Science Fiction

The Dispossessed

The Dispossessed

  • Downloads：8379
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-08 07:53:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-13
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ursula K. Le Guin
  • ISBN：1857988825
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

The Principle of Simultaneity is a scientific breakthrough which will revolutionize interstellar civilization by making possible instantaneous communication。 It is the life work of Shevek， a brilliant physicist from the arid anarchist world of Anarres。

But Shevek’s work is being stifled by jealous colleagues， so he travels to Anarres’s sister-planet Urras， hoping to find more liberty and tolerance there。 But he soon finds himself being used as a pawn in a deadly political game。

Download

Reviews

Eli ，

So often， when I finish one of Le Guin's works， I feel like I've found my New Favorite Book， and this one fits right in there。 I think it's going to muscle out Left Hand of Darkness and City of Illusions as my favorite in this series。The anarcho-communist world of Anarres is perfectly rendered， both in its rebellious beauty and flawed customs。 Urras is a glitzy prison that holds a mirror up to authoritarian and classist rule。 Shevek is a complex character who I feel hopelessly in love with as th So often， when I finish one of Le Guin's works， I feel like I've found my New Favorite Book， and this one fits right in there。 I think it's going to muscle out Left Hand of Darkness and City of Illusions as my favorite in this series。The anarcho-communist world of Anarres is perfectly rendered， both in its rebellious beauty and flawed customs。 Urras is a glitzy prison that holds a mirror up to authoritarian and classist rule。 Shevek is a complex character who I feel hopelessly in love with as the book went on。 An instant fave， I need to get a physical copy so I can force everyone I meet for the rest of my life to read this book and then discuss it with me。 。。。more

Hannah Lewis ，

this book has everything

Jane ，

Very good， and written with a slightly more direct style than other works of hers that I've read。 I'm still not clear exactly what revolution is being proposed here， but this is a fictional work， not a political pamphlet。 Very good， and written with a slightly more direct style than other works of hers that I've read。 I'm still not clear exactly what revolution is being proposed here， but this is a fictional work， not a political pamphlet。 。。。more

John ，

Another new style of writing in Le Guin's Hainish series。 I didn't love The Dispossessed as much as the preceding The Word for World is Forest or The Left Hand of Darkness - while those books have some deep themes， the narrative is front and centre。The Dispossessed is less story-driven and instead focuses on a very intelligent exploration of an anarcho-communist 'utopia' （scare quotes because it's hardly a utopia due to the harshness of the world they are trying to scratch lives out of， but this Another new style of writing in Le Guin's Hainish series。 I didn't love The Dispossessed as much as the preceding The Word for World is Forest or The Left Hand of Darkness - while those books have some deep themes， the narrative is front and centre。The Dispossessed is less story-driven and instead focuses on a very intelligent exploration of an anarcho-communist 'utopia' （scare quotes because it's hardly a utopia due to the harshness of the world they are trying to scratch lives out of， but this is not due to a failure of the socio-economic system）。 Although extremely well thought-out and written， I did find the first half rather ponderous。Having said that， there is also a very touching relationship between the protagonist （Shevek） and his wife， and some other moving moments。 Le Guin was a very clear observer of people， their motivations and relationships。 。。。more

Dave Thomas ，

http://electrichalibut。blogspot。co。uk。。。 http://electrichalibut。blogspot。co。uk。。。 。。。more

Dermot ，

Took me two weeks to trudge through this， during which time anything （cleaning out behind the cooker） seemed preferable。 Someone I met cited Ursula Le Guin as their favourite writer， and The Dispossed popped up on a"best of" lists I saw。 Hard to see why in either case。 The Dispossessed is a pretty thin political allegory， the kind of thing teenagers in the seventies might have found clever。 To be fair， the structure works well - chapters alternating between the two worlds， past and present， and Took me two weeks to trudge through this， during which time anything （cleaning out behind the cooker） seemed preferable。 Someone I met cited Ursula Le Guin as their favourite writer， and The Dispossed popped up on a"best of" lists I saw。 Hard to see why in either case。 The Dispossessed is a pretty thin political allegory， the kind of thing teenagers in the seventies might have found clever。 To be fair， the structure works well - chapters alternating between the two worlds， past and present， and it picks up some urgency thowards the end。 Plus I learned that the opposite of an anarchist is an archist。 I didn't know that。 。。。more

Schmaehgol ，

Physicist from communist moon visits capitalist home planet。

ryan ，

I’M FREEEEE！！！ I’M FREE OF THIS BOOK！！ except for the fact that i have to write an assignment on it for school but whatever！while i expect ideas and characters from the dispossessed to definitely stick with me， actually reading it was a torturous experience that i hope to never repeat。 i enjoyed the unique manner of plot development， but although beautiful， the writing style isn’t for me。

