The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
This book takes place on a planet called Winter. The main character of The Left Hand of Darkness is an ambassador tasked with recruiting the leaders on this planet to an intergalactic federation. His is not an easy task, no ambassador has an easy task trying and sometimes failing to understand the new culture he is confronted with. This planet mostly has no gender and they find his defined gender strange as well. Cutting edge when you know that this book was published in 1969. What would a society without gender be like? How would you structure a hierarchy? Ursula K. Le Guin was asking questions then that we haven’t begun to answer now. It makes me think of the cold and the dark. Get really cozy under the covers for reading this.
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