LovePrevails Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 Hey has anyone read this great sci-fi by Ursula LeGuin which features a stateless society? (although not our kind) The first two chapters are a bit slow but don't let them hold you back, it gets so good! I think it would be great if Stef read this and did an analysis as a podcast, lots to say about these societies, childrearing views, views on the family, etc. there is a conflation of statism and capitalism as in much of the old anarchist literature (the book is now 40 years old!!) but it's still entertaining to see different views and projections of stateless societies Urusla LeGuin's father was a famous anthropologist, and her passion for the subject is seen in a lot of her books because she always vretes very interesting and distinct societies that are culturally rich, sometimes several different ones in the same book! quite an impressive imagination.
cherapple Posted July 4, 2013 Posted July 4, 2013 I have not read Ursula LeGuin in a long time, but I remember feeling incredible pain (part of the reason I stopped reading her, and to a large extent, books in general) at the worlds, relationships, and possibilities that she depicted, and the fact that I "couldn't" experience them myself, in this life. I tried reading The Dispossessed, but couldn't (there's that word again) relax into it at the time. For a very long time, books, stories, and authors seemed like the only places and people that I could find that understood me, or showed any interest, commonality, or understanding of my experiences at all. Obvously, they couldn't show me or offer me any of these things directly because they were "things," rather than people with whom I could interact directly. Le Guin stands out very strongly as an author who got what the possibilities were, and consequently made it so painfully clear what the realities were.
LovePrevails Posted July 4, 2013 Author Posted July 4, 2013 I have not read Ursula LeGuin in a long time, but I remember feeling incredible pain (part of the reason I stopped reading her, and to a large extent, books in general) at the worlds, relationships, and possibilities that she depicted, and the fact that I "couldn't" experience them myself, in this life. I tried reading The Dispossessed, but couldn't (there's that word again) relax into it at the time. For a very long time, books, stories, and authors seemed like the only places and people that I could find that understood me, or showed any interest, commonality, or understanding of my experiences at all. Obvously, they couldn't show me or offer me any of these things directly because they were "things," rather than people with whom I could interact directly. Le Guin stands out very strongly as an author who got what the possibilities were, and consequently made it so painfully clear what the realities were. wow what a sad story! I hope you're happier now that you'e got us! xx
cherapple Posted July 4, 2013 Posted July 4, 2013 wow what a sad story! I hope you're happier now that you'e got us! xx Like finding water in the desert! Then finding the water that was there all along, within myself. I have felt happiness like I've never known before, yes.
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