Customer Reviews

The Dispossessed (Gollancz S.F.)

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"To break a promise is to deny the reality of the past; therefore it is to deny the hope of a real future." -- one of the more pertinent observations made in this outstanding book, one I found myself thinking about more than any other after reading it. Otherwise "The Dispossessed" is, among other things, an exploration of utopias, political systems and the politics of utopias. As usual Le Guin wraps all of these otherwise tiresome sounding political/philosophical themes into a very engaging SF story, with outstanding characters and a generally plausible storyline. It also falls among Le Guin's many books that subtly dissect humankind's rather high opinion of itself. . .

Despite being less well-known than her Earthsea books or The Left Hand of Darkness, Dispossessed is one of Le Guin's best, a fine political allegory in SF form. The story revolves around the cultural clash of a member of an anarchist world encountering a society much like ours.

(Side note: if you think anarchism means throwing bricks through Starbucks windows, you need to watch less TV. Anarchism is a political "ism" with as long a history as Marxism. The easiest way to convey it to an American is as a "libertarian socialist".)

There is no better work of fiction that describes what a society based on true anarchy might be like. You soon see that it certainly would not be chaos. That is because a society without leaders and laws is not a society without order- it is just that the order comes from within. That is true order. People work and sacrifice because they recognize that it is in everybody's best interest. Society should be brotherhood of equals, a big family. In a sense, the world of Anarres reminded me of one great farm where family members realize from an early age that they are needed for work that must be done. Either that, or I would describe it as an old-style kibbutz on a planetary scale. It isn't a perfect system. Vigilance is needed to make sure that unofficial tyranny from peer pressure and individual corruption do not set in, but it comes across as workable and believable.

As for her sister world, Urras, it is a place of both the plutocratic-oligarchic state, as well as, the centralized communist dictatorship, locked in perpetual struggle. It is a world where men are forced and coerced to obey their leaders. It is our world. Urras is archism, Anarres is anarchism. You are forced to examine first hand the fundamental differences. It is the difference between a society of true individuals and a society of slaves.

The hero, Shevek, is both a physicist and a philosopher. His was a mind capable of reconciling not only the seeming incompatibility of the simultaneous and sequential nature of time, but also of the conflicting drives of human nature. Both required the freedom of mind of a true revolutionary.

I first read this novel over 25 years ago. It came as a shock to me to realize how much I must have internalized the character of Shevek.

"The Dispossessed" describes a world I would like to live in.
Whithout personnel properties, whithout the need to own anything. No one will be rated for his belongings, but for his personality.
This is what communism is meant to be.
One of the books I read again and again. If I had to take only one book to take whith me on an island, this would be the one.
I really do not understand, why this book is no more printed.
Or is it for political reasons ?
I am really happy to own a copy.

A great book that anyone interested in either utopian fiction or great science fiction will love. A strong plot told in a non-lineral fashion that makes you think about what freedom really is. I read this book on the recommendation I found in a Joanna Russ essay. Could not put it down, If you can find it, do your self a favor and read this book. The best book by her that I have read, even better than the Earthsea books.

Many years after a revolution, the moon-planet system in the Dispossessed has a society that is again calcifying into de facto power structures.

The protagonist in the novel is a scientist exploring the nature of time, whether linear, or more complicated.

The book looks at some of the political implications of anarchy, and utopia, and what realities actually get in the way.