The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, five Hugo Awards and five Nebula Awards, the renowned writer Ursula K. Le Guin has, in each story and novel, created a provocative, ever-evolving universe filled with diverse worlds and rich characters reminiscent of our earthly selves. Now, in The Birthday of the World, this gifted artist returns to these worlds in eight brilliant short works, including a never-before-published novella, each of which probes the essence of humanity.
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"The stories in this collection are really varied. They're all basically thought experiments about worlds different from our own in some fundamental way - what if a society valued solitude more than social interaction? what if gender roles were reversed? what if marriages happened between 4 people instead of 2? - but beyond that they're stylistically very different. Some are dry, anthropological reports that were too superficial to actually grip me, while others are these beautiful crystalline tales that succeed amazingly well at capturing the human in all these strange worlds. "Paradises Lost" was my faaaaavorite."
— Cait (4 out of 5 stars)
" A collection of short stories in settings that push human social and mental development in directions other tan those we are familiar with. Humans adapt to androgyny, strict separation by gender, being born, living, and dying on a ship, and the responsibility of being gods. "
— Terry, 2/18/2014" Many stories filled interesting concepts and ideas for other cultures, just what sci-fi should be. "
— Lindsey, 2/16/2014" This book contains eight short stories, all of which I enjoyed immensely. I had never read Le Guin before, so I wanted to get a feel for her writing through something like short stories. And I've come to the conclusion that I really like her writing! Not only does she create interesting and intriguing worlds, she brings up social issues that would have never crossed my mind but are almost difficult to think about. It really made me think. "
— Becca, 2/14/2014" Some very thought-invoking stories about sex, family, religion et c and what it could be like, alternate groupings and other ideas. Really makes you think about our own construction of the world around us. "
— Sofie, 2/10/2014" Insightful prose about society, gender issues etc. "
— Taya, 1/26/2014" A collection of the best sort of science fiction stories. "
— Sarah, 1/22/2014" Le Guin's unstoppable imagination brings us fantastic tales from various places in the universe of the Ekumen. "
— Jennifer, 1/13/2014" Amazing book, I loved Earthsea as a kid, but man... this book was great. I cant wait to read more of her sf "
— Nathan, 1/7/2014" This set of stories were creative and well-plotted. I only got half-way through before heading out of town. I'll check it out again (from the library) when I get back to Lansing! "
— Lexi, 12/22/2013" i love these stories. i have only listened to two so far, but each one makes me pause and wonder what makes us love and who and why. "
— Heidi, 11/12/2013" Ursula presents great ideas about social constructs and gender issues. She has created intriguing sci fi worlds lead to subtle evaluations of our own social norms and why we adhere to them the way we do. "
— Lucia, 9/19/2013" Oh, I wish there was a neverending supply of short story collections be Le Guin. "
— Amy, 12/31/2012" Lots of gems here. "Paradises Lost" was one of the best sci-fi stories I've read in a while. The only story out of the lot that I didn't love was "Old Music and the Slave Women." I think I might have liked it more in a different context- it seemed a bit out of place in this collection. "
— Jen, 12/29/2012" Human relationships on other worlds. It works. As in her other Ekumen novels and stories. These are among my favorite stories of all time. Even better re-reading now. "
— Marissa, 9/24/2012" This may be my favorite Le Guin short story collection so far. More later if I have time to write a detailed review. "
— Juliana, 6/21/2012" Another collection of short stories I enjoyed. None of them stuck in my head as clearly as "Things" from "The Wind's Twelve Quarters" did, though. "
— Nikki, 6/19/2012" sometimes I think "generation ships! I love stories about generation ships!" and then I remember that I haven't actually read any except the final story in this collection. that should tell you how great it is. "
— Liz, 3/8/2012" Anthropological sf - most of the stories center on LeGuin taking every possible permutation of human pairings and imagining the corresponding society. Thought provoking if a bit dry at times. "
— Daphnar, 1/7/2012" She pretty much had me at sedoretus. "
— Katie, 1/2/2012" Great stuff, and I love her comments on genre discrimination in the essay in the end. "
— Iida, 12/26/2011" This may be my favorite Le Guin short story collection so far. More later if I have time to write a detailed review. "
— Juliana, 5/18/2011" A collection of short stories in settings that push human social and mental development in directions other tan those we are familiar with. Humans adapt to androgyny, strict separation by gender, being born, living, and dying on a ship, and the responsibility of being gods. "
— Terry, 3/5/2011" An amazing collection of fantasy short stories of other worlds that challenges our contemporary notions of gender and sexuality. "
— Sam, 12/13/2010" The last story, Paradises Lost, was the best of the bunch...really good. Other stories could have focused less on sex, but were still interesting. "
— Jessica, 12/2/2010" It was heavy. Some Funny...wierd, sad, others, all of the three and more. I need to re-read this a couple of times before i can come to an entirely sound conclusion, because this is packed. If you want a sort of dynamic frame of mind, then you have to read this. "
— Chie, 11/13/2010" On the back of my copy there is a blurb from Robert Silverberg <br/> <br/>"Eight wise and wonderful stories by one of the great masters of science fiction." <br/> <br/>That about covers it. "
— BunWat, 9/15/2010" Oh, I wish there was a neverending supply of short story collections be Le Guin. "
— Amara, 6/19/2010" This set of stories were creative and well-plotted. I only got half-way through before heading out of town. I'll check it out again (from the library) when I get back to Lansing! "
— Lexi, 4/5/2010Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was an American author of novels, children’s books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. She has also written poetry, literary criticism, and essays. She was widely recognized as one of the greatest science fiction writers in the history of the genre. She won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards on several occasions, as well as the National Book Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, and many other honors and prizes. In 2014, she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
Christina Moore is an actress and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is best known for her roles in the television series That ’70s Show, Hawthorne, and 90210. She is a founding member of Bitches Funny, an all-female sketch group that has performed in New York City and Los Angeles.