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The Eye of the Heron

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The Eye of the Heron

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Christina Moore
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About this listen

From multi-award-winning, literary legend Ursula K. Le Guin comes a speculative fiction classic, The Eye of the Heron.

In Victoria on a former prison colony, two exiled groups - the farmers of Shantih and the city dwellers - live in apparent harmony. All is not as it seems, however. While the peace-loving farmers labor endlessly to provide food for the city, the city bosses rule the Shantih with an iron fist. When a group of farmers decide to form a new settlement further away, the bosses retaliate by threatening to crush the "rebellion".

Luz understands what it means to have no choices. Her father is a boss, and he has ruled over her life with the same iron fist. Luz wonders what it might be like to make her own choices. To be free to choose her own destiny.

©1978 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2019 Recorded Books Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction
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I read this book a long time ago and really enjoyed it. Nice easy read, a bit of an allegory on society at the time. I think that we have evolved since then, though.
I found a lot of bias against the men in the book. They were mostly very simple minded whereas the women were highly intelligent. Also, in regard to those stuck in the wilderness, a man stuck there was touted as a kind of ‘lost soul’, whereas a woman in the same situation was seen as a strong independent woman.
Still, an excellent read, just try to look past the author’s very clear bias.

A Classic

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This narrator was different to the narrators of other LeGuin books in the Hainish cycle and it took me a while to get into it, but once I did I really enjoyed her narration. This is a great story that explores human nature and masculinity in culture and how a toxic culture can last even when everything is replaced, even the world. I liked the cyclic nature of it.

soothing voice and great story

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