Goodbye, Gethen!

I'm so happy to hear that many of you ended up enjoying reading Left Hand! I know it was extremely confusing to read at first (and elements of the book will probably remain confusing), but I'm glad to see how you all stuck with it and gave it a chance. Some of the things we get the most enjoyment from in life end up being--and excuse my non-academic language here--a "pain in the ass." But the act of overcoming a challenge can be part of what gives us that satisfaction.

Since many of you have expressed some dissatisfaction with the abrupt ending (or that we've reached the end in general), I just wanted to let you know that this book was part of a series Le Guin did know as the Hainish Cycle. The other books in the cycle (none of which I have read myself) do not take place on Gethen, but rather other planets which belong to the Ekumen. If you do want to read more involving the society of Gethen, she did write two short stories, "Winter's King" and "Coming of Age in Karhide," which take place on the planet we have come to know so well. I have a collection of hers which contains "Winter's King" and I'm happy to make a copy for anyone who's interested. I might even entertain the idea of giving extra credit for anyone who wants to read it over spring break and blog about it. I'm also happy to make copies of her other short stories in the collection.