Coming of Age in Karhide

The Hainish Cycle

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Madurar a Karhide és un relat eròtic ambientat a Gethen, el planeta de la coneguda novel·la La mà esquerra de la foscor. La història segueix l’adolescent Sov Thade i el seu pas a l’edat adulta que dona títol al relat. A Gethen els humans no tenen gènere durant vint dies experimenten la fase somer en gènere no binari, seguits d’uns quants dies d’activitat sexual on poden triar el gènere. «El rei estava embarassat» de La mà esquerra de la foscor és una de les frases més famoses de la literatura de Le Guin. Quina és la primera pregunta que es fa quan neix un bebè? L’autora planteja un món on el gènere no determina el nostre present ni el nostre futur. Le Guin planteja temes com l’adolescència, el consentiment, els canvis hormonals, la diversitat sexual i de gènere amb naturalitat i llibertat.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Queer, Coming Of Age, LGBT

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like The Left Hand of Darkness and want to know more about the (sex) lives of the natives of that planet, this is the story for you. It's in the form of a memoir of sorts by a person named Sov Thade Tage em Ereh, who lives in the city Rer on the eastern side of the country of Karhide on the planet Gethen, or Winter.

Sov talks about a few childhood memories, and the way their families are organized into tribes or "hearths." But mostly Sov talks about their sexual maturation and going into kemmer for the first time, when the androgynous natives of Gethen turn either male or female for about a six-day period (which happens about once a month) and have a burning drive to have sex for most of that period of time. Lots of sex, and (in this case) with lots of people, in a place called a kemmerhouse. Le Guin was giving her imagination about Gethen physiology and society free rein here.

I'm not sure I have a lot to say about this one. In an interview, Le Guin called this story a "sexual footnote" to LHOD. That's about the size of it.

I received a free copy of this story from the publisher as part of the Ursula K. Le Guin: The Hainish Novels and Stories collection.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short story but a critical one for fans of The Left Hand of Darkness as it describes in detail the kemmer rituals. Definitely worth the read - pick up the library of America volume one for 5 of her Hainish short stories.

Fino's Reviews of Ursula Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven: Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Hainish Cycle
Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 1: Rocannon’s World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of Darkness / The Dispossessed / Stories: Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 2: The Word for World Is Forest / Five Ways to Forgiveness / The Telling / Stories Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Rocannon's World Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Planet of Exile Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...#
City of Illusions Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Left Hand of Darkness Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Word for World Is Forest Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Five Ways to Forgiveness Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...#
The Telling Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Earthsea Cycle
A Wizard of Earthsea Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Tombs of Atuan Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Farthest Shore Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tehanu Fino Review:
The Other Wind Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Short Stories
Unlocking the Air and Other Stories Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should be read by anyone interested in gender and queer theory/studies/issues. Thank you Ursula for the footnote of a story from the left hand of darkness.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: Set on Gethen, the same planet as in Le Guin’s phenomenous Hainish novel The Left Hand of Darkness, the story follows the teenager Sov Thade Tage em Ereb as xhe grows into adulthood and awaits xer first kemmer. Gethen has been seeded as a genetic experiment ages ago, where humans are sequentially hermaphroditic – for twenty four days during xeir somer phase they are androgynes, followed by a few days of sexuality where they can choose xeir gender in the kemmer phase. Sov and xer cousin Sether discuss their distasting experience with mood swings and bodily transformation. But then, emotions in the kemmerhouse are quite different, and she experiences different sexual adventures.

Review: First of all, if you haven’t read The Left Hand of Darkness, DO. IT. NOW

This story is a very welcomed addition to the famous novel. It is quite different – for one, it doesn’t follow an alien narrator like Genly Ai but tells the story from the point of view of the native Gethen person Sov. And far more important, it explores the sexuality in a way that wouldn’t have been acceptable for a 60s novel. Once again, it demonstrates how different aliens can be though looking alike Earth’s humans. Its sexual topics and descriptions might be challenging for readers, but I found it very fitting. The ending was very satisfying and human with a “love is love” whether a person is in kemmer or not. Le Guin asks here, if life with a constant sexual drive (i.e. ours) is not strange, indeed.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una història bonica i molt complementària a La mà esquerra de la foscor. Trobo que l'autora li dona un enfoc molt més actual que el que té la novel·la, i potser és més interessant de llegir després de La mà esquerra de la foscor que no pas com a història independent. Que també he de dir que la història de per si sola funciona molt bé, però m'ha semblat que amb el context de La mà esquerra de la foscor guanya molt, com tot a la vida.

