Description

Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Ursula K. Le Guin’s landmark novel, this special commemorative edition of “The Dispossessed”—winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards—explores profound themes of anarchism versus capitalism, collective society versus individual freedom, and one man’s courageous journey to reconcile two worlds divided by ideological differences. Featuring a new foreword by Karen Joy Fowler, this edition honors a timeless and influential classic.

“The Dispossessed” follows the compelling story of Shevek, a renowned physicist living on Anarres, a barren moon inhabited by an anarchist society without government, shaped by ideals of revolutionary equality and mutual aid. His home planet exists in stark isolation from its mother planet, Urras, a world governed by conflicting nations marked by extreme wealth and devastating poverty. Driven by the desire to bridge the centuries-old divide between these two distinctly different civilizations, Shevek takes the unprecedented step of traveling to Urras, risking immense personal sacrifice, hardship, and separation from his loved ones.

He journeys to Urras not just to teach, but to learn, to share his findings, and to challenge the long-held animosity and philosophical hostility that separate these worlds. Far from finding the unenlightened, selfish culture he anticipated, Shevek encounters an intelligent, sophisticated society eager to welcome him. But soon his radical ideas and groundbreaking discoveries are seen as threatening, drawing him into a profound struggle that forces him to question his own assumptions even as he seeks lasting change. In his relentless quest to tear down walls of suspicion, fear, and ideological rigidity, Shevek emerges not only as a pioneering scientist, but also as the catalyst for transformation across both worlds.

Praised as “one of the greats” by Stephen King, and called “engrossing” and philosophically stimulating by the Cincinnati Enquirer, “The Dispossessed” remains Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking literary exploration of humanity, society, and the complex nature of cultural and political divides.