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Loading... The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories Volume One: Where on Earth (2012)by Ursula K. Le Guin
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. As usual beautifully written, though I still prefer her more SF works. ( ) Ăšgy indul, mint egy vakrandi, amit ráadásul a nagymama szervezett le. GyanakvĂł tapogatĂłzással, halvány, körvonalazatlan nemtetszĂ©ssel. A kötet elsĹ‘ fele egy fiktĂv közĂ©p-eurĂłpai országban játszĂłdik – elmaradottsággal, elnyomással, konstruált hagyományokkal dolgozik, de felsejlenek benne a valĂłdi KözĂ©p-EurĂłpa egyes törtĂ©nelmi esemĂ©nyei. ValamifĂ©le pszeudo-realizmus ez, Ă©rzĂ©kenyen megĂrva, ám távol tartott tĹ‘le, hogy vĂ©gig Ăşgy Ă©reztem, csak egy Le Guin fejĂ©ben lĂ©tezĹ‘ közĂ©p-eurĂłpai beszĂ©l Ăşgy, mint a novellák szereplĹ‘i. Az elsĹ‘ hűha-Ă©lmĂ©nyem A rĂłzsa naplĂłja olvasásakor sodort el: itt a diktatĂşrák működĂ©sĂ©nek egy olyan aspektusát kapja el a szerzĹ‘, ami teljesen a feje tetejĂ©re állĂtja az autoriter rendszerekrĹ‘l alkotott kĂ©pĂĽnket, csupa termĂ©keny bizonytalanság Ă©s zavarba ejtĹ‘ kiszolgáltatottság – nem csupán az áldozat esetĂ©ben, de az elkövetĹ‘ oldalán is. Ezt követĹ‘en, bár akadtak mĂ©g csĂşcspontok (Az Ăşt iránya, vagy Ă©pp a Buffalo lányai, gyertek ki), beállt egy közĂ©pĂ©rtĂ©kre a kötet. VĂ©gig tudatában voltam, hogy Le Guin szenzitĂv szövegalkotĂł, aki maximális empátiával fordul a szereplĹ‘i felĂ©. Ez jĂł. Aztán jĂł az is, hogy elĹ‘szeretettel helyez el pontokat az elbeszĂ©lĂ©sekben, ahol a szereplĹ‘k közti kapcsolat, illetve a novella Ă©s az olvasĂł közti kapcsolat egyszeriben Ăşj struktĂşrába rendezĹ‘dik: ez magabiztos mestersĂ©gbeli tudásra utal, Ă©s arra, hogy Le Guint Ĺ‘szintĂ©n Ă©rdeklik az irodalmi eszközök, Ă©s azok hatása az irodalmi Ă©lmĂ©nyre. Csak itt valahogy mintha el lennĂ©nek eresztve a törtĂ©netek. A változás megtörtĂ©nt, okĂ©, de megtorpanunk – mintha a legtöbb törtĂ©netnek nem lenne igazi kifutása. Vagy mintha az Ăşj nĂ©zĹ‘pont lenne maga a lĂ©nyeg, az lenne a kifutás. És azt hiszem, itt leplezi le magát a szerzĹ‘: elsĹ‘ blikkre azt gondolnánk – az erĹ‘teljes Ă©rzĂ©kenysĂ©g miatt –, hogy egy szereplĹ‘- Ă©s kapcsolatközpontĂş ĂrĂłval van dolgunk, de nem, valĂłjában ezek ötletközpontĂş novellák. És Ă©n a jĂł ötletet hajlamosabb vagyok kevesebbre Ă©rtĂ©kelni, mint a komplex kapcsolatot szereplĹ‘ Ă©s szereplĹ‘, szereplĹ‘ Ă©s olvasĂł között. Mert elĹ‘bbi csak Ăşgy jön, utĂłbbiĂ©rt viszont jobban meg kell dolgozni. AzĂ©rt nem volt tragikus találkozás, egy második randit mĂ©g mindenkĂ©ppen leegyeztetĂĽnk. KĂnait szereted? Vagy gyros-tálat inkább? Ursula K. Le Guin somehow manages to surprise me again and again over the years. Every time I think I have her figured out, or know what to expect from her, show throws another curveball (or perhaps a right hook is a more appropriate metaphor) and I'm left pleasantly dazed by the experience. This second volume of short stories takes us on a tour of works that are more "genre-oriented" than those tales found in the first volume, "Where on Earth" (I'll leave it to the author herself to discuss what qualifies as "science fiction" or "fantasy" tale in the introduction). Many I had read before (sometimes many times over), and they remain plenty interesting: "Semley's Necklace," a scientific spin on a mythic voyage to the lands of faerie; "The Author of the Acacia Seeds," a playful set of micro vignettes concerning the mysterious languages of ants, penguins, and beyond; "The Rule of Names," an early Earthsea tale; "Sur" a charming and disarming account of the (secret) first voyage to the South Pole made by women; a variety of stories set in her expansive and thoughtful Hainish Cycle. A career-spanning collections of short stories like "The Unreal and the Real" is a perfect way to reacquaint oneself with a favorite author, the familiar tales, placed in new and sometimes surprising order, form new juxtapositions and connections... Here Le Guin's background in anthropology, her fascination with the powers (and limits) of language, and her abiding interests in the pressures and patterns of gender emerge as a clear through-line over the course of decades and a wide range of styles and registers. Other stories were new to me and held the particular delight of new discoveries... Or rather reading the reports of an explorer who tells you of new and sometimes very frightening places. "The Matter of Segrii," told in a series of diverse documents from a world where men are rare (only one in sixteen births) and the female majority hold all the power, begins as a funny and fascinating mirror of our world's gender roles a la "Guliver's Travels" but continues to increase in depth and power as it goes along. The impression it gives the reader is not of fiction but rather a sobering report from a truly disturbing and even perverted world... which in the end is perhaps not unlike our own. "The Wild Girls" is so brutal and matter-of-fact in its descriptions of violence and cruelty it feels almost like something Cormac McCarthy might have written, but the setting, with its triple caste system and the strangely tender moments that unfold within the constraints of that vividly drawn society mark it as uniquely the work of Le Guin. This world is a poorer place with Le Guin's recent passing. Her work makes me think more, feel more, live more. I'm just glad that she left us with a lot of it to discover and re-discover in the years to come. Quite different for Ursula Le Guin. none of the stories were really fantasy or science fiction to the degree you might expect. they're all decent, interesting and very readable though. Two standouts for me: The direction of the road has an incredible twist that I couldn't predict, I've reread a number of times and it just gets better. The diary of the rose everything I adore about Le guin. Great characterisation, political commentary and really enjoyable. no reviews | add a review
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Short Stories.
HTML: Praise for Ursula K. Le Guin's short story collections: "It is the author's more serious work that displays her talents best. . . . [A] classy and valuable collection."â??Publishers Weekly "A master of the craft."â??Neil Gaiman The Unreal and the Real is a two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best stories. It is a much-anticipated event and there is no doubt it will delight, amuse, and provoke. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's satirical, risky, political, and experimental earthbound stories. Ursula K. Le Guin has received the PENâ??Malamud and National Book Awards, among others. She lives in Portland, Ore No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumUrsula K. Le Guin's book The Unreal and the Real: Where on Earth was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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