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Cover of The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Dispossessed

An Ambiguous Utopia

by Ursula K. Le Guin

4/5
Harper Voyager 387 pages May 1, 1974

Shevek, a brilliant physicist from the anarchist moon of Anarres, travels to its sister planet Urras in hopes of sharing his revolutionary theory. But both worlds have walls — some visible, some not — and Shevek must confront the true cost of freedom and the meaning of home.

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Jim's Review

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Le Guin strikes again. The Dispossessed asks the biggest political questions imaginable — capitalism vs. anarchism, freedom vs. security — and somehow makes it riveting fiction instead of a polemic. Shevek is one of the most compelling protagonists Jim has ever wriggled alongside. The dual timeline structure is masterfully done. If you think sci-fi can't be profound literature, this book will burrow through that assumption. Four worms — deeply thought-provoking.

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