The Left Hand of Darkness

Genly Ai is an ethnologist observing the people of the planet Gethen, a world perpetually in winter. The people there are androgynous, normally neuter, but they can become male ot female at the peak of their sexual cycle. They seem to Genly Ai alien, unsophisticated and confusing. But he is drawn into the complex politics of the planet and, during a long, tortuous journey across the ice with a politician who has fallen from favour and has been outcast, he loses his professional detachment and reaches a painful understanding of the true nature of Gethenians and, in a moving and memorable sequence, even finds love... Few writers in any genre can claim to have had the range and influence of Ursula K. Le Guin. Championed for her ground-breaking works of science fiction and fantasy, Le Guin’s work was diverse and wide-ranging, encompassing more than short stories, novels, poetry, essays, books for children and works of translation. She remains best-known for her landmark series Earthsea – a wise and stunning saga of a world where wizards and dragons mutually coexist – which gradually evolved to become a singular touchstone of imaginative fantasy. Simultaneously, Le Guin forged an enviable reputation within science fiction, hoovering up prizes, including numerous Nebula and Hugo Awards, and establishing a vital feminist foothold in a traditionally male-dominated discipline. Her 1969 novel The Left Hand of Darkness, set on a genderless planet banked in ice, is regarded to this day as a profound exploration of imagination and our understanding of society and identity.