Six of those seven books were The Earthsea Chronicles: a stunningly beautiful series written by Ursula K. Le Guin. Simple and complex, surprising and deeply familiar, far ahead of its time in terms of gender roles and politics, this series blew my mind. I cried more than once and that is the highest praise I can give a book.
My favorite podcast, Stuff Mom Never Told You, (check it out if you are wanting to know anything about the wide, fascinating world of womenhood) did an episode on science fiction and the impact on social justice. I'd never made this connection before. I, and most people I know who love science fiction, read it primarily for the entertainment factor. It's fascinating to become immersed in an entirely new world, either dystopian and dark or fantastical and magical. However, science fiction and fantasy, usually stories about worlds completely different from Earth, can be powerful commentaries on social justice, contain passionate voices for change and present an idea of what a world COULD look like if we move towards a more egalitarian future or what it MIGHT look like if we continue to disregard the needs of our planet and the most marginalized on this planet.
When I read Brave New World in college, it rocked my world. The fact that a book written in 1931 could so accurately pinpoint the dangers of a materialistic world, just starting to really ramp up in Huxley's day, was chilling. 1984 was written in 1949: a few years before the cold war and the widespread fear of communism truly swept the western world. Both of these authors were masters and seeing where current trends could lead and provided important warnings.
Likewise, Ursula K. Le Guin has the power to compose stories that are stunning, mystical, heartbreaking, inspiring and thought-provoking all at once. The Dispossessed, which I read last year, was about twin planets: one living our anarchist ideals, abolishing all forms of government in a society set on brotherhood and cooperation. The other planet was given over to reckless materialism and classism. As one man sets on a journey from one planet to the other and finding himself lost in both, the reader is drawn into the problems and issues of both ideals. In her ground-breaking book, The Left Hand of Darkness, Le Guin explores a genderless world and the affect on this in society, on war and on domestic roles. The fact that this was written in the 60s, in a time of extreme societal upheaval, when the roles of race and class and gender were being strongly challenged, makes the discussion all the more potent.
The Earthsea Chronicles being written originally for young adult readers doesn't detract from the power of her message. Written between 1968 and 2001, the characters transition and grow along with their author and this gives the series depth and beauty. Most books are fairly simple with one or two main protagonists but their subject line is intricate, philosophical and written with beautiful turns of phrases and vivid imagery. Unexpected and powerful, showing the beauty and tenderness in men and the strength and power in women; flipping the dominant races and make white people the savage barbarians, this series makes me want to be a traveller, a mother and a dragon all in one!
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