E-book
German language
Published July 29, 2014 by Heyne.
Die Bewohner des Planeten Gethen sind uns Menschen verblüffend ähnlich – mit einem Unterschied: Sie sind androgyn, und während einer kurzen Phase sexueller Erregbarkeit entscheidet sich, welcher der beiden Partner einer Beziehung welches Geschlecht annimmt. In einer solchen Gesellschaft sind geschlechtsspezifische Machtkämpfe und Hierarchien, wie wir sie kennen, nicht möglich. Doch es gibt andere Formen von Macht – und diese werden einem Abgesandten von der Erde schmerzhaft bewusst, als er zum Spielball politischer Interessen wird und gezwungen ist, in Begleitung eines Gethenianers durch die Eiswüsten des Planeten zu fliehen.
this is the first le guin I've finished. damn!! it's good!!
this is the first le guin I've finished. damn!! it's good!!
I didn't realise how much I loved this book until I reread it. It is the scifi book on gender in a very substantive way, but it is also, as the author acknowledges, out of date and lacking. Like Genly, le Guin and society learned and moved - one way and now, sadly, another...
It still shows misogyny in how Genly thinks of women and his (initial) attempts to put Gethians into gendered categories - perhaps exaggerated by the choice of "he" as pronoun (a great example of how "default" is not the same as "neutral").
But it is also much much more than just the scifi gender book. So much politics which must have had an impact on me when I read the book as a youngster - especially on patriotism and kindness - that I picked up much more brazenly on each reread.
Now to …
I didn't realise how much I loved this book until I reread it. It is the scifi book on gender in a very substantive way, but it is also, as the author acknowledges, out of date and lacking. Like Genly, le Guin and society learned and moved - one way and now, sadly, another...
It still shows misogyny in how Genly thinks of women and his (initial) attempts to put Gethians into gendered categories - perhaps exaggerated by the choice of "he" as pronoun (a great example of how "default" is not the same as "neutral").
But it is also much much more than just the scifi gender book. So much politics which must have had an impact on me when I read the book as a youngster - especially on patriotism and kindness - that I picked up much more brazenly on each reread.
Now to go discuss at book club #wsf
