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The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

An encounter across worlds and ways of living

Regular price $22.46 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

An encounter across worlds and ways of living

On the icy planet Winter, a human emissary works to bring its inhabitants into a wider intergalactic civilization. The challenge is cultural as well as diplomatic: Winter’s people can choose and change their gender, while the envoy arrives with assumptions shaped by a very different society. Le Guin’s science-fiction premise connects first contact with questions of gender, social organization, psychology, and the limits of understanding across cultures. This Penguin Galaxy edition is a 288-page hardcover and includes a series introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Science-fiction readers interested in first-contact stories and imagined societies.
  • Readers curious about how gender and social norms can shape a culture.
  • Collectors seeking this title in a Penguin Galaxy hardcover edition.

Themes

Gender and social normsCultural differenceFirst contact and diplomacyPsychology and society

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A deluxe hardcover edition of the queen of science fiction's trailblazing novel about a planet full of genderless beings--part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman

Winner of the AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books 50 Covers competition

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary's mission to Winter, an unknown alien world whose inhabitants can choose--and change--their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Exploring questions of psychology, society, and human emotion in an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of science fiction.

Penguin Galaxy

Six of our greatest masterworks of science fiction and fantasy, in dazzling collector-worthy hardcover editions, and featuring a series introduction by #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, Penguin Galaxy represents a constellation of achievement in visionary fiction, lighting the way toward our knowledge of the universe, and of ourselves. From historical legends to mythic futures, monuments of world-building to mind-bending dystopias, these touchstones of human invention and storytelling ingenuity have transported millions of readers to distant realms, and will continue for generations to chart the frontiers of the imagination.

The Once and Future King by T. H. White
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Dune by Frank Herbert
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Neuromancer by William Gibson

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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