Palsanych ，

I really cant do this。 I finished Ch 4 and this will be enough for me （about 1/3rd into the book）。 This novel is an incredible load of garbage。 The style of prose and lack of any coherent plot made me think of Ringworld by Niven， except this is even worse。 I have nothing against books where plot is secondary as long as the author is really getting across something important to the reader， or， at the very least， employs and interesting literary prose （some books are just fun to read even when the I really cant do this。 I finished Ch 4 and this will be enough for me （about 1/3rd into the book）。 This novel is an incredible load of garbage。 The style of prose and lack of any coherent plot made me think of Ringworld by Niven， except this is even worse。 I have nothing against books where plot is secondary as long as the author is really getting across something important to the reader， or， at the very least， employs and interesting literary prose （some books are just fun to read even when they are about nothing）。 This one had absolutely nothing going for it。 Devoid of any characterization whatsoever and utterly uneventful。 Even during the scenes where there is a glimpse of potential action the storytelling gets instantly muddled and the author just goes on rambling about something entirely anticlimactic。。。 Perhaps I have learned to steer clear of those older "sci-fi" books。 Ringworld， Asimov's Foundation and now this one were all a no-go for me。 。。。more

Emma ，

Crying… love u Ursula， my perfect anarchist mother ❤️

Cynthia Parker ，

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read。

Gi Serra ，

4，5

Afiag ，

"El verdadero viaje es el retorno"。。。 "El verdadero viaje es el retorno"。。。 。。。more

spikeINflorida ，

Liberal hippie from Planet Utopia visits Planet Misogyny and gets really confused。 Meh

Ithil ，

What a delightful masterpiece！

Benny ，

Shevek， a scientist from barren， but peacefully egalitarian and anarchic Anarres visits Urras， a planet of plenty with two cold-warring empires: capitalist A-Io and its rival， the mysterious， communist-like Thu。 Shevek brings a revolutionary scientific idea， the Principle of Simultaneity。Le Guin’s science-fiction is a thinly veiled comment on our own politics and society。 She criticizes discrimination and cold war politics， advocates women’s rights and true democracy。 And that seems to be the ma Shevek， a scientist from barren， but peacefully egalitarian and anarchic Anarres visits Urras， a planet of plenty with two cold-warring empires: capitalist A-Io and its rival， the mysterious， communist-like Thu。 Shevek brings a revolutionary scientific idea， the Principle of Simultaneity。Le Guin’s science-fiction is a thinly veiled comment on our own politics and society。 She criticizes discrimination and cold war politics， advocates women’s rights and true democracy。 And that seems to be the main point of the novel。 Sure， The Dispossessed is part of a longer cycle of novels， but the plot here is very meagre and its protagonist Shevek seems to be first and foremost meant to voice various socio-political ideas and opinions。 Though not always very original， these ideas are certainly worthwhile and often well put， so I can understand why this alternative sci-fi novel has its fans。 Its lack of pace and psychology had me struggling， though。 。。。more

s。penkevich ，

So this was basically the literary event of the year for me and I’m completely and utterly smitten with this novel。 And a big review is definitely coming once we meet for book club on this one。 But I need to finish the Simone Weil essays I’ve been reading alongside and get a better knowledge of Taoist socialism before writing。 But I’d give this book all the stars in the cosmos if Goodreads would let me。 So this was basically the literary event of the year for me and I’m completely and utterly smitten with this novel。 And a big review is definitely coming once we meet for book club on this one。 But I need to finish the Simone Weil essays I’ve been reading alongside and get a better knowledge of Taoist socialism before writing。 But I’d give this book all the stars in the cosmos if Goodreads would let me。 。。。more

Liz ，

This is exactly what I want out of sci-fi -- an exploration of what society could look like。 Le Guin creates a rich and realistic world that exists without capitalism。 It's not without hardship， but we get a glimpse of how a society like that could function and function well。She pits that against a late-stage capitalist society that's not all too different from where we are today。 This is exactly what I want out of sci-fi -- an exploration of what society could look like。 Le Guin creates a rich and realistic world that exists without capitalism。 It's not without hardship， but we get a glimpse of how a society like that could function and function well。She pits that against a late-stage capitalist society that's not all too different from where we are today。 。。。more

