Read this when
The Left Hand of Darkness
A man spends half a book suspicious of the one person who's on his side, because he couldn't figure out their gender. Le Guin saw you coming. 🧊
Who it's for
The reader sees the planet Gethen through Genly Ai, an envoy who keeps misreading its people because they are not permanently male or female, and who notices his own assumptions only slowly.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Ursula K. Le Guin's 1969 Hainish Cycle novel follows Genly Ai, a human envoy of the Ekumen, a confederation of worlds, sent to the frozen planet Gethen, which outsiders call Winter. Gethenians are ambisexual: they are androgynous for most of each cycle and take on a sex only during kemmer, and Genly struggles to read their culture and politics.
Where to find it
In print (Ace / Penguin); widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain. Won the Hugo and Nebula awards.
Before you start
Heads up: A main character shot dead; prison camp.
Age: Ages 14+
Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
