Ursula Le Guin the Word for World Is Forest Review
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
Tor recently re-released the Hugo winner The Discussion for World is Forest past Ursula One thousand. Le Guin in a lovely paperback edition, and so I thought it finally was time to check out this famous short novel, originally published in the seventies.
The novel is office of Le Guin'southward famous HAINISH CYCLE (come across also, amongst others, The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed ) only can be read completely separately, although being familiar with the larger story will requite you a improve understanding of the broader context and some of the technologies, such as NAFAL and the famous ansible. Globe-based humans have established a logging colony on the world of New Tahiti and are actively exploiting the pristine world and the indigenous humanoid population, called "creechies" by their human slave-masters but originally called Athsheans. They are a mystical and peaceful-seeming species that lives in harmony with its forest-covered globe and practices lucid dreaming, but when the vastly outnumbered humans push them likewise far, a surprisingly strong and occasionally savage resistance begins…
Ursula Grand. Le Guin packs a lot of depth into this short, elegant novel. The dissimilarity between the two opposing world views couldn't be more than articulate, merely there are besides nuances inside each civilisation, most noticeably on the human side with some characters that are more aware of the Athsheans' cultural identity, and others who treat them every bit little more animals or slaves. Selver, the Athshean protagonist, is a complex, fascinating graphic symbol who I'd love to have seen in a longer novel. By contrast, the homo Davidson is so predictable and apartment that he barely rises above the level of a caricature; other human being characters luckily bear witness more complication.
Much has been made of the parallels that tin exist drawn between the James Cameron movie Avatar and this novel, and information technology's true that there are some notable plot similarities — which may also explain the timing of this re-release. Information technology's probably no coincidence that humans are on New Tahiti to gather wood (now Unobtain-, sorry, unavailable on Earth). On the other paw, the whole Noble Brutal theme and stories of cruelty by colonizers to indigenous people were actually nothing new even in the Seventies. Yet, The Word for World is Wood is peradventure the most famous instance of this type of Romantic Primitivism in science fiction, so it's piece of cake to meet why in that location were comparisons with Avatar.
Thematically, The World for World is Woods is a child of its time. Just compare the handling and place of women in the Athshean and human cultures for Ursula 1000. Le Guin's subtle feminist message. The colonization/oppressor theme was also highly relevant for the menstruum. In instance you're not familiar with the HAINISH CYCLE, at that place are layers upon layers of colonization in The Give-and-take for Earth is Woods , because in the overall history of this SF universe, the inhabitants of the planet Hain originally colonized many planets hundreds of thousands of years ago, including the planet World, and it's indicated that the Athsheans themselves may be derived from this original stock, too. Who is a colonizer, who is an oppressor, and who has the right to tell whom what to practise, are all questions that come up again and again, simply have no piece of cake answers in this novel. These are themes that have been washed many times, just rarely then succinctly and elegantly.
If y'all're not familiar with Ursula K. Le Guin'due south science fiction yet, The Give-and-take for Earth is Forest is probably not the ideal identify to start, simply on the other hand, its relatively curt length makes it a good opportunity to get your feet wet and try i of the genre'southward most talented authors. This subtle, brusque novel is deceptively simple, just sure to go on you pondering information technology long after you've turned the last page.
~Stefan Raets
I know this is a classic and I agree with its message, but gee, I feel like Le Guin was wielding a bludgeon here. Ouch!
~Kat Hooper
In The Word for World is Forest , Ursula Le Guin's 1972 Hugo Award-winning novella, she works out her frustrations with the Vietnam War, colonialism, and ecologically insensitive societies. The human colonists on the earth Athshe have enslaved the 3-foot tall, furry green native people and have created ecological disaster everywhere they go. They're stripping the forests for logging purposes, every bit timber is worth more golden dorsum on Earth, to the point that (unlikely as information technology may seem) it's a profitable venture to ship logs back to Globe at sub-calorie-free speeds.
