender/power relationships in a way that's boldly of its time.

Le Guin's is a classic feminist vision, which influenced a lot of science fiction to follow – especially the gender-swapping utopia of the Culture novels.

Work nominated by Yeharded, cakeeating2000 and spaceopera.