Like basically all suckers for the Pocahontas trope, though, Cameron failed to grasp the central irony of said trope, namely that it redeems the oppressor while continuing to rob the oppressed of their agency. And, this isn’t specifically a novel of the Vietnam War…. We’d love your help. ( Log Out /  It was this institutional inertia and collusion on part of the rest of the colonists (other than Lyubov) where I thought the novel succeeded. Desperation causes the Athsheans, led by Selver, to retaliate against their captors, abandoning their strictures against violence. Leider ist ein Problem beim Speichern Ihrer Cookie-Einstellungen aufgetreten. Also, I am struggling to understand how the murder of children + sexual violence in the Massacre itself is not an act of pure evil…. And, considering the environment of the Vietnam War, it was hard for SF at the time to not engage with it in some way. Ronald L. Haeberle’s iconic (and horrifying) photograph of massacred children and adults–superimposed with, “Q. I loved this. In fact the change in tone and style and in word choice is amazing to follow. ( Log Out /  Humanity brings devastation to a new colony and destroys the forested world and its inhabitants. Humanity brings devastation to a new colony and destroys the forested world and its inhabitants. This here’s another book-club read. Yes, admittedly I extrapolate from my previous encounters, I’m clear on that. A. and babies,” the chilling lines from NBC’s interview with massacre participant Paul Meadlo–was transformed into the “most successful poster” opposing the Vietnam War by the Art Workers Coalition. I have not read The Lathe of Heaven — but I’ve read the other Hainish novels…. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Nachdem Sie Produktseiten oder Suchergebnisse angesehen haben, finden Sie hier eine einfache Möglichkeit, diese Seiten wiederzufinden. Ursula K.  Le Guin brilliantly channels this general anti-war anger, transposed to an alien local with colonizing humans as villains, in The Word for World is Forest (1972). There is just something about each one of her books that makes them both enjoyable and thought-provoking. The League of Worlds attempts to stop the abuses but cannot. (Richard Powers’ cover for the 1976 edition). A powerful post. She is absolutely breathing the air that swirled around her…. All in all a gutting tale, well worth the read. I also had that same feeling with The Dispossed by the way. The first edition of the novel was published in March 1972, and was written by Ursula K. Le Guin. The human colonists on the world Athshe have enslaved the 3-foot tall, furry green native people and have created … Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. My reluctance is not so much about existential questioning of fiction in general, but questioning the merit of a particular book. I agree that the rape, massacre and destruction committed at My Lai is an evil act. Free download or read online The Word for World is Forest pdf (ePUB) (Hainish Cycle Series) book. But in defending their lives, they have endangered the very foundations of their society. 10 Personen fanden diese Informationen hilfreich, Rezension aus dem Vereinigten Königreich vom 16. https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2013/09/05/book-review-armed-camps-kit-reed-1969/. The Vietnam references flow fast and thick (troop transportation devices are called hoppers, forests are drenched in napalm, etc.). It is intense, punchy, and brief. I read the book years ago. Ihre zuletzt angesehenen Artikel und besonderen Empfehlungen. Agreed, much of this is about reader temperament. This is the first book I have read by this author. That is insanity. I would suggest that some topics you don’t need to approach with an incredibly complex moral landscape to make an effective point or to provoke thought. To me, it works as an allegory of colonialism in general. For example, at My Lai, multiple American soldiers attempted to shield civilians. Both of your posts confirm what I thought: one dimensional is what I meant with too obvious, binary and preachy. This is not a new premise. This might be Ursula K. Le Guin’s angriest novel. Es liegen 0 Rezensionen und 4 Bewertungen aus Deutschland vor, Entdecken Sie jetzt alle Amazon Prime-Vorteile. [I particularly liked the point in the climax, when our hero decides his gift to Davidson will be to let him live, for the poetic justice as well as the contrast of the two aspects of humanity.