The Left Hand of Darkness

Ursula Le Guin

1969

This is one of Le Guin's Ekuman novels, set on the planet of Winter, known to the natives as Gethen.

Genly Ai had been appointed as Representative of the Ekuman to the planet. While trying to convince the ruler of the nation of Karhide of the benefits of Ekumen membership, he is made aware that the… attention of the Ekumen Stabiles is not welcome. Much of this comes from the fear of the Other, for the people of Gethen are not as the other worlds in Genly's knowledge. Still part of the great Hainish family tree, somehow the people of Gethen had so developed that they were effectively hermaphrodites.

When his contact to the throne is exiled Genly finds himself soon following after as the throne refuses to listen to his requests for alliance.

The pair find themselves travelling across the great northern ice sheets in a journey that had only ever been successful in legends before now.

Can Genly bring the two peoples to a mutual understanding and successfully bring Gethen into the Ekuman Hegemony?

Ms Le Guin again demonstrates her skill in building up strange societies in this relatively slim novel, filling it with all sorts of intriguing strangeness.

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This is part of the Masterworks Hardback series

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