Només em queixo de que tan de bo fes servir un llenguatge no binari directe, però entenc que ho han traduit així per mantenir la coherència amb l'original, així que em queixo fluixet.

En qualsevol cas, l'edició de Raig Verd i les il·lustracions són una meravella, i el pròleg i l'epíleg valen molt la pena. En resum: és un llibre molt maco i molt ideal per anar regalant a la gent, ara que toca regalar coses.

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautifully written, as always. Characters, fantasy, possible realities, beautifully written, as always.

[Noe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mare no normativa que regala relat eròtic de Le Guin al seu fill adolescent per iniciar-lo en la seva escriptora de capçalera i aprofita per llegir-lo. ✅

Està catalogada com a infantil-juvenil. A la llibreria es va debatre aquest punt, no hi havia consens. Jo dic que sí, com a lectura compartida i immersió leguiniana.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has far less to do with sexual congress than the physiological components of sex. I saw some reviews that implied a bit of kink, something I just don’t get at all. It’s really more of a short on the etiology of the dual-sexed mythos Le Guin explored in all her Karhide settings. If you just read it as fucking, you may want to consider what you’re fucking reading.

[silky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to be in the world of the Left Hand of Darkness again - enjoyed the insight into gender and sexuality, and how the world has changed since the original novel.

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le Guin's work is always achingly human, even when it isn't

[Marc Riera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bonic spinoff de La mà esquerra de la foscor en què Le Guin explora més la sexualitat dels habitants de Gethen. Boniques il·lustracions. En destaco el pròleg i l'epíleg escrits a quatre mans per la Blanca Busquets (traductora) i la Laura Huerga (editora) per analitzar tant les circumstàncies de l'obra com el text en si.

Molt recomanable si heu llegit La mà esquerra de la foscor!

[Ignasi Llobera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Espectacular i imprescindible!

Amb dues cites del pròleg i de l'epíleg, tots dos escrits per Blanca Busquets i per Laura Huerga:

"Le Guin ens convida a imaginar com canviar el món presentant-ne alternatives"

"En aquest relat, Le Guin aborda l'amor i la sexualitat en la vellesa, els dolors premenstruals, l'amor més enllà del sexe, els canvis hormonals de l'adolescència i com ens afecten: des de la incomprensió al sentiment de solitud. L'opció que ens ofereix Le Guin és donar espai, estendre la mà, ajudar, ser-hi quan et necessiten i compartir-ho".

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Online copy:
https://shortstoryproject.com/stories...

See Tadiana's review nearby for what it's all about. I liked it more than she did.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Five stars! Also another copy online. Absolutely not to be missed! One of her great stories.

[Phineas Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this should be read before The Left Hand of Darkness, does not suffer from 1960s prudishness

[Uyen Nguyen]

The amount of commitment I put into Le Guin's books because of that one seminar

[DinosaursAtWork]

This short stories gives you a Karhider's memories of their coming of age, i.e., being in kemmer for the first time. I found the story endearing, the young Gethenians seem to experience similar troubles of puberty as teenagers on earth. Still, for me there wasn't enough here to add to my experience of the Hanish Circle. Though I was interested and, yes, enthusastic, about reading "Gethenian smut" by an author who shied away from depictions of ambigious sexuality in the related, earlier book, this story neither gave me strong excitement nor a message to carry with me.
It may be interesting to readers if they want to dive deeper into the culture of Gethen and how the kemmering house system works. For me, this was never a limitation of The Left Hand of Darkness, I felt no urge to know how kemmering sexuality worked. Perhaps this is why I was left a bit unimpressed (perhaps, too, because I do not have the sensitivities about non-cis sexuality of when the Gethen pieces were written - I have read Omegaverse after all ...). I would expect that non-binary people and their loved ones - or perhaps people with high ambiguity tolerance - do not find the Gethen gender and sexuality as challenging as it may have been perceived by previous generations.
That being said, I also did not feel an attachment to the main couple and - here my own boundaries of the imaginable come in - found the glimpses of age gaps unpleasant. The main character and their love interest do not have children because they don't think it would be right as they are cousins. It is considered something beautiful, though, that the love interest is the first to have sex with the main character's child ...

