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The Dispossessed cover art

The Dispossessed

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Roddy Doyle,Tim Treloar
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Summary

One of the very best must-listen novels of all time - with a new introduction by Roddy Doyle

'There was a wall. It did not look important - even a child could climb it. But the idea was real. Like all walls it was ambiguous, two-faced. What was inside it and what was outside it depended upon which side of it you were on...'

Shevek is brilliant scientist who is attempting to find a new theory of time - but there are those who are jealous of his work, and will do anything to block him. So he leaves his homeland, hoping to find a place of more liberty and tolerance. Initially feted, Shevek soon finds himself being used as a pawn in a deadly political game.

With powerful themes of freedom, society and the natural world's influence on competition and co-operation, THE DISPOSSESSED is a true classic of the 20th century.

Featuring a new introduction written and read by Roddy Doyle

©2019 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group

Critic reviews

The book I wish I had written ... It's so far away from my own imagination, I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin (Roddy Doyle)
An extraordinary work ... [Le Guin] created a working society in exquisite detail ... a fully realised hypothetical culture [as well as] living breathing characters who are inevitable products of that culture (Baird Searles)

What listeners say about The Dispossessed

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fantastic

a beautiful blend of spiritual observations, political paradigms and the essence of love. this book should be read in schools!

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13 people found this helpful

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Skip Doyle's Introduction

An interesting read but almost completely ruined by Roddy Doyle's self centred, virtuous polemic of an introduction.

Skip the Doyle introduction, and revisit after you have listened to the book.

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9 people found this helpful

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Story is great, audio mostly great.

I've always wanted to read this novel but find Le Guin's style very dense, so this really helped me to finally read the book.

Treloar is a great, emotive reader and performer. I especially liked his giving the characters different British regional dialects, to enhance the effect of the dialogue. It helped the book come alive for me.

There are a couple of moments where Treloar misreads a line of dialogue or narration, or puts the wrong stress on a word (I read the book while listening), but this wasn't too distracting. In all, a very solid audiobook.

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9 people found this helpful

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anarchism for dummies

A brilliant exposition of how anarchism leads (inevitably?) to the tyranny of socialism. Great characters. Vivid descriptions of other worlds, their polarised societies (capitalist/socialist; rich/poor), and the inevitable politics of human life. Excellent performances. I will read it again.

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4 people found this helpful

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The only book on anarchy you ever need to read!

From the viewpoint of the world post-revolution, this book is a revolution in itself. The characters and plot are not what's important here, it's a book to be studied

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This is what Stranger in a Strange Land should have been.

LeGuin is a masterful world builder (universe builder?) and The Dispossessed is excellent as usual. It uses a science fiction framing to comment on gender, government, anarchy, beliefs, war, discontent, and the nature of human relationships. If I’m being critical, it’s not fast-paced or plot driven. LeGuin takes her time examine and telling about hundreds of aspects of life on this pair of planets. But if you take it as a study in classic sci fi of the best kind, and social commentary, it’s well worth reading.

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I only wish there were more chapters!

At the beginning I wasn’t sure about the voice since I was expecting a woman but I grew fonder and fonder of it. Truly a masterpiece in all its formars

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Breathtaking

I will think about this book for a very long time. What a stunning creation!

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More than SciFi a imagining of alternative society

Really intriguing, great story. Describing the anguish of a principled creative mind of the theoretical physicist Shevek as he seeks to make his breakthrough. All with the backdrop of the culture and environment that shaped him and contrast between parallel worlds. An exploration and critique of society.

Shevek is a really interesting and compelling character, I'd highly recommended this book.

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Good but narration could be better

I liked this book. It talks about a many interesting subjects such as anarchy and the fact that Utopias are not perfect. The narration was just OK. It was too fast and so I had to slow it down in audible which was not better either.

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