Anabel Samani ，

Fascinante por múltiples razones， desde la multitud de capas que contiene hasta el modo de mostrar esas capas。Uno de los aspectos que más me ha impactado es cómo la autora presenta esta novela utópica。 Porque Anarres， un planeta （quizá una luna） donde vive una sociedad anarquista， es una utopía， pero no es en ningún sentido un lugar simple， vacío， un lugar donde el ser humano se ha convertido en un ser sin defectos。 Úrsula ha pensado mucho en esta sociedad y en el comportamiento del ser humano， Fascinante por múltiples razones， desde la multitud de capas que contiene hasta el modo de mostrar esas capas。Uno de los aspectos que más me ha impactado es cómo la autora presenta esta novela utópica。 Porque Anarres， un planeta （quizá una luna） donde vive una sociedad anarquista， es una utopía， pero no es en ningún sentido un lugar simple， vacío， un lugar donde el ser humano se ha convertido en un ser sin defectos。 Úrsula ha pensado mucho en esta sociedad y en el comportamiento del ser humano， y sabe （intuye） que ninguna sociedad sería perfecta。 Por eso， no todo es miel sobre hojuelas en Anarres: el rencor， la envidia， incluso el deseo de poder y la imposición social de un determinado comportamiento están presentes en un mundo donde nadie posee nada y donde ni siquiera debería existir el poder y la imposición。Y con el transcurrir de esta historia Úrsula nos pregunta qué es la libertad: ¿es obedecer la ley？， ¿es la responsabilidad？， ¿es desafiar a la sociedad？， ¿es acaso la opción de la posesión？ Y a esa pregunta， a esa capa， le siguen otras que nos interpelan sobre el consumismo， la sobrexplotación de los recursos naturales， la ecología， la riqueza， la pobreza， el poder， el feminismo， la sexualidad…Los desposeídos， a pesar de lo que pueda parecer， y de necesitar de cierta tranquilidad en su lectura， en ningún momento se hace densa， aunque tampoco es una novela ligera para pasar el rato。 。。。more

chris_debian ，

DNF。 Well written， just got bored。

Nathan Anderson ，

This is the second novel I’ve read in Le Guin’s ‘Hainish’ cycle， which is a loosely connected series of novels that features some of the same locales or concepts， but are plot and character-wise， not reliant on one another。 As always， Le Guin’s masterful hand at crafting fictional cultures and developing nuanced and detailed political situations around them is on full display here。 Even more outright political in nature than the Left Hand of Darkness， The Dispossessed concerns such topics as ind This is the second novel I’ve read in Le Guin’s ‘Hainish’ cycle， which is a loosely connected series of novels that features some of the same locales or concepts， but are plot and character-wise， not reliant on one another。 As always， Le Guin’s masterful hand at crafting fictional cultures and developing nuanced and detailed political situations around them is on full display here。 Even more outright political in nature than the Left Hand of Darkness， The Dispossessed concerns such topics as individualism and collectivism， materialism， economics， war， academia， gender and identity politics， all in a relatable way of writing that feels not only incredibly researched， but in a way that feels like it’s coming from personal experience with and genuine observance of said societal structures and concepts… and the idea that a truly perfect Utopia isn’t exactly possible— that some level of sacrifice is needed to achieve the closest thing to Utopian that is possible。 Without the need for typical sci-fi conventions and imagery， Le Guin， perhaps more than any other acclaimed author in the genre， really knows how to exploit the strengths of the genre in the way that it can be a very convincing glimpse into fictional realities， but not in a way that feels like mere ‘worldbuilding’ fiction ， like a lot of fantasy and sci-fi can very easily veer into。 。。。more

Karen Ribeiro ，

Loved it。 An anarchist novel。 From beginning to the end。 Oh， a scifi novel too， but I think that is not the most relevant thing。 It makes one thinks and wonder， for sure。

Joanne Kelleher ，

3。5This is not a book that I would have read if my book club had not chosen it。 However， I am glad that I read it。 Although I didn't entirely understand all of the science， and I couldn't quite keep the worlds straight， I was engaged with the story and interested in Le Guin's depiction of an anarchistic utopia。 Through discussions among the characters， descriptions of the differing lifestyles on Urras and Anarres， and the observations of Dr。 Shevek as he explores a culture other than his own， Le 3。5This is not a book that I would have read if my book club had not chosen it。 However， I am glad that I read it。 Although I didn't entirely understand all of the science， and I couldn't quite keep the worlds straight， I was engaged with the story and interested in Le Guin's depiction of an anarchistic utopia。 Through discussions among the characters， descriptions of the differing lifestyles on Urras and Anarres， and the observations of Dr。 Shevek as he explores a culture other than his own， Le Guin provides a commentary of society in the early 70s。 As a protagonist， Dr。 Shevek is likeable， curious， and intelligent， if not naive。The book deserves a close read; it is rich with ideas worth exploring and discussing， ideally with a political science major。 。。。more

