The Dispossessed

A brand new edition of Ursula Le Guin's of must-read science fiction classic - The Dispossessed is the spellbinding story of a scientist who single-handedly attempts to reunite two planets cut off from each other by centuries of distrust

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, was raised on Anarres, a barren moon with no government, army, laws, or police that has long been isolated from other worlds because of its rigid dedication to radical equality.

Shevek's work promises a breakthrough that could alter the course of human civilisation, but to realise it, he must journey to Urras: a planet dazzling in its beauty and advancement yet fractured by hierarchy.

Though initially welcomed by this unfamiliar civilisation, Shevek soon finds himself caught between competing visions of freedom, a bridge - and a threat - to both. In the conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs, even as he ignites the fires of change.

From the inimitable Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed is a true classic of the twentieth century, a moving story about what it means to return home and a must-read science fiction masterpiece.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION FROM RODDY DOYLE

Review

The book I wish I had written ... It's so far away from my own imagination, I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin -- Roddy Doyle ― THE TIMES

The Dispossessed paints a hopeful; and complex portrait of a society rooted in collectivism -- Naomi Klein

An extraordinary work ... [Le Guin] created a working society in exquisite detail ... a fully realised hypothetical culture [as well as] living breathing characters who are inevitable products of that culture

This remains a challenging and urgent book ― Guardian

A well told tale signifying a good deal; one to be read again and again ― THE TIMES

Le Guin's book ... is so persuasive that it ought to put a stop to the writing of prescriptive Utopias for at least 10 years ― NEW YORK TIMES

Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power ― OBSERVER

I think that everyone on earth, and everyone who cares about being alive, should read THE DISPOSSESSED -- adrienee maree brown

A seamless creation: everything is made up, nothing seems arbitrary ― New York Times Book Review

[Le Guin had] the heart of a poet who knew all too well the difference between miracle and eureka, revelation and revolution ― Publishers Weekly

One of our finest projectionists of brave old and other worlds ― Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was a celebrated author whose body of work includes 23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 13 children's books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. The breadth and imagination of her work earned her six Nebula Awards, seven Hugo Awards, and SFWA's Grand Master, along with the PEN/Malamud and many other awards. In 2014 she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2016 joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America.