The Left Hand of Darkness: BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation

by Ursula K. Le Guin

The first ever broadcast dramatisation of Ursula Le Guin's seminal science fiction novel.
On an alien world in the middle of an ice age, one man prepares for the biggest mission of his life. Alone and unarmed, Genly Ai has been sent from Earth to persuade the people of Gethen to join the Ekumen, a union of planets. But it's a task fraught with danger.
Genly is shocking to the natives, for Gethen is a world in which humans are ambigendered - everyone can be a mother, and everyone can be a father. First Minister Estraven is the only person who champions Genly's cause, but their relationship is deeply incomprehensible and troubling.
As the duo embark on a journey that will take them to the edge of their physical and emotional endurance, the stakes are high - to save a world from war and save their own lives.
Ursula Le Guin's award-winning masterpiece was one of the first feminist SF novels, and this compelling dramatisation is both a subtle exploration of gender and a thrilling tale of love, betrayal and survival in a landscape of endless snow and ice. It stars Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey), Toby Jones (Dad's Army) and Louise Brealey (Sherlock).

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

2 pages, Audible Audio

Published July 7, 2016

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

[Marieke · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an audio adaptation this was absolutely phenomenal, highly recommend

[B]

I mean the performances were great but I have no idea what happened.

[Levi Hobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This didn't have the full story of the full book, so it's hard to give it five stars for that reason...there's as lot missing. However, it worked for me as a kind of way to have a "remix" of the original book, an alternate way of experiencing it if you've already experienced it. The production quality was top notch with great sound effects and voicing. Hearing the whistling of the wind alone was enough to add substantially to the empty feeling of this book.

[Ana Dantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu não conheço o material original pra julgar a adaptação, mas eu acho que no geral deu pra entender. Não é minha experiência midiática favorita, parece que estou vendo um filme sem olhar pra tela, e eu não percebi "dez vozes diferentes". Se fossem 3 atores fazendo todas as vozes eu acreditava.

A história é interessante.

[Laurena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I felt the adaptation lacked the detail a book would have …

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook, in part because it was available and also to broaden my Le Guin horizons. It is a BBC Radio adaptation, not an unabridged reading. As such - and perhaps because I mostly listened while running - I had a hard time keeping the characters straight. It was an interesting story though, so I may eventually read the full book, although the fact that it is 4th in a series is a bit daunting.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done but confusing if you haven’t already read the book.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this two CD dramatisation by the BBC which abridges this brilliant book. This is an excellent introduction to this long Sci-fi novel which has always been one of my favourites. It is both intelligent and interesting to read and, for me, one of the best in the genre.

This could be abridged too far (sorry!) because it misses out so, so much of the story in all its richness and detail.... obviously, it has to....

It must have been a big task to know how to approach abridging this book for dramatisation and do it well. If you've read this book multiple times as I have, there are so many details that come to matter! Enjoy....

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book several years ago and loved it. Consider it one of my favorites. So I enjoyed listening to this dramatization. Loved revisiting Genly Ai and Estraven (gotta say I was super surprised by how feminine Estraven's voice was compared to how I read them in my head! That's why adaptations are so fun!).
With that said, I do think this might be hard to follow for people who haven't read the novel. It's very sci-fi and I'd struggle to keep up with made up countries, names, and made up words in general if I didn't have text in front of me.

[Shinemoos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition kept the storylines and some of the most memorable quotes. Having the characters come live with voices and intonations is great. As a fan, I like this one. Tho Estevan in my mind when I read the book had a male voice haha.

[Morten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting dramatisation. And serves as a great trailer for the full story. I think I am missing a lot of details. But the setup is intriguing and I got the impression that it encapsulates well the human being

[Missi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Production was good, although the background noise was too loud at times. Unfortunately I have never read the novel. This was not the way to enter this series. I have no idea what was going on. And honestly it didn't intrigue me to pick up the book.

[Marcy Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you haven’t read the book, this will be too confusing for you. Poor Le Guin hasn’t been lucky when it comes to adaptations of her work.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this confusing for new readers? Yes. Is it a brilliant and moving adaptation for readers familiar with the book? Also yes!
Anyway I'm just here crying about Estraven and Genly Ai.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was well acted, and interesting enough. I just didn't find the basic premise of the story that engaging.

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Articulation and enunciation, are these foreign concepts to the narrators?

[Trifles Minutiae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well acted and atmospheric adaptation, but seemed too abbreviated and therefore I had trouble following the plot and understanding who was who.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting journey which left me with interesting thoughts and lots of questions.My first book from Ursula

[Stef Garvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating debut by a master of her craft. Isn't it wonderful that we have access to books like this?!

[Anette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not recommended unless you're already familiar with the original; the performances are good but the environmental sounds and style of dialogue do little to aid your comprehension.

[Caleb M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like an important sci fi book that not enough people have told me about. Or talked about for that matter! Yes, yes I only gave it 3 stars but that's because I feel like I just couldn't forgive the first half of this story. The first half was incredibly slow and moderately confusing; then it picked up and was an epic quest across harsh environments with 2 people you will grow to love and care for and connect with. There are some that will love this book and some who will say it stupid, but regardless I do think it is an important novel in the history of sci fi. And it's short, so give it a go 😊

[Kam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well done audio presentation. Gives me a glimpse of what I might face as I prepare for creating trainings for those who don't get chance to excel in life because of limitation of their surroundings.

What's surprising is how much detail i was able understand, in such a short time.