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"I come here with empty hands and the desire to unbuild walls."

LeGuin is fearless in her criticism of capitalism and patriarchy, her wordlbuilding, and her radical view of society and what it could be. This book is a breath of fresh air in allowing me to imagine, for a moment, what it would be like to live in a world built on principles of mutual aid. It's also an extremely stark and sobering comparison to the world at present, and sometimes it's hard to juggle both of those feelings at once. While I was reading a chapter where a teacher explains prisons to children who live in a world where prisons don't exist, a humanitarian aid worker in AZ faced two felony charges for giving water to two people crossing the border. It's a dark time to read utopian fiction, but it's a necessary light.

It's also a jumping off point for really thinking about a utopia, and being mindful and critical while not losing hope for a better world.

Also, TW/CW for sexual assault halfway through the book, which was never touched on again but definitely dampened my view of the main character. There's a lot to unpack about Shevek as a whole, the influence of Urras, and conceptions of property and bodily autonomy but wowee I thought we could get into those conversations and thought experiments without rape.