The Dispossessed

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What to expect

One of the very best must-read novels of all time - with a new introduction by Roddy Doyle

'There was a wall. It did not look important - even a child could climb it. But the idea was real. Like all walls it was ambiguous, two-faced. What was inside it and what was outside it depended upon which side of it you were on...'

Shevek is brilliant scientist who is attempting to find a new theory of time - but there are those who are jealous of his work, and will do anything to block him. So he leaves his homeland, hoping to find a place of more liberty and tolerance. Initially feted, Shevek soon finds himself being used as a pawn in a deadly political game.

With powerful themes of freedom, society and the natural world's influence on competition and co-operation, THE DISPOSSESSED is a true classic of the 20th century.

Featuring a new introduction written and read by Roddy Doyle

(p) The Orion Publishing Group Ltd 2019

Critics 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
THE TIMES
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
Baird Searles
A well told tale signifying a good deal; one to be read again and again
THE TIMES
A deeply imagined work of art
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
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 had] the heart of a poet who knew all too well the difference between miracle and eureka, revelation and revolution
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Le Guin's storytelling is sharp, magisterial, funny, thought-provoking and exciting, exhibiting all that science fiction can be
Empire
Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power
OBSERVER

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 4.8
5.0
5.0
Glad to finally get my ears on this after many recommendations. Great voice characterisation.
TB 20/11/2025
5.0
4.0
Addy 22/06/2025
5.0
5.0
This is truly a masterpiece and a modern classic. I was initially a bit disappointed with what I saw as veiled references to Stanford experiment as I don't like SF which only relabels known science, but my disappointment was misplaced. This is a very moving book, comprising thoughts on individual freedom, society, human condition, feminism and so much more. All flowing gracefully like poetry where the only rhyme is the slowly moving plot. The inverted utopia was also such a clever narrative invention.

The narration is impeccable.
AlmostSurelyRob 19/09/2024
5.0
5.0
alanbridger 19/08/2023

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