The Unreal and the Real by Ursula K. Le Guin

“There is no royal road to science, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of its steep paths have a chance of gaining its luminous summits.” -Marx, preface to Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1

I keep hearing we as a society are accelerating towards existential ecological crisis, so much of my free time is spent on learning the global material (physical and social) conditions from critical nonfiction: So, people are not wrong calling the first volume “mundane”? All the science-fiction stories are in the second volume, but not all the stories in the second volume are science fiction by any definition.”

“ Some people will identify the first volume as “mundane” and the second as “science fiction,” but they will be wrong. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as 'Solitude' and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. She was known for her treatment of gender ( The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems ( The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Le Guin published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Both volumes include new introductions by the author.Ī Week in the Country (1976, 2004, Orsinia)īuffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight (1987) Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp.Ĭompanion volume Outer Space, Inner Lands includes Le Guin's best known nonrealistic stories. Le Guin's best short stories-as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself-the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed.

The Unreal and the Real by Ursula K. Le Guin