When Captain Don Davidson ― a perfectly loathsome human being who spews racist, crude, and ignorant thoughts and words at every plow; the scenes from his point of view are like wallowing in a cesspool ― rapes one of native women, who he doesn't really view as human, information technology proves to be the turning point in the relationship betwixt the human colonists and the formerly peaceful natives.
Le Guin writes a powerful, somewhat allegorical tale; it'southward just too bad she uses such a scenery-chewing, one-dimensional villain to make her point. The Word for Earth is Wood is a very moralizing, preachy story, but in that location are parts that are subtler, and every bit a whole it will stick with me. It was written in 1968, and at that place are some definite resemblances to the subsequently movies Render of the Jedi (Ewoks, anyone?) and Avatar; the inspiration seems fairly clear. The connection has raised enough discussion that Le Guin expressly distances herself from the latter film in the Introduction to the recently published two-volume Library of America collection, Ursula K. Le Guin: The Hainish Novels and Stories ("Since the flick completely reverses the book'due south moral premise, presenting the central and unsolved problem of the book, mass violence, as a solution, I'm glad I had null to practice with it."). Le Guin'south ending confronts that "unresolved trouble," in one of the stronger scenes in the story, making it clear that a society's adoption of violence as a ways to an end, while it may win the immediate battle, is a Pandora's Box.
I offset read The Word for Globe is Forest nigh 20 years ago, and I take to say that I definitely appreciated it more this time around, in large part because I've been reading Le Guin's other Hainish Wheel novels and stories in the LOA drove. Familiarity with her other Hainish works enhances the background setting and grounds the subplot relating to ansible communications from Earth and visiting personnel from other worlds. This time around the real pregnant of the title also dawned on me: humans call their world "Globe," and we are primarily tied to the state and ground, but for the Athsheans, information technology is the interconnected, living trees and forests that define their world. Hence, in the Athshean language the discussion for "world" and "forest" is the aforementioned. That intriguing concept and the importance of lucid dreaming in the Athshean culture, and their relevance to the plot, added some much-needed depth to this novella.
~Tadiana Jones
The Word for Earth is Forest — (1976) Publisher: When the inhabitants of a peaceful world are conquered past the bloodthirsty yumens, their existence is irrevocably altered. Forced into servitude, the Athsheans find themselves at the mercy of their brutal masters. Desperation causes the Athsheans, led by Selver, to retaliate against their captors, abandoning their strictures against violence. But in defending their lives, they have endangered the very foundations of their society. For every blow confronting the invaders is a blow to the humanity of the Athsheans. And in one case the killing starts, there is no turning dorsum.
The Hainish Cycle — (1966-2000) From Wikipedia: The Hainish Wheel consists of a number of scientific discipline fiction novels and stories by Ursula One thousand. Le Guin. Information technology is set in an alternate history/future history in which civilizations of man beings on a number of nearby stars, including Terra (Earth), are contacting each other for the first fourth dimension and establishing diplomatic relations, setting up a confederacy nether the guidance of the oldest of the human worlds, peaceful Hain. In this history, human beings did not evolve on Earth just were the result of interstellar colonies planted by Hain long ago, which was followed by a long period when interstellar travel ceased. Some of the races have new genetic traits, a result of ancient Hainish experiments in genetic engineering, including a people who can dream while awake, and a earth of androgynous people who only come into agile sexuality one time a month, and can choose their gender. In keeping with Le Guin's soft science fiction style, the setting is used primarily to explore anthropological and sociological ideas. The Hainish novels The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed have won literary awards, every bit accept the novella The Word for World Is Wood and the brusk story The Twenty-four hours Earlier the Revolution. Le Guin herself has discounted the thought of a "Hainish Bike", writing on her website that "The thing is, they aren't a cycle or a saga. They do not grade a coherent history. There are some articulate connections among them, yes, but also some extremely murky ones."
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