perfect paperback
Published Feb. 1, 2017 by FISCHER TOR.
E-book extra: In-depth study guide.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.
Listened to the '87 CBC audio drama of it and it was such a time capsule to audio productions from another era. The specific seductive feminine voice, the music, the way shevek sounds like he is the voice actor for some favourite Canadian children's cartoon.
Uno dei libri più belli che abbia mai letto. Un capolavoro che parla di come una volta fatta la rivoluzione bisogna continuare a farla.
...und erst recht diejenigen, die sich selbst als politisch links einordnen würden.
Der Protagonist Shevek lebt in einer anarchistischen Gesellschaft auf dem Mond Anarres, wo er sein Leben der Physik verschrieben hat. Das Buch erzählt abwechselnd aus der Vergangenheit und aus der Gegenwart, wo Shevek den Mond verlässt, um seine Forschungen in der kapitalistischen Gesellschaft auf dem Planeten Urras zu betreiben. Die beiden Handlungsstränge sind dabei sehr schön verwoben, immer wieder gibt es in der Gegenwart Momente, die im Kontext der vorigen Erzählung aus der Vergangenheit in einen anderen Kontext gerückt werden.
Keine der beiden Handlungsstränge ist jedoch konfliktfrei; in der Gegenwart muss Shevek sich in einem kapitalistischen System zurechtfinden, Machtspielchen mitspielen und sich selbst als Bauer im großen Schachspiel der Mächte auf Urras begreifen. Die Kapitel auf Anarres sind weniger akut konfliktreich, dafür erkunden sie umso mehr die positiven Seiten – aber, und das hat mir auch sehr gut …
...und erst recht diejenigen, die sich selbst als politisch links einordnen würden.
Der Protagonist Shevek lebt in einer anarchistischen Gesellschaft auf dem Mond Anarres, wo er sein Leben der Physik verschrieben hat. Das Buch erzählt abwechselnd aus der Vergangenheit und aus der Gegenwart, wo Shevek den Mond verlässt, um seine Forschungen in der kapitalistischen Gesellschaft auf dem Planeten Urras zu betreiben. Die beiden Handlungsstränge sind dabei sehr schön verwoben, immer wieder gibt es in der Gegenwart Momente, die im Kontext der vorigen Erzählung aus der Vergangenheit in einen anderen Kontext gerückt werden.
Keine der beiden Handlungsstränge ist jedoch konfliktfrei; in der Gegenwart muss Shevek sich in einem kapitalistischen System zurechtfinden, Machtspielchen mitspielen und sich selbst als Bauer im großen Schachspiel der Mächte auf Urras begreifen. Die Kapitel auf Anarres sind weniger akut konfliktreich, dafür erkunden sie umso mehr die positiven Seiten – aber, und das hat mir auch sehr gut gefallen, auch die Fallstricke, die dem Ideal einer anarchistischen Gesellschaft letztendlich doch entgegenstehen. Shevek rückt niemals davon ab, dass die Gesellschaft auf Anarres gerechter ist, doch merken er und seine Freund*innen, dass die menschliche Natur auch dort Wege findet, um Macht und Bürokratie zu manifestieren, wenn auch weit subtiler als in kapitalistischen oder sozialistischen Gesellschaften.
Die Erzählungen aus der Vergangenheit enden dort, wo das Buch in der Gegenwart beginnt, sodass am Ende auch noch ein schönes Schleifchen um die Geschichte gedreht wird. Ich lag wirklich lange wach, nachdem ich das Buch abends gelesen habe und dachte über meine persönliche Beziehung zu der dort geschilderten Gesellschaft nach. Diskussionsstoff mit meinen Freund*innen hat es mir auch schon einigen gegeben. Ich würde das Buch eigentlich jedem ans Herz legen, der sich für die hier besprochenen Themen interessiert.
Einen halben Stern Abzug gibt es für die Party-Szene, in der Shevek zum ersten Mal Alkohol trinkt (auf Anarres gibt es keinen) und gegenüber einer Frau sexuell übergriffig wird. Die Szene existiert nicht ohne narrativen Grund, allerdings hat ihre Folgenlosigkeit für die weitere Handlung einen etwas bitteren Nachgeschmack bei mir hinterlassen.
