The Biblio Blogazine

The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
Science Fiction, 400 pp (Mass Market)
Eos, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 

FTC Disclaimer: My tax dollars at work. (Borrowed from the library) 

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The last line: “His hands were empty, as they ahd always been.” 

In this case, empty is not necessarily a bad thing. 

What is utopia? A place? Or is it only a state of mind? Perhaps, it is merely an illusion we make real in order to cope. 

That is of course if we ever find it. 

Shevek is in search of something, and instead of finding it, he discovers a newness of self, one that he struggles to resolve. It is this discovery which leads me to better understand the title of the book. 

Dispossessed: having suffered the loss of expectations, prospects, relationships, etc.; disaffiliated; alienated. 

The thing is, while alienated from the life he knew before he left his world physically, Shevek comes to realize he had been dealing with the same things psychologically long before he went in search of belonging, of incorporation, of cohesiveness. 

He finds some answers, just not the ones he expected. 

The protagonist searches for an ideal, and in the end it is left to the reader to determine if he found it, and where. 

I am not going to say more. Move along now. No spoilers here. 

My only gripes were that there were some lengthy, scientific/philosophical debates, which I skimmed as they went way beyond my comprehension and patience. Also, and this is very minor, there is the layout. The chapters alternate between the past and present, leading up to the final chapter where they merge. 

This was never a problem for me, and it shouldn’t be for anyone else. I found it harder to adjust to The Time Traveler’s Wife than I did this narrative. 

Still, I found this to be an enjoyable read and for any lover of science fiction, this book is for you. 

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From the author’s website:
As of 2010, Ursula K. Le Guin  has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, three collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include a volume of poetry, Incredible Good Fortune, the novel Lavinia, and an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson & Richard DiLallo
Historical Fiction, 416 pages
Little, Brown and Company

Review copy courtesy of Hachette Book Group
Book released: August 2009

On the back cover, the blurb states”: “Alex Cross tells the irresistible story – passed down through the generations – of an ancestor’s courageous fight for freedom.”

Actually, the only time we are introduced to Alex, and his true voice, is in the preface. In it, he prepares the reader by telling them they are about to read an account of a man his family knew, a brave man, who was part of a trial, and not just the literal kind, that affected all those who knew him.

As the story unfolds, learn about Ben Corbett in a way that we quickly forget that this is a book within a book.

Ben’s voice is strong, and it is through his eyes we see a Mississippi in a time when racial tensions still ran strong, and at times, was a deadly affair.

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