A Place Where You Have Never Been

The Dispossessed tells the story of Shevek, a scientist from an anarchy who emigrates to a capitalistic society with hopes to complete his life’s work. Along the way, author Ursula LeGuin touches on many of the themes you might expect from such a story. There’s criticism of capitalism, centralization, and war; there’s also reflection on the value of mutual aid and social contracts. Although much of this is explicit, plenty comes from more nuanced exploration of the fictional cultures, e.g. linguistic particulars and more broad social tendencies such as expectations of privacy. This aspect feels reminiscent of The Left Hand of Darkness, though Shevek is not the ethnographer that Genly Ai is.

Leguin further distinguishes Shevek through a somewhat ambiguous presentation. From egotism to infidelity and sexuality, the author often leaves the reader to make up their own mind about her protagonist’s values. Shevek nonetheless solicits empathy, most memorably (and unexpectedly) in moments of love and devotion.

The Dispossessed has very little to say about technology; not even Shevek’s coveted General Temporal Theory receives much examination. This is a bit surprising for a work of science fiction, especially given that it’s the driving force behind the narrative (not to mention the origin of a critical device in many of LeGuin’s novels). One might argue that in the abstract, Shevek’s field of study informs the structure of the book, but if so, it’s way subtler than, for instance, Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang.

I’ve heard it said that nothing happens in this book, but even having been primed with that criticism before reading, I can’t understand it. I concede that a lot has happened before one of the book’s two timelines, and I’ll even grant that it’s a fairly talky novel, but I’m still struggling to justify “nothing.”

Maybe the unorthodox narrative structure throws some readers off, but LeGuin’s orchestration is so graceful as to make that seem unlikely. Instead of taunting readers for their ignorance of the events-to-be-revealed, she provides just enough context to allow her audience to engage intellectually with the characters. Her truly remarkable achievement, though, is how she simultaneously reveals more about those characters’ personal and society histories.

For folks who believe the climactic working-class uprising and violent police response constitutes “nothing,” it’s no surprise that the tension experienced by a man between worlds (not to mention the dramatic irony of a gradually-unearthed past) goes unnoticed. However, if you’re even slightly interested in how centralization can undermine society (hierarchical or otherwise), then you’ll find The Dispossessed as compelling as I did.