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Jul 24, 2019c_tingstad rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I listened to the audiobook of this one and I really enjoyed it. It really challenged my imagination regarding different ways to form societies and interpersonal relationships, the challenges and joys of each, and revolution. In that sense it is an especially inspiring and, in many ways, heartwarming read for the present time. There's one thing I didn't really like though, and that's that the main character commits a rape. I think Ms. Le Guin's point was around the corrupting influence of a society viewing women as property on men. I understand this sort of: I definitely think one of the driving factors behind the prevalence of rape is a tacit societal agreement that women 'owe' things to men, sometimes harkening back to the not-too-distant past where women were literally owned by their fathers and husbands, and could not own property. However, our main character is a relatable character. He is not perfect, but I think most of the framing of the novel positions him as a 'good man'. By including the rape scene--even though it's very clearly positioned as a bad thing he did and a source of shame--the implication could be read as, "good men commit rape because of the societies they live in" and I'm not very comfortable with that implication. It is the unavoidable flip side of 'rape is driven by societal norms' but it brushes irritatingly close to absolving rapists of personal responsibility. I don't know. I'm not completely unhappy with it being included because it's certainly thought-provoking, but if having the central character commit rape is something that will be upsetting to you, this might not be a book you want to read. I'll definitely read more Le Guin though. Her philosophical thinking is rich and engaging, and exploring her philosophy through fiction is a lot more fun than reading straight philosophical texts as I had to do in college :P. Her writing is vivid and her imagination is spectacular. With the caveat above included regarding content warning, I would very much recommend this book.