Customer Reviews

The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination

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Having read and enjoyed LeGuin's previous non-fiction works (particularly DANCING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, THE LANGUAGE OF THE NIGHT, and her writing book, STEERING THE CRAFT), I expected an interesting and entertaining volume of essays. What I got far exceeded my expectations. I was enchanted from the first words, and I could hardly wait to read as many of these pieces as I could gulp down each night. When I finished, I was unhappy it was all consumed. I wanted more.

The book is a cornucopia of variety. There are serious essays, playful performance pieces, literary commentary, a long and wonderful poem entitled "The Writer on, and at, Her Work," and even some sketches LeGuin has done. The volume is separated into four sections: Personal Matters, Readings, Discussions & Opinions, and On Writing. The first section gives the reader a glimpse of who Ursula LeGuin is. She talks a bit of her family, of her parents' occupations (anthropologist father and biographer mother), and of her love of libraries and islands-imaginary and real. The next two sections cover all sorts of topics. Whether she was discussing awards and gender or the submerged humor of Mark Twain's "Diaries of Adam and Eve" or literacy or rhythm in the works of JRR Tolkien, I felt I was in sure hands. I must admit that I expected the essay, "Stress-Rhythm in Poetry and Prose" to be deadly dull. Instead, I was surprised beyond my wildest imagination to find that for the first time in my entire life, someone had actually explained meter and rhythm so that it made complete sense to me. I had one of those "Aha!" moments, suddenly understanding it in a way that I had never quite managed. (So _that_ is how iambic pentameter works so effectively!) I've been raving ever since about rhythm to all who will listen.

I like the fact that LeGuin does not hesitate to address sexism, homophobia, and unfairness. Her piece entitled "Unquestioned Assumptions" is masterful. She talks about the four common varieties of unquestioned assumption (We're all men, white, straight, and Christian), and then adds a fifth which she explores at length: We're all Young. Her analysis of these issues alone was worth the price of the book.

The final section of the book is about writing and was my favorite section. LeGuin addresses many angles of craft and technique. The name of the book, THE WAVE IN THE MIND, refers to an explanation of style that Virginia Woolf once wrote in a letter. Concerning what rhythm is, Woolf had written, "A sight, an emotion, creates this wave in the mind...and then, as it breaks and tumbles in the mind, it makes words to fit it" (p. xii). LeGuin obviously agrees with this. She writes that "every novel has its characteristic rhythm. And that if the writer hasn't listened for that rhythm and followed it, the sentences will be lame, the characters will be puppets, the story will be false. And that if the writer can hold to that rhythm, the book will have some beauty. What the writer has to do is listen for that beat, hear it, keep to it, not let anything interfere with it. Then the reader will hear it too, and be carried by it" (p. 183). This is sage advice.

All of LeGuin's ideas and advice-every chapter of it-is wonderful. I loved this: "Trust your story; trust yourself; trust your readers-but wisely. Trust watchfully, not blindly. Trust flexibly, not rigidly. The whole thing, writing a story, is a high-wire act-there you are out in midair walking on a spiderweb line of words, and down in the darkness people are watching. What can you trust but your sense of balance?" (p. 234).

The examples, stories, and allusions throughout are clear and strong and elegant. Her Voice is powerful and wise, humorous and reflective. Ursula LeGuin quite clearly displays true genius. This is a book to savor, to keep, to read again and again over the years. I cannot recommend it highly enough. ~Lori L. Lake, reviewer for Midwest Book Review and author of the "Gun" series

Ms. Le Guin's latest collection of essays and "nonfictive" writings looks like one of those books that is dull, scholastic, dry, and unentertaining. But...

I don't think she can write anything in those four modes. Although some of the topics look unapproachable (anyone up for counting the number of stressed syllables in "The Three Little Bears"?) it is her craft as a writer that infuses even minute themes with that elusive "readability". I read even the most esoteric of the bits here.

Like her collection "Language of the Night", this book focuses mostly on the craft of writing. It ranges from close examination of rhythm to broad biographical topics.

Unlike some recent collections (Niven's Scatterbrain comes instantly to mind), this book is not just a grab bag of material mouldering on the author's shelf. Indeed, most of the essays have been reworked for inclusion in this volume, making each part more coherent.

On the other hand, this book really should be part of Langauge of the Night. There seems to be something essential missing. As the source material was not purpose written for a book, the theme connecting the items is pretty diffuse. Having access to these writing is good and the book is an easy breezy read (I read all it on a flight from Denver to San Francisco), but maybe a little bit more "connective tissue" is needed. I dunno, I'm still mulling over various things here: I'm writing about four letters to the author in my head. I don't want to be critical and I guess I just wanted more.

So then, if you like to read about what goes on in the head of the author of many classics, whose works continue to astonish and amaze and aspirate in your mind after the book it put away... then here is a morsel that needs your attention.

I love (almost) all of Ursula K. LeGuin's fiction. She is a wonderful storyteller whose rhythmic prose struck me and stuck with me even before I gave much thought to the idea of rhythm in prose. (Having children and reading aloud brings a new dimension to story telling.) Her imagined worlds and characters resound deeply with me, and she has earned my trust as one of the consistently best authors I have read.

This non-fiction collection is just as thought-provoking as her best stories. I had to be careful not to "gobble it up" by reading too fast. I'm sure that I will read it again and again. It gives much hope to an aspiring fiction writer whose story hasn't arrived yet. (Turns out I'm just too young; maybe next year.)

