The Dispossessed

A book of two civilizations and the structures and rule-systems they evolve into. One is a civilization of corruption and hierarchy and income-divide, living on a lush resource-rich planet, the other is a splintered-off planetary experiment of communism in a harsh and meagre environment. Both of them are born from revolutions and are the brink of further revolutions, despite their else many differences. The protagonist is a theoretical physicist who leaves the exile of his bleak home planet to find a richer intellectual environment for his thoughts on the mother planet. In alternating chapters we follow his immersion into a new and foreign culture, while also learning of his upbringing and his home planet. Le Guin's books always read more as books about politics and the human condition than as what one might expect of traditional “scifi” books, and that's what makes them so brilliant. But I wasn't as moved by this one as by [b:The Left Hand of Darkness 18423 The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle, #4) Ursula K. Le Guin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488213612l/18423.SY75.jpg 817527], even though they felt similar, but somehow I missed a more emotional component.