Forgiveness Day

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Forgiveness Day is Ursula K. Le Guin's critically acclaimed novella that won the 1995 Theodore Sturgeon Award, the 1995 Locus Readers Award, and the 1995 Asimov’s Readers Award. Also nominated for both the Nebula and the Hugo, the novella appears in a number of anthologies, including Le Guin's book Four Ways to Forgiveness and The Year's Best Science Fiction, Sixteenth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dezois.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook

Published November 1, 1994

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

[Henk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novella on PTSD, independence battles and revolution, slavery and love. I found the structure a little bit infodumping and slow in the middle, but fascinating in terms of themes addressed
When she contradicted lord Betujo in a discussion he stared with the blank disbelief of a man who has been talked back to by his shoe. He was thinking of her as a woman.

We start of with an female Ekumen envoy to a planet divided in assets and citizens, the former being slaves and almost all the women. The world just went through a Vietnam like war, and the envoy’s guard is a soldier from the war.
We get nuanced reflections through the characters on the cost of war, terrorism, independence and the impact of changing society.

There is tension and social upheaval by the prospect of admission of planets to the Eukemen, like an EU expansion. I didn’t care much for the romance perse, and the envoy’s guard his history is interspersed in the story rather inelegantly, but still fascinating how many profound themes Le Guin squeezes in such a short work.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forgive my ignorance.

Le Guin's 1995 novella "Forgiveness Day" tells of Solly, a young, attractive, progressive female diplomatic envoy from Terra stationed on the planet Werel. Werel is marked by rigid hierarchical systems (slavery) and deeply ingrained gender (not female friendly) norms. Solly struggles to adapt to Werel's customs and prejudices and frequently comes across as bratty and judgmental in her interactions, especially with her stoic, native army officer handler. The POV shifts and we get a really compelling backstory of her guard, Teyeo and his strugles with his wartime service, what is essentially PTSD, and attempt to find purpose afterwards before becoming an embassy guard for the bratty Solly. Internal political strife and an abortive kidnapping/assassination attempt to bring Solly and Teyeo closer, and Solly matures in her view of worlds different than her own in a generally satisfying conclusion.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is amazing how much depth of character and cultural and political issues we get in a fairly short novella. This is worth reading.

This is in the Hainish universe in the time of the Ekumen. It is about Werel and Yeowe. It is the prequel to A Man of the People and a Woman’s Liberation.

[Steve LaForest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like much of Le Guin's SF, this novella is set in the far future in the Hainish universe.

*** Spoiler Alert ***

Solly, a 'space-brat' who is a new Ekumen sub-envoy to planet Werel, is caught up in intrigue, then kidnapped with her guard, Tayeo. The planet has slavery, and a colony of slaves on next planet.

The narrative is part of the same sequence as "A Man of the People, A Woman's Liberation, Betrayal, and Notes on Werel & Yeowe. These four novellas, and the explanatory notes, are all included in the book Four Ways to Forgiveness (1995).

"Old Music and the Slave Women" is also part of the same sequence, but is not included in the book.

Keen-eyed observers will wonder how this story relates to Planet of Exile, Le Guin's second novel, which was set on a planet named "Werel" It does not. As Le Guin explains, she actually forgot that she already had a planet of that name.

Le Guin's enormous talent and bravery as an author are fully on display here. The four novellas could be regarded as an experimental novel - which actually works quite well. If you enjoy thinking outside the box, you may also wish to try Always Coming Home and Searoad - a chronicle of Klatsand. If you really really REALLY like to try different things - you might even try The New Atlantis. Might.

Foregiveness Day and the rest of the Four Ways to Forgiveness sequence is highly recommended. These works are highly relevant to our modern world and its recurring headlines of inhumane conditions.

My rating system:
Since Goodreads only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals to B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.

[Gabriele · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion, not the best story in the Hainish cycle. The motif "misogynistic man takes a job as bodyguard for emancipated and open-hearted woman, love story, marriage, they live happily ever after" is flat and I almost want to believe it's a parody. Well, so be it. The worldbuilding is good, I like the Hainishmen (here we take a first glimpse of the character named „Old Music“ who starrs in other parts of the cycle as well)

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it. Have been reading an anthology of her novellas and read one every once in awhile as a break in the other types of books I read. Her sci fi culture’s politics sometimes a little hard to follow. With so many parallels to US history and power dynamics, sometimes hard to keep track of what was the same and what was different. A little anvil-y on the commentary. But all in all, a good read with some compelling characters and culture.

[George Dobson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many, many metaphors

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

too politically complex for my tastes, so I was quite bored. not much to say about this.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le Guin is a grand master partly because she writes stories of humility with a depth so deep they are seemingly endless in their lessons, partly because she’s an excellent story teller.

[Kevin Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully written, but predictable.

[Catherine Asaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgiveness Day is one of the novellas that appears in Ursula K. Le Guin's book Four Ways to Forgiveness. It has won multiple awards, including the 1995 Theodore Sturgeon Award, the 1995 Locus Readers Award, and the 1995 Asimov’s Readers Award. It was also nominated for the Nebula and Hugo Awards. Four Ways to Forgiveness was named "Best Book of the Year" by Publisher's Weekly. The book deals with the Hainish cultures that Le Guin has written about in many of her books, such as the acclaimed Left Hand of Darkness. Forgiveness Day is among my favorite sf novellas, and is also one of the best science fiction romances I've read.

[David Sastre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging!