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A review by deathcabforkatey
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
Did not finish book.
DNF after 200 pages. Listen - I got this book for a dollar in a "blind date with a book" fundraiser and even after reading the reviews I still wanted to give it a shot. I'd read one book by Ursula K. LeGuin that I liked, and I knew I wanted to try more by her. Maybe this book was for me?
It wasn't.
Imagine you had never before heard of Harry Potter - like the whole HP craze was never a thing. And you pick up a book that is a collection of Pottermore stories. That is what this book is. This book is all world building, no narrative. It's all about the Kesh people, and you get all these poems and descriptions of activities and the different peoples. Imaginative? Sure. LeGuin spent 5 years writing this, and of course she must have! This thing is very massive in scale and super impressive.
But is it interesting? NO! I'd much rather read a book like this about an actual group of people (e.g., a Native American tribe) because then at least it's cool cause they are real and you're widening your knowledge of the world. I was bored to tears during this book - it read like a textbook.
I, on principle, do not rate books I DNF. I'd give this a middling rating just because I do appreciate how hard it must have been to write this. And what she attempted to do was incredible in scale for a writer. However, I do not recommend this book unless you want zero narrative.
It wasn't.
Imagine you had never before heard of Harry Potter - like the whole HP craze was never a thing. And you pick up a book that is a collection of Pottermore stories. That is what this book is. This book is all world building, no narrative. It's all about the Kesh people, and you get all these poems and descriptions of activities and the different peoples. Imaginative? Sure. LeGuin spent 5 years writing this, and of course she must have! This thing is very massive in scale and super impressive.
But is it interesting? NO! I'd much rather read a book like this about an actual group of people (e.g., a Native American tribe) because then at least it's cool cause they are real and you're widening your knowledge of the world. I was bored to tears during this book - it read like a textbook.
I, on principle, do not rate books I DNF. I'd give this a middling rating just because I do appreciate how hard it must have been to write this. And what she attempted to do was incredible in scale for a writer. However, I do not recommend this book unless you want zero narrative.