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Regarding the Le Guin selection: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is perhaps my least favourite Le Guin story. I understand (and appreciate) the theme but its
by oska 6y ago
Regarding the Le Guin selection: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is perhaps my least favourite Le Guin story. I understand (and appreciate) the theme but its presentation is so tritely and artificially delivered that I think it undermines itself. It frankly reads like a morally earnest high schooler's piece of creative writing (albeit with more polished prose). I find Le Guin a mediocre writer when she is at her most didactic. Conversely, when she writes from a more subconscious, mystical space she is brilliant. And this is mostly her earlier work.
- ghaff 6y agoI went back and forth on this one and, to be honest, I'm not a particular Le Guin fan except for The Dispossessed. I could be persuaded that I should have gone with maybe Buffalo Girls instead. But maybe this is a case where I've been called out including something I felt I needed to.
- kentbrew 6y agoThe Earthsea books are wonderful.
- noisy_boy 6y agoThe first story I read by Le Guin was "Semley's Necklace" - I had to read it multiple times to complete the mental imagery (I was quite young) - see if you like it.
- CobrastanJorji 6y agoI'm no literary critic, but I really liked Omelas. She makes this huge push to make it very clear that she is setting up a moral allegory, and in the end, she leaves the actual point completely vague. It feels like a windup to "this society is bad," but then she just weakens the condemnation down to a mild suggestion. It was neat.
- oska 6y agoAppreciate you giving your well-expressed differing take.