The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin (1972): A Review
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Publication Year: 1972
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pages: 189
Source: audiobook @storytel.tr
Genre: Science-Fiction, Dystopia
Awards: Winner of the Hugo Award
The Word for World is Forest, written in 1972, is a dystopian science fiction novel that explores humanity’s fraught relationship with the indigenous Athsheans on a colonized planet. While the story’s themes—colonialism, exploitation, slavery, sexism—may have seemed groundbreaking at the time, today they read like a distressingly familiar chapter from our own history books.
Despite its powerful themes, the book’s characters can feel more like archetypes than fully developed individuals, often serving as mouthpieces for racism and sexism. This isn’t particularly shocking—just embarrassingly familiar. At times, I found myself cringing at humanity’s repeated atrocities, both in fiction and real life. Most unsettling of all is watching the Athsheans lose their peaceful ways as violence takes hold.
The story unfolds through three main characters: Davidson (the endlessly hateable human commander), Selver (the chief Athshean protagonist and reluctant revolutionary), and Lyubov (the guilt-ridden scientist who befriends Selver). Their perspectives echo Albert Memmi’s classic framework: the colonized, the colonizer who accepts, and the colonizer who refuses.
One of the novel’s strengths is its window into Athshean culture, revealed through the perspective of Lyubov, the scientist. We learn about their power dynamics, gender roles, deep connection to the forest, dream-centered worldview, and how their peaceful society handles violence within its own ranks.
Overall, I gave this book four stars. It’s sometimes too preachy, too black-and-white, and the plot can feel driven by events rather than character development. The loss of Athshean innocence is deeply disturbing, though perhaps inevitable. As a side note: listening to the audiobook didn’t do the prose justice—this is a novel best read on the page.
In the end, Le Guin did not need to imagine any of the events and creatures from other planets. She was as if drawing from history, particularly the US history of the Vietnam War!
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