I had also worried that perhaps I had read too much to ever be creative in writing; maybe if I begin to write something original, it will come out with inadvertently plagiarized bits of Dispossessed, Lord of the Rings, and Little Women, since those seem to get stuck in my head. The admonition of Ms LeGuin that all good writers ought to read, and read a lot, comforts me. All these years I've just been fertilizing my imagination.

Although I have never met her, it seems that through some of her essays, the separation that exists between her writing and her self narrows, and the humor and wisdom and brightness (luminousness, luminosity??) of her personality shines through. I hope someday that one of the highlights of my life might be knowing her for an hour.

There is always the possibility of a writing workshop, but I really wish I could have heard her "moo"...

I. I recommend it to anyone interested in reading, writing, feminism, stories, or family. She writes like an
angel, but a particularly grounded angel, and a wry and puckish
one.

It is always a deep pleasure to be in the company of her mind. This is beautiful writing, clear and deep and necessary as water.

This is an excellent resource for writers. It affords a unique perspective in a well-organized, easy to understand form. It also contains insight into this fascinating writer, Ursula Le Guin.

To quote a particularly apt back-cover blurb, "What a pleasure it is to roam around in LeGuin's spacious, playful mind." This miscellany of thirty non-fiction pieces, some quite informal and all very readable, is the product of a very keen, wide-ranging, and imaginative yet disciplined mind. A few of the pieces are personal or semi-autobiographical, but most in one way or another concern literature, storytelling, reading, or the craft (and ethics) of writing fiction. Almost all contain original insights or provocative ideas and many warrant re-reading and pondering. Highly recommended, particularly for aspiring writers of fiction.

An inspiring collection of essays on reading, writing, and social justice -- Le Guin's geeky, syllable-counting fascination with the rhythm of writing, thoughtful point of view, love of storytelling, and audible passion for her craft becomes infectious. Under her tutelage, the decision to sit at the keyboard and write, even on a beckoning sunny day, seems perfectly rational, fun and undeniable.

Le Guin discusses and admires the works of authors including: Virginia Woolf (To the Lighthouse), Jane Austin, Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Diaries of Adam and Eve), J.L. Borges (The Book of Fantasy), Cordwainer Smith, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Salman Rushdie, Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), Tolstoy (War and Peace, Anna Karenina) Italo Calvino (Invisible Cities), Philip K. Dick (The Man in the High Castle), and Carol Emshwiller.

Ursula, I'm of your generation. I've been a fan of yours for many years, though I admit I haven't read all of your science fiction books. My favorite was "The Word For The World Is Forest." I also loved your version of the Tao teh Ching, with commentary. And I really enjoyed "The Wave in the Mind," and I thoroughly agree that roaming around in your mind is a true delight. But may I pick a little bone with you? Just a TEENY one.

You see, I'm a man. I had nothing to do with that, it was decided for me. What gets a little tiresome to me is the feminist chip you have on your shoulder. Maybe it's not a big one, but I think it's kinda outdated. You see, according to my information and observation, women write most of the books nowadays. What's more, they seem to be reading most of the books that are being read. And it's an established fact that more women are getting undergraduate degrees today than men. So why do you still gripe about male authors and such? I'd like to write a novel for a young male audience, but I don't think it's there anymore, and I'm not sure I can write a book that would please women; and I'm no retrograde patriarchal women-hater.

You griped about women's shoes and imply that men are to blame because women torture their feet so. I've had two wives (not at the same time, and after all, I HAVE been around the block a few times)and I always scolded them for buying high heels or shoes that weren't comfy. I always stressed that comfort was the prime consideration in buying shoes, and I do mean that. But no, they bought shoes that tortured their feet and gave them corns and calluses and what-all. How am I, as a man, responsible for that? As for what happened to upper-class Chinese women in the imperial days, well, I wasn't even born yet, believe it or not, and I think it was really sicko.

I had to get these things off my chest, Ursula, because I'm sincere when I say I'm really a fan of yours, and the only reason I don't give this book 5 stars is because of the occasional whines I hear from you about the horrid men. I hate the Taliban and what Moslem extremists do to women. And hey, let me tell you a little secret: I got my "feminism" in the school of hard knocks, not in a college consciousness-raising session. I was reared by a passive mother and an abusive alcoholic stepfather, and rather early in life I wondered why children had no rights. Thinking beyond that, I realized that children would never have rights until women did. So I AM in favor of women's rights and the rights of children. So please, can you take that little chip off your shoulder? I think male authors are an endangered species. I go to bookstores and libraries and most of the offerings are by women writers. And in my local library branch, "women's issues" take up two standing bookcases. "Men's issues"? A third of one shelf. And women write most of the children's books and "romances," and both genres are doing well, I hear. And the richest author in the world (that Rowling lady) is a woman, of course. Male authors just die and fade away, or drink themselves into oblivion, or blow their brains out. So, please, Ursula,"be not too hard, for life is short, and nothing is given to man," as Joan Baez once sang.

But seriously, you're one of my favorite authors, along with Margaret Atwood and Joyce Carol Oates. Keep up the good work, and I greatly appreciate the valued information you share with writer wannabes, and may that delightfully witty mind of yours never get constipated or congested!

To everyone else: buy this book. You'll love it, regardless of your gender. She shares so much with us!