The Dispossessed: A Novel

· Harper · Narrated by Don Leslie
4.7
21 reviews
Audiobook
13 hr 25 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook

“One of the greats....Not just a science fiction writer; a literary icon.” – Stephen King

From the brilliant and award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a classic tale of two planets torn apart by conflict and mistrust — and the man who risks everything to reunite them.

A bleak moon settled by utopian anarchists, Anarres has long been isolated from other worlds, including its mother planet, Urras—a civilization of warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth. Now Shevek, a brilliant physicist, is determined to reunite the two planets, which have been divided by centuries of distrust. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have kept them apart.

To visit Urras—to learn, to teach, to share—will require great sacrifice and risks, which Shevek willingly accepts. But the ambitious scientist's gift is soon seen as a threat, and in the profound conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs even as he ignites the fires of change.

Ratings and reviews

4.7
21 reviews
Paul Acevedo
April 26, 2025
The reader is good, although he doesn't do voices, so sometimes it's hard to tell which character is speaking. This book's chapters alternate between the past of the main character and his present. This non-linear approach doesn't offer any advantages here; the present story is from more interesting. That said, the whole book is bogged down by philosophy and physics gobbledygook. There's too little focus on character and action. Heck, at one point, the main guy nearly forces himself on a lady, and the book just completely forgets her and the incident after that. The scale of the story increases at the end, but the ending itself fizzle out rather than providing much closure. This book is hard to recommend.
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Samuel Chaparro
January 14, 2023
thought provoking
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About the author

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters. Her body of work includes twenty-three novels, twelve volumes of short stories, eleven volumes of poetry, thirteen 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 the Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master Award, along with a PEN/Malamud Award and many other accolades. In 2016 she joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America.

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