Reading: Four Ways to Forgiveness
Feb. 1st, 2018 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
white_hartThe news of Ursula Le Guin's death made me want to read something of hers, so I picked up Four Ways to Forgiveness, which I'd bought years ago but never got around to reading. The four novellas collected here are part of the Hainish continuity which all of Le Guin's science fiction fits into; they all centre around the twin worlds of Werel and Yeowe. Werel's society is built on slavery; Yeowe, the next planet in towards their system's sun, was colonised around 400 years ago by Werelian corporations, who transported slaves to the colony to work in agriculture and mining. The stories are all set shortly after the end of a long, bitter war which ended with Yeowe liberated from Werelian control and left in charge of the former slaves, while Werel clings to the institution of slavery in the face of mounting opposition. In addition, both planets are seeking admission to the Ekumen of Worlds, and dealing with questions of how to relate to the alien visitors.
Obviously, it's impossible to read a novel with a background in race-based slavery without thinking of the history of the United States, and some of the descriptions of the lives of the slaves (in this world, the lighter-skinned people of Werel, with the dark-skinned race as the masters) were very reminiscent of Kindred or A Free Man of Color. On the other hand, the depiction of the tensions and difficulties in post-liberation Yeowe reminded me just as much of things I've read about postcolonial Africa.
The stories look at how gender issues intersect with the racial politics of a slave society, where women of the owner class are kept behind closed doors and not allowed to move freely in society, while women of the slave class find themselves left behind by the liberation and facing a second struggle for equality. They also all look at how understanding and love, and ultimately forgiveness, can grow between men and women in such a society, and also how people can forgive themselves and move forward to find peace and happiness. It's not a book where dramatic things happen, but it's wise and compassionate and thoughtful, and like all Le Guin's books it's beautifully written. I'm glad I got round to it in the end, though sorry that it was prompted by losing her.
Obviously, it's impossible to read a novel with a background in race-based slavery without thinking of the history of the United States, and some of the descriptions of the lives of the slaves (in this world, the lighter-skinned people of Werel, with the dark-skinned race as the masters) were very reminiscent of Kindred or A Free Man of Color. On the other hand, the depiction of the tensions and difficulties in post-liberation Yeowe reminded me just as much of things I've read about postcolonial Africa.
The stories look at how gender issues intersect with the racial politics of a slave society, where women of the owner class are kept behind closed doors and not allowed to move freely in society, while women of the slave class find themselves left behind by the liberation and facing a second struggle for equality. They also all look at how understanding and love, and ultimately forgiveness, can grow between men and women in such a society, and also how people can forgive themselves and move forward to find peace and happiness. It's not a book where dramatic things happen, but it's wise and compassionate and thoughtful, and like all Le Guin's books it's beautifully written. I'm glad I got round to it in the end, though sorry that it was prompted by losing her.
