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A review by yevolem
Five Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K. Le Guin
5.0
Five wonderful interconnected novellas originally serialized in magazines and then presented together in this collection. Characters appear and events occur that are referenced between each one.
Betrayals
An elderly woman who believes she has lost everything finds a way to make life meaningful again.
Enjoyable
Forgiveness Day
A cross between The Left Hand of Darkness and The Handmaid's Tale. A strong independent woman finds herself as an envoy to a phallocracy, that's the word used, and quickly discovers the limits to her feminism and idealism. In this society all women are property and most men as well, 5/6s of the population are enslaved. I read it as an exploration of the limitations of privileged feminism that attempts to bring about change without any understanding of context or what they're up against. Somewhat like a feminist who travels to Saudi Arabia and without any consideration of her surroundings believe she'll be able to bring about systemic change for all women.
Highly Enjoyable
A Man of the People
This one begins on Hain. A young man yearns for something greater than the life he lives and knows and so he sets out to do exactly that. Possibly an exploration of the limits to cosmopolitanism and cultural relativity.
Highly Enjoyable
A Woman's Liberation
Possibly a take on Twelve Years a Slave or similar works depicting slavery. A woman is born into slavery, but has quite a life ahead of her. The limitations of well-meaning male moderates are explored. Manumission? Why certainly, I'm no monster! What's that you say, rights for women? I would never allow it!
Highly Enjoyable
Old Music and the Slave Woman
Old Music is one of his names, but he primarily goes by Esdan. A civil war over slavery is underway and he's bored because he's been in the embassy for far too long with nothing to do. So, he leaves its sanctity and quickly discovers the difference between imagined and actual experience. It doesn't go well for him. The story explores the limitations of both pacifism/non-intervention, the Rwandan Genocide was contemporaneous, and violent revolution, which seems prescient about the outcome of the Arab Spring. This story also seems to be in part a commentary on Iran at the time, though it's still relevant today. It's also strongly against the US "liberating" and "bringing democracy" to other countries. This wasn't included in the original collection.
Enjoyable
From the Chronology section:
1947: Ursula K. LeGuin Graduates high school in class of 3,500, which includes Philip K. Dick. The two never meet, although they later correspond.
1962: Encouraged by a friend, begins reading science fiction writers Philip K. Dick...
What a coincidence and I wonder if she knew as she was reading him that they had been in the same graduating class by then.
Betrayals
An elderly woman who believes she has lost everything finds a way to make life meaningful again.
Enjoyable
Forgiveness Day
A cross between The Left Hand of Darkness and The Handmaid's Tale. A strong independent woman finds herself as an envoy to a phallocracy, that's the word used, and quickly discovers the limits to her feminism and idealism. In this society all women are property and most men as well, 5/6s of the population are enslaved. I read it as an exploration of the limitations of privileged feminism that attempts to bring about change without any understanding of context or what they're up against. Somewhat like a feminist who travels to Saudi Arabia and without any consideration of her surroundings believe she'll be able to bring about systemic change for all women.
Highly Enjoyable
A Man of the People
This one begins on Hain. A young man yearns for something greater than the life he lives and knows and so he sets out to do exactly that. Possibly an exploration of the limits to cosmopolitanism and cultural relativity.
Highly Enjoyable
A Woman's Liberation
Possibly a take on Twelve Years a Slave or similar works depicting slavery. A woman is born into slavery, but has quite a life ahead of her. The limitations of well-meaning male moderates are explored. Manumission? Why certainly, I'm no monster! What's that you say, rights for women? I would never allow it!
Highly Enjoyable
Old Music and the Slave Woman
Old Music is one of his names, but he primarily goes by Esdan. A civil war over slavery is underway and he's bored because he's been in the embassy for far too long with nothing to do. So, he leaves its sanctity and quickly discovers the difference between imagined and actual experience. It doesn't go well for him. The story explores the limitations of both pacifism/non-intervention, the Rwandan Genocide was contemporaneous, and violent revolution, which seems prescient about the outcome of the Arab Spring. This story also seems to be in part a commentary on Iran at the time, though it's still relevant today. It's also strongly against the US "liberating" and "bringing democracy" to other countries. This wasn't included in the original collection.
Enjoyable
From the Chronology section:
1947: Ursula K. LeGuin Graduates high school in class of 3,500, which includes Philip K. Dick. The two never meet, although they later correspond.
1962: Encouraged by a friend, begins reading science fiction writers Philip K. Dick...
What a coincidence and I wonder if she knew as she was reading him that they had been in the same graduating class by then.