Sofia ，

To live as kin。 Maybe someday。

Marco ，

"I reietti dell'altro pianeta" racconta di due pianeti vicini， uno con una società fortemente ineguale e classista， seppur ricca di risorse， mentre l'altro praticamente anarchico， ma povero。 La parte più interessante secondo me è proprio la descrizione di come queste due società funzionino e la scoperta da parte del protagonista dei difetti di entrambe。 E se per la società "capitalista" i problemi sono abbastanza chiari quasi da subito， il lato oscuro della società anarchica emerge in maniera al "I reietti dell'altro pianeta" racconta di due pianeti vicini， uno con una società fortemente ineguale e classista， seppur ricca di risorse， mentre l'altro praticamente anarchico， ma povero。 La parte più interessante secondo me è proprio la descrizione di come queste due società funzionino e la scoperta da parte del protagonista dei difetti di entrambe。 E se per la società "capitalista" i problemi sono abbastanza chiari quasi da subito， il lato oscuro della società anarchica emerge in maniera allo stesso tempo realistica e non ovvia。Insomma， si nota， anche in dettagli relativamente minori， una grande lavoro di pianificazione e preparazione。 。。。more

Maaike ，

Supersterke scifi， geen wonder dat dit een klassieker is。 Vond het vooral heel indrukwekkend hoe de hoofdstukken in de twee verschillende samenlevingen （anarchistisch Annares en kapitalistisch Urras） steeds meer parallellen gingen vertonen naarmate het verhaal vorderde。 Zoveel mega-interessante vraagstukken over politiek， cultuur， filosofie， wetenschap， maar vooral over de samenleving en hoe we het nou het beste kunnen rooien zo als mensen bij mekaar…。 Een boek om te herlezen。

Michaela ，

One of my favorite Le Guin books so far！ Builds a realistic-feeling anarchist society。 I actually want to read the fictional philosopher Odo。 I also found the character development compelling and nuanced。

Albert ，

Obra magistral y clásico de la ciencia ficción。 Se merece 4，5 estrellas。 Poco que decir a lo mucho que se ha escrito sobre esta novela。 Elogiar a la autora， ganadora con esta obra del Locus， Nebula y Hugo de 1974， que además de especular de forma genial usando la crítica social de los modelos capitalista y anarquista， los incluye en un universo de colonización de planetas y terraformaciones y viajes por la galaxia de diferentes civilizaciones。Y hacer todo contextualizado en una época de política Obra magistral y clásico de la ciencia ficción。 Se merece 4，5 estrellas。 Poco que decir a lo mucho que se ha escrito sobre esta novela。 Elogiar a la autora， ganadora con esta obra del Locus， Nebula y Hugo de 1974， que además de especular de forma genial usando la crítica social de los modelos capitalista y anarquista， los incluye en un universo de colonización de planetas y terraformaciones y viajes por la galaxia de diferentes civilizaciones。Y hacer todo contextualizado en una época de política conservadora， de la segunda mitad del SXX en EEUU y por una mujer （en una sociedad machista）， todavía le da más mérito。La novela es densa pero muy interesante y， aunque no diría que he encontrado el clásico 'sense of wonder'， insisto en la generación magistral de una historia sobre civilizaciones planetarias próximas con una carga de ficción social especulativa impresionante y muy bien narrada。Leer Ursula K。 Le Guin es una garantía de calidad。 Os recomiendo la novela。Os recomiendo una buena reseña en el gran web de El Biblionauta en català）: https://elbiblionauta。com/ca/2018/05/。。。Y otra reseña magnífica en La bilioteca del Kraken: https://www。elkraken。com/Esp/D-esp/R-。。。 。。。more

Nat ，

Brilliant。 In the tradition of all truly great science fiction， The Dispossessed is thought-experiment-turned-literature， in which our main character is from a truly anarchist society。 The plot flips back and forth between his past on Anarres and his present on Urras， its twin whose society is opposite in almost every way。 Part of what is so striking about this book is that it's actually utopian fiction， which tends to be harder to pull off and not as exciting as dystopian fiction， which general Brilliant。 In the tradition of all truly great science fiction， The Dispossessed is thought-experiment-turned-literature， in which our main character is from a truly anarchist society。 The plot flips back and forth between his past on Anarres and his present on Urras， its twin whose society is opposite in almost every way。 Part of what is so striking about this book is that it's actually utopian fiction， which tends to be harder to pull off and not as exciting as dystopian fiction， which generally lends itself towards easier plotting and themes。 But Le Guin makes it work。 The main character is inspirational and well crafted， and the language is sparse but powerful and thought-provoking。 The end especially hits hard:His hands were empty， as they had always been。 。。。more

Alex ，

Classic LeGuin。 Weird， engrossing， ends kind of oddMaybe I should read from the beginning of the Hainish cycle， and it'll make more sense。 But still， lots of fun。 Classic LeGuin。 Weird， engrossing， ends kind of oddMaybe I should read from the beginning of the Hainish cycle， and it'll make more sense。 But still， lots of fun。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Dispossessed

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Dispossessed&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Dispossessed&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0