I read somewhere that you can tell good science fiction by how disturbing it is. I don’t know how accurate that is, because I haven’t read a lot of science fiction – just Dune, 1984, some Isaac Asimov short stories, a few of Phillip K Dick’s novels (I know, I know, but he endeared himself to me forever by having a sexy Ella in one of his books. Do you know how hard it is to find an Ella in fiction who isn’t a dead infant or a spinster aunt?) and a handful of Ray Bradbury stories. None of these was particularly disturbing. Ursula K LeGuin’s The Dispossessed, though, is both excellently written and deeply disturbing. It’s set in the not-too-distant future. Hey, want to know what happens to the Earth?

My world, my Earth, is a ruin. A planet spoiled by the human species. We multiplied and gobbled and fought until there was nothing left, and then we died. We controlled neither appetite nor violence; we did not adapt. We destroyed ourselves. But we destroyed the world first. There are no forests left on my Earth. The air is gray, the sky is gray, it is always hot.

Most of the story takes place on Anarres, a small world that operates as an experiment in non-authoritative communism – they have no government and no money, and people don’t own property. The main character, Shevek, is a physicist who travels to the planet Urras, where the Anarresti originally came from, as a kind of ambassador. Various adventures ensue.

It’s a very chewy story. I read it over a few days but I keep thinking about it – the ideas LeGuin puts forth about communism, strength of community, propertarian aspects of social institutions like marriage and career, are intriguing and a little frightening. How much fun would it be to live in a society where you don’t own your own books? How hard would it be to live without money? Without laws? There’s a lot to think about.

Anyway, The Dispossessed is a brilliant book. Highly recommended, especially if you live in a consumer-centric place like Dubai. Or, you know, America.

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