Rat 🛸

I was expecting a weird maths fantasy and instead I got that with additional feminism? So yeah good book

I really love how UKLG does world-building; she doesn't do it for the sake of thinking of fun character names or wondrous settings or exciting aliens. She does it to delve into the question of how another society would work, whether we could truly live beholden to each other rather than to governments and money. The society is so fleshed out with it's virtues and flaws and characters who make the world operate.

in terms of the narrative, I did enjoy, but felt that more could have happened for Shevek on Urras. The conversations were interesting but the plot was thin. I would have liked him to go to Thu, as he always generalises "this is what it's like on Urras" when he has only experienced one government there.

even with the slow plot (until the last quarter!!) I did really enjoy. I am very interested in Anarchism, I believe in some anarchist ideals, and I think that Le Guin does well to create a situation that makes anarchism work. One of the reasons I don't believe Anarchism could work within my lifetime is that no matter your form of government (or lack of government) you will still have the same people in your society; there will still be enough greedy people, cruel people and apathetic people to exploit others if they are not restrained from doing so. On Annares, there are only people who have chosen to be there, only people who believe in the cause, so this problem is solved by social pressure.

There were aspects of the descriptions of Urras that really haunted me, the beauty and brutality of a capitalist society rich in natural resources.

some things are really funny on reread like Finnicks seeming obsession with bread and Katniss being oblivious to everyone flirting with her.

Beetee, Wiress and Mags are Sooo good. the bit where it describes Haymitchs games is iconic. I love and hate it.

there's so much nudity in this book?? like not only is there the famous Johanna scene but she's also naked during training and at one point the main characters all lose their outer clothes and are just in underwear for the rest of the games? what??

I felt like I was entering another world when reading this.  Made me think of Britain's colonial crimes and how the ongoing effects are often swept under the rug and overlooked.

I was a bit unsure of the book at first - I really didn't like the idea that in every "good life" Nora had there had to be some kind of turnabout that made it a tragedy and not better than her usual life. It grew on me as it went along, though, and I'm really charmed by the librarian as she reminds me of my own high school librarian.