Four Ways to Forgiveness - Hardcover

Le Guin, Ursula K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061052345 ISBN 13: 9780061052347

Publisher: Harper Prism, 1995

Synopsis

Four interconnected novellas are set on the twin planets Werel and Yeowe and follow the stories of such characters as the disgraced revolutionary Abberkam, the callow "space brat" Solly, and the androgynous artist Batikam.

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Reviews

YA?"Hold fast to the one noble thing." LeGuin skillfully weaves this theme throughout the four novellas. Fraught with warring factions of "assets" and "owners," this book is more philosophical than it is futuristic. Although the planets of Werel and Yeowe are more technologically advanced than our Earth of today, the complex issues involving race relations, sexism, and class divisions mirror those of our own culture. Corrupt politicians, runaway slaves, proud military leaders, and naive foreign emissaries struggle to maintain their humanity in a seemingly hopeless world. By the end of each of the novellas, the main characters gain some peace of mind and have somehow changed the world (if only minutely) for the better. For YAs who have ever felt "closed in" by society or their parents, LeGuin's book is a wonderful choice, particularly for female readers as most of the characters are women and the focus is on women's rights. While describing the deleterious effects of civil war, the author conveys understanding as well as a sense of self-importance. Notes and history of the two planets are appended.?Ginger Armstrong, Chesterfield County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Most of Le Guin's recent fiction divides into collections of stories bound by theme, such as Searoad, or novels such as the Nebula Award-winning Tehanu, in which the author has revisited worlds she created decades before. This volume is a hybrid: a theme collection featuring the Hainish culture that informed, among other works, Le Guin's celebrated The Left Hand of Darkness. The four interrelated novellas presented here deal with the quest to achieve true liberation on the planets Werel and Yeowe (which are detailed in extensive endnotes). Le Guin focuses on the situation of women, who remain in a subservient position even after civil and interplanetary wars have provided "freedom for all men." Both sexes are treated with more balance here than in Searoad: the women are occasionally ignoble, while the men are shown in complex, but generally positive, lights. Each of these stories is mindful that achieving "the one noble thing" requires a mutual respect between the sexes. In contrast to the stridency of Searoad, Le Guin has muted her tone here, achieving both greater resonance and power as she offers an accessible, educational and ecumenical look at the interrelationship among love, freedom and forgiveness.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A new Le Guin that returns us to her popular Hainish realm is an event worth celebrating, especially when it is a richly textured speculation on humanity's distant future among the stars that insightfully mirrors its recent past. The backdrops here are twin planets--Yeowe has been devastated by wars of liberation from slavery under Werel--and the surrounding galactic civilization of the Ekumen. Four loosely connected novellas follow the ordeals of various natives and visitors to the planets: a reclusive spinster on Yeowe becomes nursemaid to a disgraced revolutionary; a planet-hopping "space brat" forms an unlikely bond with a Werelian soldier; an adventuresome youth's disillusionment with his native Hain provokes him to help destitute Yeowans; and an illiterate former slave girl rises to a position of leadership. Le Guin relates each protagonist's plight and fateful outcome with a masterly command of characterization and fascinating cultural detail. Fans of her Hainish novels won't want to miss these stories. Carl Hays

The latest work by one of sf's most gifted and perceptive writers offers four connected novellas (previously published in periodicals) that explore the hidden territories of the human heart.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Prism
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061052345
• ISBN 13: 9780061052347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 228