Paperback, 382 pages
Castellano language
Published Aug. 15, 1983 by Minotauro.
La historia ocurre en el planeta doble Urras / Anarres. Los habitantes de Anarres son los descendientes de exiliados de Urras a causa de su participación en una revolución anarquista doscientos años antes de los sucesos que se relatan en el libro. Su régimen político es una especie de anarquismo taoísta, en un mundo extremadamente pobre en recursos. Los habitantes de Urras, por el contrario, han desarrollado una cultura urbana capitalista en un mundo que no impone tantos rigores para la supervivencia.
El protagonista, Shevek, es un científico anarquista que pretende desarrollar una teoría que permita la construcción de un ansible: un dispositivo de comunicación interestelar que supere las limitaciones de la física relativista y la velocidad de la luz. Shevek decide embarcarse en un arriesgado viaje hacia Urras con el objetivo de contactar con otros matemáticos y físicos que puedan hacer realidad las implicaciones prácticas de la misma.
Pairs well with the tail-end (covering the 60s-70s counter-culture) of "A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present." On the more philosophical-end of SFF I typically read, but glad I read it!
More plot than most of her books, it still turns back into a person on a journey. Shevek is on a journey from his anarchic home to a capitalist world. What propels him from a simple world of shared struggles? Why leave? When he arrives can he accomplish his goals? Is there something he can do that the people there couldn’t do for themselves? Will he be trapped and neutralized by the soft prison of luxury?
And how can he return home? What awaits an anarchist who is seen to turn his back on the revolution?
I love the deep thinking about language and the practice of mutual aid in a land with few resources. I love the true struggle to stay good when the droughts hit. And the challenge that centralization and coordination always brings. Everything is dealt with in indirect ways that paint larger pictures just out of …
More plot than most of her books, it still turns back into a person on a journey. Shevek is on a journey from his anarchic home to a capitalist world. What propels him from a simple world of shared struggles? Why leave? When he arrives can he accomplish his goals? Is there something he can do that the people there couldn’t do for themselves? Will he be trapped and neutralized by the soft prison of luxury?
And how can he return home? What awaits an anarchist who is seen to turn his back on the revolution?
I love the deep thinking about language and the practice of mutual aid in a land with few resources. I love the true struggle to stay good when the droughts hit. And the challenge that centralization and coordination always brings. Everything is dealt with in indirect ways that paint larger pictures just out of sight, beyond the edge of the book.
Highly recommend.
I wouldn't have described myself as an anarchist before this book; I would now. This book presents a form of society that has gripped me, and brought me hope. Truly excellent sci-fi.