Un libro bellissimo, che parla di anarchia più di quanto i testi anarchici criptici e volutamente astrusi alla comprensione abbiano mai fatto. La descrizione perfetta di una società capitalistica, patriarcale, guerrafondaia, classista in contrapposizione a chi ha effettuato la scelta di non volere più nulla di questo, di voler scientemente non possedere nulla di materiale o immateriale per poi in realtà condividere tutto. Certo nulla è perfetto e ci sarà sempre chi cercherà di esercitare il potere anche se in modo lieve, qualcosa scricchiola. Questo libro è entrato a far parte dei miei "libri fondamentali", quelli da dover leggere almeno una volta nella vita.
I wouldn't have described myself as an anarchist before this book; I would now. This book presents a form of society that has gripped me, and brought me hope. Truly excellent sci-fi.
Went into this book having heard not a lot about it, and did not expect it to turn into an anarchist manifesto, but was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the discussions between the characters and the vivacity of the world described. Will definitely purchase a copy for myself.
Un libro di fantascienza geniale, avvincente e al tempo stesso ricco di significato. Negli ultimi anni ho tratto grande piacere dallo studio del pensiero anarchico e delle sue differenze con il comunismo autoritario (e chiaramente con il capitalismo). Penso che il pensiero anarchico sia criminalmente escluso dagli studi scolastici e che moltissime persone, per questo motivo, non sappiano realmente cosa sia. I reietti dell'altro pianeta immagina un'utopia anarchica, dandole però sostanza: è bellissimo vedere come funzionerebbe una società anarchica secondo Ursula Le Guin, anche perché ne presenta anche le possibili criticità. La critica feroce alla concezione del lavoro e dello sfruttamento nel capitalismo sono da pelle d'oca. Ho imparato più sull'anarchia leggendo lei che leggendo Kropotkin!
The cover blurb for The Dispossessed makes it sound like a thrilling exciting narrative, filled with tension and action:
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 mother planet, Urras, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.
But that's not what it is, and it's certainly not Le Guin's focus. This is clear in the way she avoids what might be the more dramatic elements of the story, or distances us from them in how they are portrayed. The story is bookended by two examples of that. The opening …
The cover blurb for The Dispossessed makes it sound like a thrilling exciting narrative, filled with tension and action:
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 mother planet, Urras, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.
But that's not what it is, and it's certainly not Le Guin's focus. This is clear in the way she avoids what might be the more dramatic elements of the story, or distances us from them in how they are portrayed. The story is bookended by two examples of that. The opening sees Shevek - although we don't know it's him at this stage - leaving his homeworld and causing quite a bit of upset, seen from the viewpoint of a minor character who never reappears. And the book ends abruptly with no certainty of an outcome.
The capitalist society on the planet Urras that Shevek travels to felt too much like 1950s America rather than some far flung society thousands of years in the future. Other elements of the novel such as Shevek's unfortunate sexual dalliance, the possibility of defecting from the capitalist society to a nearby communist society, and getting caught up in a riot really don't amount to much and the plot as a whole is quite thin.
What I did like about the book was Le Guin's vivid portrayal of a functioning anarchist society on Shevek's homeworld Anarres. And Shevek himself was a likeable character.
The book is more concerned with the question of whether a truly anarchist society can survive, given the generally acquisitive nature of humanity, and during the story there is an indication that even this utopia will fall foul of the general tendency for all systems of government to move towards a hierarchy of control. Shevek struggles against this tendency: "We’ve been saying, more and more often, you must work with the others, you must accept the rule of the majority. But any rule is tyranny. The duty of the individual is to accept no rule, to be the initiator of his own acts, to be responsible. Only if he does so will the society live, and change, and adapt, and survive."
We never know if Shevek achieves what the cover blurb says. There's not much indication that the capitalist society will change because of him, though the anarchist society may survive if they take the example of his life to heart. But with no certainty about how the story ends, all we are left with is a political thought experiment.
very deep personal relationship with this book
