The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. LeGuin

The Left Hand of Darkness (LeGuin, 1969)

Though this novel is technically science fiction (and won several sci-fi awards), LeGuin in her introduction characterizes it as a "thought experiment". However, it's only as cerebral as you want it to be. This is a wonderful read, complete with a richly imagined world and a subtle yet persistent plot that builds to a desperate journey of escape.

Genly Ai, a man from Earth, has come to the ice-bound planet Gethen as an ambassador from the Ekumen of Known Worlds. His mission seems simple enough: to invite Gethen to join the Ekumen and share their knowledge and culture.  However, the rival civilizations of Gethen (an increasingly warlike monarchy and a smug communist collective) prove to be difficult to navigate, not to mention their strange physiology. They have the average look and build of the other humans in the universe, with one big difference: there are no permanent genders.  Once a month, a Gethenian enters "kemmer" and develops the reproductive organs of one sex or the other. The father of several children could be the mother of many more. Since Genly is perpetually male, he is considered a pervert, a freak in constant kemmer.

Obviously, the gender potentiality constitutes the thought experiment of the novel, and it is thoughtfully developed. LeGuin explores the construct without imposing an agenda (which would be easy enough to do). The society she imagines is rich in tradition, myth, and legend.  The interactions Genly has with others, particularly Estraven, the banished royal counselor whom Genly believes betrayed him, creatively explore the misconceptions and hidden dangers of the first contact between alien cultures.

Of course, the story deals with a lot of other things: politics, individuality, love, friendship, religion, and survival in harsh conditions, to name a few. But it is all secondary to a well-told story of action and intrigue that I will relish reading again.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 ice-bound gender potentialities

The African Queen - C. S. Forester

The African Queen (C. S. Forester, 1935)

***This review contains spoilers.***

I came to this book with high expectations - maybe that was part of the problem.  The movie is so good, I figured the book had to be just as good, if not better. And for awhile, it was as good.  Our pair of opposites - Rose the missionary's sister and Charlie the lazy steamboat mechanic - head down the river in the rickety African Queen to strike a blow for England against Kaiser Wilhelm's military presence in Africa.  Along the way they brave bullets, rapids, marshes, leeches, and improbable odds while developing an improbable romance.

In many ways, this book has all the elements of the Hollywood adventure formula: action, danger, humor, and attraction. The only thing missing from the formula is the ending.  In the book, they are unsuccessful in destroying the Germans' cannon-toting steamship; instead, the British Navy use a new tech toy - speedboats with cannons - to strike the Hun.  The ending is so out of left field, it makes the whole thing feel like wartime propaganda, except it wasn't even wartime when the book was written.

The other problem: Forester doesn't respect his characters. Nay, I would hazard to say they disgust him. Charlie is constantly characterized as a hen-pecked husband, and Rose's intellect is repeatedly belittled, merely by virtue of her gender.  This might explain why their quest is fruitless in the end - Forester doesn't think they deserve the payoff.  The most they get is a grudging respect from the Germans for navigating the rapids, a respect that betrays the Germans' location to the British and ultimately leads to their defeat. I suppose this could be construed as Rose and Charlie succeeding, but when you build a torpedo out of spare parts, it needs to go off, not sink unfulfilled to the bottom of the lake.

Arbitrary rating: 2.5 out of 5 unfulfilled torpedos