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mssarahmorgan's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
femti11's review
4.0
I'm not sure how to classify this. There are eleven stories taking place in an imaginary(?) Middle European country. A kind of Slovakia, or maybe Poland. I have no idea why people tag this with fantasy or SF though, speculative fiction, maybe, but if the stories had taken place in towns and cities with "real" names, there'd be no way this would ever qualify. In a way I suspect that is one of the points of the collection, what is SFF but different names? At least the way Le Guin writes it (no ray gun in hand). I'm not a huge fan of the collected short stories as a format, but her writing is as poignant as ever, and there are some really beautiful little tales in here.
brokensandals's review
3.0
My favorite story here is “An die Musik", a prose tribute to music. “The Barrow,” “Ile Forest”, and “The Lady of Moge” are also interesting for the troubling perspectives they present. The remaining stories at times create an enjoyable atmosphere, but can be a bit slow. I was not really touched by the idyllic, plotless “Imaginary Countries,” and the grandiose self-analysis making up much of the dialog in “The House” seems overwrought.
eallensworth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
cally_mac's review against another edition
3.0
A decent collection. My favourites were "An Die Musik" and "The Lady of Moge". Besides that, no standout stories in particular but just the gift of managing to conjure a convincing land - this time a "real" country baked into European history.
thegreatworkbegins's review
3.0
Best ones were The Barrow, Conversations at Night and Ile Forest.
The ones that stood out i loved the rest i felt luke warm about at best
The ones that stood out i loved the rest i felt luke warm about at best
darkenergy's review
4.0
If you're looking for Le Guin's take on fantasy or science fiction - look elsewhere. This is a series of tales spread across time - though not space - with a central European setting, at points critiquing certain Soviet (or at least, stereotypically Soviet) era policies/governances, while exploring relationships and choices as consistently as ever.
I have to confess that while everything was well-written and up to par, it's not as memorable to me as her speculative fiction. Though I think some of that is because these are short stories rather than a book, so the setting - which is also realistic enough to warrant less explaining - doesn't quite breathe the same way.
I have to confess that while everything was well-written and up to par, it's not as memorable to me as her speculative fiction. Though I think some of that is because these are short stories rather than a book, so the setting - which is also realistic enough to warrant less explaining - doesn't quite breathe the same way.
shampshire's review against another edition
There's some great writing here, but somehow a lot of the stories are strangely unsatisfying.
shampshire's review
3.0
There's some great writing here, but somehow a lot of the stories are strangely unsatisfying.