Dispossessed, The [50th Anniversary Edition]: A Novel

I expected unusual science fiction about a war going on! Like Star Wars or the alien extraterrestrial warfare going on down the street. I got it, it was good action, you cannot make a movie out of that.

The Dispossessed is THE most intriguing and intellectually-inspiring Sci-Fi books I have ever read. Absolutely perfect, yet wholly unexpected. While I personally love LeGuin's Earthsea series -- my primary motivator for reading this book -- I was definitely not expecting such a masterpiece of prose, theme and story...especially not from the sci-fi genre. Realizing this 50 years late(r) that such a work existed, I cannot help but think that should I have discovered it earlier (say, in my formative Cold War-era youth) I may have been inspired down a different path in life and career. However, reading this now, at middle-age (but pre-midlife crisis), I can enjoy and absorb what this book has to offer. And that is simplicity within complexity. I cannot bring myself to summarize this book. It would be a brutal waste of time and space. I can also easily see why readers either love or hate this work -- it is not your typical sci-fi story, by any means. The book is written in such a manner that requires patience, much like a chess game, but it end with (as others have stated) no true payoff. It merely ends, with a tame return of protagonist to home, completing his journey, yet with no definitive resolution. All is left up to the reader...no sequel, no trilogy, no series...and no chance to ever return to character nor planet. And in this, it is perfect. While some complain that LeGuin's narrative style here is too broken and disruptive, I would counter that it is merely developmental. Flashbacks may be "old hat" in today's media environment, but LeGuin uses it to craft two sides of the same story as they journey towards merger and completion (but not resolution). This style allows for the patient development of scene, setting and character, while also advancing the overarching juxtapositional theme -- or "action," if you will...not that there is any in this book -- of LeGuin's comparison of a socialist versus oligarchist society. I never read, as some suggest, that LeGuin's intent for this book was "preaching." For it was neither "for" anarchism, nor socialism/communism, nor really any other "ism." It was simply a dialogue of thoughts and ideas, set to the background of a slow-paced voyage and return for the protagonist. For those who wish to overlay with political themes of Marxism, feminism, and the like, I would suggest that its intent is beyond these things. It is a contrast of societies, in which humankind has chosen two distinctly separate courses of action. Of these two, the results have been both different yet the same. For Shevek, his journey/adventure between these two worlds/societies resulted in neither his metamorphosis nor triumph (much to the dismay of many sci-fi readers, I assume). All was but a mere cycle for one man, who may or may not have made a difference...and in that regard, in the end, the next chapter lays at your feet somewhat of a "choose your own adventure" for the reader. Let your mind embrace it. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey...

Exhilaration and Depression! Archists/Capitalists - Corrupted from inception; Anarchists/True Socialists - Initially Pure but corrupted by penalty. LeGuin was a genius.