The Altered I

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Book by Le Guin, Ursula K.

Genres: Anthologies, Science Fiction, Writing, Short Stories, Essays

181 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1978

About the author

Ursula K. Le Guin published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. She lived in Portland, Oregon.

She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.

Reviews

[RSchoenbauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, at it's core, is a book about the Process. More than that, it's a masterclass taught by Ursula K. Le Guin that uses Ursula K. Le Guin as our example student, walking us through her experience with a time, a place, and a story while simultaneously inviting the reader to draw parallels with their own process and experiences. It's not a how-to, however, and none of the lessons taught are necessarily spelled out.

Even so, it is, without a doubt, one of the best books for an editor to read if they want to understand how to communicate with an author and what the critique process is--and can be. I'd also recommend it for writers who want to give and receive critique in any sort of social setting, be it a writer's group, a retreat, or something similar. For those readers who are neither editor nor writer, I'd recommend this if they're interested in the behind-the-scenes of a beloved author wherein she speaks of a transformative experience and draws fascinating conclusions upon the nature of social interaction.

I enjoyed this book immensely and I feel it has added depth to my understanding of the philosophy of critique and editing, both from an editor and an author's perspective. Highly recommend.

[scherzo♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stefan Vucak
Bruce Gillespie
Rob Gerrand
Annis Shepherd
David Grigg

Randall Flynn
John Edward Clark
Pip Maddern
Edward Mundie
Barbara J Coleman
Andrew Whitmore
Bruce Barnes

Derrick Ashby
Graeme Lunn
Kitty Vigo
Petrina Smith
Robert Young