One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels / Winner of the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Awards
"Le Guin expanded the boundaries of fiction not just by committing to its revolutionary capacities but also by considering deeply, and with great clarity, other ways of being. The Dispossessed, her most intricate and beautifully realized book, . . . a moving story that is also about loneliness, will, and what it means to return home. More than a novel, this is an ontological work of extraordinary imagination and compassion." -- Meng Jin, The Atlantic
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, HarperCollins is proud to present this library of American classics drawn from our storied catalog. The Dispossessed is Ursula K. Le Guin's Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award-winning classic, a masterful, thought-provoking tale of anarchism and capitalism, individualism and collectivism, and one ambitious man's quest to bridge the ideological chasm separating two worlds.
It's the spellbinding story of anarchist Shevek, the galactically famous physicist from the severely isolationist and anarchic Anarres. In the face of great hostility, outright threats, and the pain of separation from his family, Shevek makes an unprecedented trip to the rich mother planet, Urras, defined by warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth. Greater than any concern for his own well-being is the belief that the walls of hatred, distrust, and philosophic division between his planet and the rest of the civilized universe must be torn down.
Upon his arrival, he finds not the egotistical philistines he expected, but an intelligent, complex people who warmly welcome him. But soon Shevek and his work are seen as a threat, and in the profound conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs even as he ignites the fires of change.
- A BEAUTIFUL PACKAGE WITH FLAPS: Featuring French flaps and a unique vivid cover design, each book in the collection is published as a deluxe trade paperback that is a part of a stunning series look.
- HARPER COLLINS AMERICAN CLASSICS: This series includes timeless novels, poetry, children's books, and groundbreaking nonfiction that has shaped American thought, literature, and identity across generations.
- AMERICA'S PUBLISHER: Since its founding in 1817, no American publisher has been so entwined in the history of American letters. Our books enrich, challenge, and defined the American spirit.
- AMERICA 250: The HarperCollins American Classics arrive in time for America's 250th anniversary celebrations.
About the Author :
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters. Her body of work includes twenty-three novels, twelve volumes of short stories, eleven volumes of poetry, thirteen children's books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. The breadth and imagination of her work earned her six Nebula Awards, seven Hugo Awards, and the Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master Award, along with a PEN/Malamud Award and many other accolades. In 2016 she joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America.
KAREN JOY FOWLER is the author of six novels and four short story collections, including We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and Black Glass. She is the winner of the 2014 PEN/Faulkner Award, a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, and has won numerous Nebula and World Fantasy Awards.
Review :
"A seamless creation: every thing is made up, nothing seems arbitrary." - New York Times Book Review
"Le Guin's characters, sepecially Shevek and his family, are complex and haunting, and her writing is remarkable for its sinewy grace." - Time magazine
"Written with thought, care--even love." - Times Literary Supplement (London)
"Excellent characterization and meaningful ideas make this one of the most important [science fiction] novels of the last several years." - Library Journal
"Brilliantly conceived and stunningly executed . . . The setting is science fiction, but the tradition is humanistic, reducing life to its essentials and examining human beings in a real world." - Chicago Daily News
"Confirm(s) Ms. Le Guin as one of our finest projectionists of brave old and other worlds." - Kirkus Reviews
"Fifty years later, Ursula K. Le Guin's novel about utopian anarchists is as relevant as ever. . . . Inexhaustibly rich and wise . . . . The arrow of time has sped forward since 1974, but the circles and cycles of Le Guin's masterpiece continue to suggest, with urgent humanity, both present and future." - Scientific American
"One of the great American political novels. . . . Full of intrigue and drama." - Los Angeles Review of Books
"This remains a challenging and urgent book." - The Guardian
"Deeply worthwhile reading -- subtle, challenging, exquisitely crafted." - sfsite.com
"The Dispossessed is still one of Sci-Fi's' smartest books. . . . Remains a thoughtful exploration of politics and economics nearly 50 years later." - Wired
"The Dispossessed paints a hopeful and complex portrait of a society rooted in collectivism." - Naomi Klein, The Week
"One of our finest projectionists of brave old and other worlds." - Kirkus Reviews
"Le Guin expanded the boundaries of fiction not just by committing to its revolutionary capacities but also by considering deeply, and with great clarity, other ways of being. The Dispossessed, her most intricate and beautifully realized book, channels her lifelong obsessions--Daoism, pacifism, humanity's sacred relationship to the natural world--into a moving story that is also about loneliness, will, and what it means to return home. More than a novel, this is an ontological work of extraordinary imagination and compassion." - Meng Jin, The Atlantic
"Engrossing . . . Ursula Le Guin is more than just a writer of adult fantasy and science fiction . . . she is a philosopher; an explorer in the landscapes of the mind." - Cincinnati Enquirer
"The combination of intelligence and imagination sends ideas dancing endlessly around the brain." - Christian Science Monitor
"Le Guin's most philosophical novel. . . . The Dispossessed is a study of character, ideology and the constant of change." - New York Times
"I would be hard pressed to think of another novel that made as strong an impression on me." - Anthony Ha, author of Love Songs for Monsters
"[Ursula Le Guin] . . . is science fiction's best ambassador to the rest of the world, ever. She has done more to show people why this is an important genre--and maybe the mode of literature we need to navigate our way into a very uncertain future--than anyone else ever will." - Lisa Yaszek, Professor of Science Fiction Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech
