AJ Kerrigan reviewed Words are my matter by Ursula K. Le Guin
Review of 'Words are my matter' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I've enjoyed Ursula Le Guin's stories and the few interviews with her that I've heard or read. This was a worthwhile read too. The collection is broken up into 3 parts of roughly equal size:
Essays/Talks: Some good, thought-provoking stuff here. There are recurring themes for sure - notably gender treatment (as expected) and a chip-on-the-shoulder defense of sci-fi/fantasy work. The short piece "What It Was Like" (concerning abortion) continues to stick with me. It's a knotty, complex, sensitive topic and I've never heard a perspective quite like hers before.
Book Intros/Notes on Writers: It's fascinating to hear an author's take on other authors. My personal takeaway from this part is that I need to check out [a:José Saramago|1285555|José Saramago|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1497455560p2/1285555.jpg] for myself.
Book Reviews: This is very subjective stuff of course, and admittedly I like finding spots where I disagree (otherwise I start to suspect that I'm blindly nodding along). …
I've enjoyed Ursula Le Guin's stories and the few interviews with her that I've heard or read. This was a worthwhile read too. The collection is broken up into 3 parts of roughly equal size:
Essays/Talks: Some good, thought-provoking stuff here. There are recurring themes for sure - notably gender treatment (as expected) and a chip-on-the-shoulder defense of sci-fi/fantasy work. The short piece "What It Was Like" (concerning abortion) continues to stick with me. It's a knotty, complex, sensitive topic and I've never heard a perspective quite like hers before.
Book Intros/Notes on Writers: It's fascinating to hear an author's take on other authors. My personal takeaway from this part is that I need to check out [a:José Saramago|1285555|José Saramago|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1497455560p2/1285555.jpg] for myself.
Book Reviews: This is very subjective stuff of course, and admittedly I like finding spots where I disagree (otherwise I start to suspect that I'm blindly nodding along). I hadn't read most of the books reviewed in this section, though some of them are on my list now. While the reviews had more story details than I would have liked, I will soon forget anything that felt like a spoiler. The [b:Embassytown|9265453|Embassytown|China Miéville|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320470326s/9265453.jpg|14146240] review captured what I liked about that book far better than I could, and her distaste for [b:Kingdom Come|13812151|Kingdom Come|J.G. Ballard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358748261s/13812151.jpg|179594] reminded me of how much I disliked [b:High-Rise|12331767|High-Rise|J.G. Ballard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358752559s/12331767.jpg|2270643].