[Raül · Rating 4 out of 5]

En Sov és un adolescent de la ciutat de Rer, al planeta Gethen. Els humans d’aquest planeta tenen la particularitat que la major part del temps no expressen la seua sexualitat -estat de somer-, només uns pocs dies al mes ho fan -estat de kèmmer- i segons qui tenen a prop expressen genitals femenins o masculins. En aquest conte Le Guin explora aspectes d’aquesta realitat, que ja havia presentat en la novel·la “La ma esquerra de la foscor”. Així també li dona la volta i relativitza qüestions que donem per bones sobre la nostra pròpia sexualitat. Una història original que trenca estereotips, amb una edició preciosa i unes meravelloses il·lustracions.

[Zach Laengert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no context for most of what's going on here, but was fascinated to see Le Guin exploring an offshoot of humanity that dealt with gender and sex in such different ways. She manages to capture some real ideals of mine in amongst the strangeness.

[Rozarka · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ever wondered how sex works on Gethen, this is a story you should read.

[Ferran d'Armengol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un llibre necessari. Una història curta que ens mostra el canvi, el traspàs de l'adolescència a la maduresa en una societat ideal, idíl·lica. Tant de bo les nostres relacions de canvi fossin com ens les explica en aquest llibre l'autora. Aquesta és la meva visió d'una societat que ja m'agradaria per a nosaltres.

[Marte · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting expansion to the left hand of darkness world, focusing specifically on the sex/gender/sexuality aspect. definitely prefer the book vibes more, but still a worthwile read

[rosiesroses · Rating 4 out of 5]

un poco rarete de pillar al principio pero está rechulon

[Kansas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dentro de: "El cumpleaños del mundo y otros relatos".
Un cuento maravilloso de iniciación que transcurre en el planeta ficticio de Gethen, concretamente en Karhide, donde se explora la sexualidad y los roles de los géneros, quizás un tema de la máxima actualidad hoy en dia. Ese es el talento de Ursula, su enorme actualidad. En Gethen los habitantes son de sexo cambiante, teniendo una persona mensualmente un periodo sin sexo, llamado "somer" y otro periodo de unos pocos días llamado "kemmer" en que la persona, dependiendo de ciertas circunstancias asume el sexo masculino o femenino. Esta historia está narrada desde el punto de vista de un adolescente Sov Thade Tage em Ereb y de cómo tiene su primer kemmer.
Magnífica la forma en que Ursula Le Guin interioriza los sentimientos de Sov en la forma de un adolescente confundido por esos cambios de su cuerpo, confusión emocional y por la nueva etapa de su vida preadulta. Magnifico relato.

[Alba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una edició preciosa i agradable. “Madurar a Karhide” és un relat que acompanya i aprofundeix en l’experiència del kèmmer descrita a “La mà esquerra de la foscor”.

A Gethen els humans no tenen el gènere definit: durant vint dies experimenten la fase somer en gènere no binari, seguit d’uns quants dies d’activitat sexual on poden triar el gènere, el període de kèmmer.

Tal i com conclouen Blanca Busquets (la fantàstica traductora de l’univers d’Ursula K LeGuin a Raig Verd) i Laura Huerga a l’epíleg, viure i deixar viure la sexualitat amb naturalitat, més enllà del gènere, més enllà de les convencions, és un desig de LeGuin que compartim i que voldríem veure reflectit en la nostra societat.

“En els vells temps o els nous temps, somer o kèmmer, l’amor és l’amor”.

