Grant
One of my favorite parts of reading Le Guinn is her view of sci fi as explaining the here and now as opposed to being predictive.
There's a great tension to the book. I loved exploration of loyalty and fidelity. It's a compelling "stranger in a strange land" tale. I felt part of Gensly Ai's journey of slow acclimation to the environment with its fits and stops and uncertainty.
The emergence of the state and questions of patriotism seemed apt for today. That the Ekumen exists at all comes across as a relic from a different political time. That type of confederacy is exactly the type of thing our modern populist and nationalist movement seeks to disband. Maybe I'm idealizing, but it seems like a hopeful version of institutional imagination.
I think there's much to be said about gender and gender dynamics. Probably need to read some reviews from people smarter than me with more context than me before I even attempt to voice my thoughts.
One of my favorite parts of reading Le Guinn is her view of sci fi as explaining the here and now as opposed to being predictive.
There's a great tension to the book. I loved exploration of loyalty and fidelity. It's a compelling "stranger in a strange land" tale. I felt part of Gensly Ai's journey of slow acclimation to the environment with its fits and stops and uncertainty.
The emergence of the state and questions of patriotism seemed apt for today. That the Ekumen exists at all comes across as a relic from a different political time. That type of confederacy is exactly the type of thing our modern populist and nationalist movement seeks to disband. Maybe I'm idealizing, but it seems like a hopeful version of institutional imagination.
I think there's much to be said about gender and gender dynamics. Probably need to read some reviews from people smarter than me with more context than me before I even attempt to voice my thoughts.