Ursula K. Le Guin--Transformative Fiction

The story takes us to a planet where every citizen is both male and female, and the drive of sexual needs is limited to brief phases.  It is a world known to outsiders as Winter, because the climate is brutally cold and the terrain is harsh.  An emissary to the planet hopes to establish communication and interaction with this world that is so different from any other familiar to the Known Worlds.  The narrator remarks that the culture shock was much less than the "biological shock suffered as a human male among human beings who were, five-sixths of the time, hermaphroditic neuters." It's a story about trust, and unlikely friendship. It opens up questions in a reader's mind and doesn't answer them.

I knew before I had even finished this novel that I would want to read it again.

Many of Le Guin's powerful works rank among my favorite books of all time, and I'm not the only one who thinks that she's an awesome writer. Le Guin, a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master, has been honored with many awards over the course of her writing career. She's received the the James Tiptree Jr. Award, Theodore Sturgeon Award, and Newbery Award. She has also been awarded multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize.

Photo by Eileen Gunn

On November 19, Ursula K. Le Guin will be honored with the National Book Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her contribution to American literary heritage. Previous winners include Ray Bradbury, Arther Miller, and Judy Blume. The NBF said that Le Guin was chosen because of her "transformative impact on American literature." Her work challenges our thinking on race, gender, culture, and the environment. Her writing style is lush, transportive, and thought provoking--these stories take us to new worlds.

If you haven't ever read Le Guin's work, today is a good day to start. If it's been a while, check out some of her newer titles or reread an old favorite. Check out the links below to see Le Guin's work in your library's catalog, or ask a librarian to help you find your next great read.

Have you read Le Guin's novels, stories, or poetry? Let us know if you have a favorite in the comments below.