THE DISPOSSESSED by Ursula K. LeGuin

Are you ready for an out of body experience in a dark spooky sci-fi setting where consciousness is fleeting and reality twists in unorthodox and myriad ways? I hope not. Because that is not what this novel is. The Dispossessed is more of a societal comparison analysis than a riveting sci-fi tale. I wasn’t ready for that. The only other LeGuin I’ve been exposed to is the Earthsea series, which I enjoyed very much as an exploration of the fantasy setting. It had a fascinating plot with riveting characters and deep themes. In the Dispossessed, the deep themes are there. They are screaming out to us. But I found the story a bit slow moving and I found the characters a bit flat. That’s okay though. LeGuin really has some fascinating ideas within this book and she really breaks them down thoroughly. The premise of the book is that there are two worlds living side by side with each other, I think one is a moon of the other, that have vastly different societies. The Anarres folks originated from the home world of Urras a long time ago in a revolt of some kind that led to them being self-exiled on Anarres and setting up a socialist society. Urras is a capitalist type of society where owning things, property, is important. On Urras there are many different nations that are competing and sometimes warring with one another which makes the politics complicated. On Anarres they decide things communally yet still highly value the decisions of the individual to pursue the path they want or need. Of course, nothing is so simply defined and LeGuin does a great job letting us realize that along the way. The main character, Shevek, who we are following in this story isn’t the most likable sort. He’s distant and alien. His upbringing is quite different than what a typical western upbringing would be so he a bit non-relative. This feels like it is done on purpose. We are not supposed to be able to relate to Shevek. He is trying to present to us a society that he feels is superior but is having a hard time proving it to anyone. LeGuin dives into long diatribes over philosophical ideas, tackling questions like, “what is truth?” and “what is morality?” These digressions kind of bog the story down a bit and firmly place the novel into the “thought experiment” category rather than a riveting sci-fi adventure. That is okay if it’s what you are looking for. The major theme we get immediately exposed to is this idea of building walls, around us, around our families, around our society and around our ideas. LeGuin explores all the various ways in which these walls simultaneously protect us and hinder us. She also explores what it takes to break down walls that are harmful and build up new ones to help us out, both on a personal level and as a society. Despite the slower sections though, I was very invested in the ending and enjoyed most of LeGuin’s prose. I look forward to seeing if her other sci-fi novels affect me in a similar manner.