The Dispossessed

A Novel

by Ursula K. Le Guin, Don Leslie

13h runtime; narrated by Don Leslie

English language

ISBN:: 978-0-06-206204-8
OCLC Number:: 741692846

(162 reviews)

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

60 editions

Francesco Orsenigo reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Le Guin is a fucking genius

5 stars

This book blew. My. Mind. I'm serious, for this alone Ursula K Le Guin became my fav sci-fi author, leaps and bounds above anybody else. She showed me what you can do with science fiction, how you can break the limits of the imagination. It is the first time I actually managed to picture a non-hierarchical society and it is so real, so visceral, that things clicked and I realized that "wait, this is possible!?" And she does that with a completely made up story set in two completely made up societies, both fleshed out with their greatness and infamy, their ideologies and contradictions.

It is NOT an easy read: Le Guin happily forces your brain to do some mental gymnastic, where things don't make any sense until a few pages later when they suddenly, perfectly do, things click in place and your mind is blown.

It is the book …

It is the book that made me understand how the limits of our current society are, first and foremost, limits of our imagination, and I don't say this lightly. This book blows our minds, because we have been robbed of the ability to imagine a better, if imperfect, world.

b bennett reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Holy fuck

5 stars

Wow. What else is there to say? This book was a buffet of ideas ranging from sexism, capitalism, socialism, the military-industrial complex, and politics. I especially enjoyed Le Guin's writing on women, but anarchist and archist, through the eyes of the anarchist main character. For the first few chapters I was amazed at Le Guin's interpretation at an anarchist utopian, and took it as a blueprint for the work we socialists have to do here on Earth. But as the book progressed we learned more about the so-called utopia and it's possible fault -- one of which being politics and the formation of government--and I finished the book with more questions than answers. This was a delightful and nerdy read.

georgewhatup reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Dispossessed' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A third of the way into this book I had the strange experience of realising I must've read it as a teenager and completely forgotten. This makes young-me an idiot, because this is a masterpiece. Well written, complex world building that manages to balance the showing with the telling.

I can see how young-me may have had difficulty with this manifesto on anarchism, one that doesn't shy away from the difficulties and weaknesses of the system even as it promotes its values. Plus at one point the protagonist suffers some drunken premature ejaculation.

Now We Try It My Way reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Order is not 'orders'

5 stars

Wonderful and well written book tackling more issues than you would think could fit into the pages it has. Le Guin manages a surprising shift in narrative well, giving us the perspective of an anarchist looking at a capitalist society. A particular joke stuck especially with me, flipping a common argument on its head:

"But all the people he met, and all the people he saw, in the smallest country village, were well dressed, well fed, and, contrary to his expectations, industrious. They did not stand about sullenly waiting to be ordered to do things. Just like Anarresti, they were simply busy getting things done. It puzzled him. He had assumed that if you removed a human being’s natural incentive to work — his initiative, his spontaneous creative energy — and replaced it with external motivation and coercion, he would become a lazy and careless worker."

Beyond that, she manages …

Beyond that, she manages to describe certain phases of teenagers incredibly well. I never cared much for coming of age books as a teenager, but the few chapters she spends on the topic probably would have spoken more to me then than any coming of age book i know of.

horiaconstantin reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Pretty good SF with thought-provoking ideas

3 stars

Overall, a good book because I enjoy SF and I was mentally stimulated by some of the ideas about social structures. The reason why I give it 3 stars and not 4 is that it seemed to me that the author was trying too hard to describe the philosophy at the cost of the SF aspect.

Tim Hutton reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

A theoretical physicist working completely alone?

2 stars

I found this hard work, I'm not sure why. The self-sacrifice rings true but the isolated research doesn't. My least favourite of the Hainish cycle so far.

vuñuelo reviewed The Dispossessed: A Novel (Harper Perennial Olive Edition) by Ursula K. Le Guin

I am just testing this!

5 stars

Test test (:

Wolfgang Wopperer reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (SF masterworks)

Brilliant imagination of an anarchist society

5 stars

Le Guin explores why and how an anarchist society can work, undaunted by complexity and in vivid detail. At the same time a reflection on individuality, sense of purpose, and the nature of abstraction. Probably one of the best books I've ever read.

Krousti_sarrasin@bookrastinating.com reviewed Les dépossédés by Ursula K. Le Guin

Anarchist Sci*FI / SF libertaire

5 stars

Le Guin was put the light on the despicable society whom is ours by describing through the eyes of an anarchist.

L'autrice met la lumière sur la méprisable société qui est la notre en décrivant à travers les yeux d'un anarchiste.

Maji reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Peak Le Guin, humanity and anarchism

5 stars

I've heard this book called “a bundle of ideas disguised as a book,“ but honestly, I don't think that's fair. It's a pretty good balance between world-building and character— better than a good chunk of SF, at least. What can I say? It's a good book that gives insight into anarchist ideals, the compatibility between freedom and human nature, and human relationships. Also gives you some cool words to throw around. “Egoizing,” “propertarian,” what a goddamn masterpiece. I think Le Guin has a quote that fits, actually (that I'm paraphrasing from memory): “A mark of a good book is feeling that you've learnt something, even if you can't put your finger on what it is.”

Eric Lawton reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Dispossessed' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

It's a comparison of capitalism and social anarchism in a science fiction setting. I had a lot of sticky bookmarks in it when I had finished, for paragraphs to go back and think about. Unusual for fiction for me.
The main character is a physicist but the physics is imaginary - no science background needed.

Andy reviewed The dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The dispossessed' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

3.5/5

Better than last time I tried it. Heavy on world building, light on plot. A vehicle for speculation.

capypokoymal reviewed The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

What else can I say.

5 stars

I mean, everybody has read it already over here, right? The only thing I would "criticise" are some outdated and not very inclusive ideas/concepts. However, this is only pushing me to find more queer and contemporary fiction. Or, worst case scenario, write it myself. :P

exosferablog reviewed Los desposeídos by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'Los desposeídos' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Una obra que vuelve a usar la ciencia ficción como entrada pero que es un análisis y una reflexión sobre la sociedad, desde la luna Anarres, donde la sociedad se organiza en un modo anarquista/socialissta al planeta Urras, donde tras un conflicto estos últimos fueron expulsados y donde el planeta se organiza en base a oligopolios y un capitalismo salvaje. Como nexo entre ambos mundos el protagonista intenta establecer un diálogo, intentando propiciar el desarrollo de ambas sociedades con la colaboración científica. Un libro que no deja de ser una reflexión y un golpe sobre la mesa sobre la política, la sociedad y el papel de la ciencia y los científicos.

dr4co reviewed The dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

One of the books I want to keep returning to

5 stars

I first read this book 20 years ago in a German translation and liked it a lot, but I didn't get a lot of it. Now, reading the English original and having had more of a political education, at first I was: "Is this book as good as I remember it?", but then, I enjoyed it even more.

I love that it's not an unbroken utopia and the ending leaves some things open. I also liked how it shows how power-laden relationships and positions can inadvertently creep back into a society that's not supposed to have them.