Overview

Ursula K. Le Guin is the one modern science fiction author who truly needs no introduction. In the half century since The Left Hand of Darkness, her works have changed not only the face but the tone and the agenda of SF, introducing themes of gender, race, socialism, and anarchism, all the while thrilling readers with trips to strange (and strangely familiar) new worlds. She is our exemplar of what fantastic literature can and should be about. Her Nebula winner The Wild Girls, newly revised and presented here in book form for the first time, tells of two captive ""dirt children"" in a society of sword and silk, whose determination to enter ""that possible even when unattainable space in which there is room for justice"" leads to a violent and loving end. Plus: Le Guin's scandalous and scorching Harper's essay, ""Staying Awake While We Read,"" (also collected here for the first time) which demolishes the pretensions of corporate publishing and the basic assumptions of capitalism as well. And of course our Outspoken Interview, which promises to reveal the hidden dimensions of America's best-known SF author. And delivers.

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9781604864038

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Reviews

Nominated for a 2003 Hugo Award and finally in book form, this novella proves that sci-fi doyenne Le Guin grows sharper with the decades. The three-caste society she imagines, and the two girls situated at its bottom, show that while cultural structures of race, class and gender may be fluid, power hierarchies and their grim human toll remain constant. -- Ms Magazine (April 20, 2011)

The essays and especially the interview are zingy and pugnacious. -- Harper's (September 21, 2011)

"""Idiosyncratic and convincing, Le Guin's characters have a long afterlife."" --Publishers Weekly ""Her worlds are haunting psychological visions molded with firm artistry."" --The Library Journal ""If you want excess and risk and intelligence, try Le Guin."" --The San Francisco Chronicle ""Her characters are complex and haunting, and her writing is remarkable for its sinewy grace."" --Time ""She wields her pen with a moral and psychological sophistication rarely seen. What she really does is write fables: splendidly intricate and hugely imaginative tales about such mundane concerns as life, death, love, and sex."" --Newsweek"

Author Information

Ursula K. Le Guin is a mentor to two generations of radical feminist and progressive writers. Her novels and stories have won every major science fiction and fantasy award as well as the Pen/Malamud and the National Book Award. Her works include The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness, and A Wizard of Earthsea. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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