[J Kuria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story set after The Left Hand of Darkness (one of my favorite books of 2021). This was very sexual but it makes sense when you consider the story being told. It was interesting to get an insider perspective on kemmer and get a bit more fleshing out on Gethenian culture.

[Ulises Daniel]

Stunning beautifully

[Susie Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of Age in Karhide, first published in 1995, is set on the fictional planet of Gethen, as in the 1969 novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, part of the Hainish Cycle. The story explores themes of growing into adulthood on a planet where adults have no fixed gender identity, and follows the story of teenager Sov Thade Tage em Ereb as they grow into adulthood and await their first kemmer. Sov lives in a large communal home in the Karhidish city of Rer. As Sov experiences biological changes, it is clear they are ready for kemmer, held in a communal Kemmerhouse for those sexually receptive. Any children conceived in the Kemmerhouse are raised in the communal home, the hearth. Sov and their friend, both ready for kemmer, express fears that being in kemmer is dehumanizing, being seen as a sex machine. And so Sov’s coming of age story is told, of changing bodies and sexuality that was utterly relatable, as well as a meaningful alternative look into gender identity. Sov enjoys exploring her sexual identity, with and as all genders, and with a world that comes alive on the page, and narration that unapologetically seeks the beating heart, in just a few pages I felt entirely immersed in Sov’s fascinating world where, quite simply, love is love.

[David Armini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jag kom att tänka på den i samband med en diskussion om Jessica Roseens Klippan. Som många av le Guins texter kan denna läsas som en fantasy/SF-historia om en annan värld. Samtidigt diskuterar le Guin frågor om kön, genus, sexualitet från ett perspektiv av ett annat normalt. Greppet är en indirekt men ofta effektiv spegling av sådant vi till vardags vant oss att ta för givet.
Texten följer tonåringen Sov när hen blir vuxen. Människor i den beskrivna världen har sedan många generationer tillbaka utsatts för ett genetiskt experiment, och är sekventiellt hermafroditiska. Under tjugofyra dagar är de androgyna, följ av några dagar av sexualitet då de väljer sitt kön.
För den som gillar fantasy finns en omedelbar ingång i texten med platser som heter Ehrenrang eller namn som Argaven - som hämtat från Tolkiens värld. För personer som jag, som kan tycka att det blir lite tradigt med för många och för fantasifulla namn, kan det vara en tröskel att ta sig över.
Men det är mödan väl värd! Historien och världen fascinerar, på köpet får en (åtminstone jag!) insikter och djupa funderingar kring kön, genus, sexualitet och hur vi definierar normalt.

Läs den!

[Octavia Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep meaning to finally work my way through Le Guin's Hainish series, and this short story is part of that. As in a couple of novels I've read from her, Le Guin's family background in anthropology comes through here, and it's more successful in short story form than it is in the longer works. That distancing effect of scholarship is less intrusive in bite-sized pieces, or at least it is for me.

The real interest, though, lies in how gender and sexuality is treated on Karhide. Children and old people are essentially androgynous, but when an adolescent comes into sexual maturity, they develop the ability to present as either male or female, and neither of these states are permanent. What this means for the individual, for the community, and for sexual relationships within that community is explored in a way that is thoughtful, affecting, and not remotely exploitative. It's just very well done, although I do think the story could have lost the prologue bit. (I don't much care for prologues in speculative novels, and it seems half a punishment to have to slog through irrelevant histories in short stories as well!)

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the short stories that has been on the reading list for an online course in Creative Writing in English that I'm currently taking at a university in Sweden. It can be read for free here.

This short story was not my cup of tea in any way, shape or form. I only read as part of the required reading for my course. Let's get that out of the way first. The reason I didn't like it isn't because it's necessarily a bad story. It just wasn't for me.

It's a very creatively well written story and it's a good example on how to create worlds and use language in a creative way. But honestly a lot of it feels like something that's building up to an alien sex novel describing what it's like growing up in this place and entering puberty. It's just too much for me, and it doesn't help that the way things are depicted morally in this alien culture rubs me the wrong way.