Shevek’s hope is that, on Urras, he’ll be free to work on his groundbreaking theory that, among other things, will provide a method of instantaneous communication between the many human societies in the universe.įrom then on, the novel is split into alternating chapters covering two different timelines. In the opening chapter, he bids a hasty farewell to his home planet, as he’s escorted to a transport ship that will take him to Urras while the mobs outside protest what they see as an unspeakable betrayal. It’s also a tale of Shevek, a brilliant physicist from Anarres, who paradoxically finds himself a rebel in a world built on rebellion.

150-odd years before the story begins, the extreme social inequality on Urras gave birth to an unusual arrangement: the idealistic dissidents were allowed to leave and set up their own anarchist society on Annares, based on principles of shared wealth and shared responsibility as envisioned by a revolutionary philosopher named Odo. The Dispossessed is a tale of two neighbouring worlds, Urras and its twin planet Anarres, the former a green bountiful paradise, the latter a barren, barely-habitable wasteland that was initially colonised for mining purposes. I’ve now read three sci-fi novels by Le Guin, and this thoughtful, intelligent exploration of anarchism vs capitalism, and the impossible dream of a truly free society, might be my favourite so far.

The dispossessed book cover