The Word for World Is Forest
- Downloads：6856
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-13 13:55:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ursula K. Le Guin
- ISBN：1473205786
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Summary
When the inhabitants of a peaceful world are conquered by the bloodthirsty yumens， their existence is irrevocably altered。 Forced into servitude， the Athsheans find themselves at the mercy of their brutal masters。
Desperation causes the Athsheans， led by Selver， to retaliate against their captors， abandoning their strictures against violence。 But in defending their lives， they have endangered the very foundations of their society。 For every blow against the invaders is a blow to the humanity of the Athsheans。 And once the killing starts， there is no turning back。
Desperation causes the Athsheans， led by Selver， to retaliate against their captors， abandoning their strictures against violence。 But in defending their lives， they have endangered the very foundations of their society。 For every blow against the invaders is a blow to the humanity of the Athsheans。 And once the killing starts， there is no turning back。
Reviews
Fairouz
，
4。5/5
Monica
，
3。5 stars for the book and definitely 4 stars for the introduction by the author 。For some reason， this book reminded me of "The Heart of Darkness"， which to this day I did not finish。。。I will probably have to do that， at least to see if there is any connection between this Davidson guy and Kurtz。 3。5 stars for the book and definitely 4 stars for the introduction by the author 。For some reason， this book reminded me of "The Heart of Darkness"， which to this day I did not finish。。。I will probably have to do that， at least to see if there is any connection between this Davidson guy and Kurtz。 。。。more
hisuin
，
3。5
Andrew Garvey
，
Thoughtful， deeply imaginative and sometimes starkly savage， this is a great story with plenty to say about humanity's violence， stupidity and environmental vandalism。 And， bizarrely， my first Le Guin book。 I've been missing out。 Thoughtful， deeply imaginative and sometimes starkly savage， this is a great story with plenty to say about humanity's violence， stupidity and environmental vandalism。 And， bizarrely， my first Le Guin book。 I've been missing out。 。。。more
Philip
，
At just over 100 pages LeGuin tells a story about man vs man， man vs nature， and capitalism’s tendency towards destruction。
Ian
，
Everyone always says hack jokes like “Avatar is just Pocahontas in space” but no one ever says “Avatar is just The Word for World Is Forest with tall blue guys instead of little green guys”
Su
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Segundo livro que leio do Hainish Cycle。 Há aqui claramente um padrão de genialidade que se mantém。Opinião completa em breve。。。
Stella
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Le Guin is my favorite author， beyond that， I don't know what to say。Operating as a science-fiction story about colonizing a foreign world， this book is a masterpiece。Operating as a metaphor for the United States invading Vietnam， this book is a masterpiece -- heavy-handed， but a masterpiece all the same。I wish I could explain just how great this book is but I can't do it justice。 Le Guin was a visionary author and I am beyond grateful for every story she gifted us in her lifetime。 Her insights Le Guin is my favorite author， beyond that， I don't know what to say。Operating as a science-fiction story about colonizing a foreign world， this book is a masterpiece。Operating as a metaphor for the United States invading Vietnam， this book is a masterpiece -- heavy-handed， but a masterpiece all the same。I wish I could explain just how great this book is but I can't do it justice。 Le Guin was a visionary author and I am beyond grateful for every story she gifted us in her lifetime。 Her insights are invaluable。 Her way of looking at humanity is invaluable。 The very way that she structures her stories， or writes at a sentence-by-sentence level， is pure magic。Everybody should read this book。 Even people who think they don't like science-fiction。 。。。more
Carina Hoyer
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So much to unpack here， yet another feat by the magnificent Ursula。
Vasyl Kerimov
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One of the rare stories where it's the good guy who basically says during the face-off "We're not so different， you and I。"Alien culture is the greatest thing in this， though the story is long enough （and weirdly low on tension in the last third） to start poking holes in it。 One of the rare stories where it's the good guy who basically says during the face-off "We're not so different， you and I。"Alien culture is the greatest thing in this， though the story is long enough （and weirdly low on tension in the last third） to start poking holes in it。 。。。more
AsIfRomanceWasBorn
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• Read for Literary Studies。
Linsey
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Short summary: This book is the fifth book in the Hainish Cycle series and is about the inhabitants of a planet that has been conquered by earth people。 These people have taken control over a foreign planet to gather wood to be transported back to planet Earth。 But the Athsheans， the inhabitants of the planet， retaliate against their captors。 In doing so， they abandon their strict non-violence rules which results in crossing a point of no return。I read this book for my Cultural Criticism class。 Short summary: This book is the fifth book in the Hainish Cycle series and is about the inhabitants of a planet that has been conquered by earth people。 These people have taken control over a foreign planet to gather wood to be transported back to planet Earth。 But the Athsheans， the inhabitants of the planet， retaliate against their captors。 In doing so， they abandon their strict non-violence rules which results in crossing a point of no return。I read this book for my Cultural Criticism class。 We specifically read this book regarding the concept of hyperseperation in which humankind is completely separated from nature， showing nature as a passive tool compared to the rational humans with agency。 I think this book is able to show really well how humankind has placed itself above nature and how colonisation influences everything that exists。 I thought it was a big difficult to get my head around the story， the characters and science fiction aspects of this book。 Nevertheless， I do think it is a very interesting read！ Would definitely recommend reading the author’s introduction as it gives pointers to how the text can be approached。 。。。more
Fannah
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3。5。 She’s very good。 Just wish it were longer， more world-building， and also that it was less from the perspective of the colonizers。。。 Even though it is good， a narrative in which those are not seen as heroes， but as what they （often） are: pillagers。
Elessaraki
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I found it incredible from the very beggining。 Fascinating。 I loved the world building and the characters。 I was a little dissapointed from the top curve of the plot tho， maybe it set the bar too high and then didnt deliver， anyway i loved the book and im excited for this writer。
Thomas
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First book I've read by Le Guin and I understand the hype。 A great book on colonisation and racism projected onto space。 the start had me worried with how blatantly racist and sexist one of the characters is， but the novel makes up for it。 First book I've read by Le Guin and I understand the hype。 A great book on colonisation and racism projected onto space。 the start had me worried with how blatantly racist and sexist one of the characters is， but the novel makes up for it。 。。。more
Társis
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Le Guin é uma das minhas escritoras favoritas， cada vez que leio uma obra é um deleite。 Não foi diferente dessa vez。 'Floresta é o nome do mundo' é uma história curta e incrível， cheia de metáforas e significados sobre integração à natureza， transformações e legado。 E claro， mostra bem como a raça humana pode ser desgraçadamente ruim。 Escrita em 1972 ainda é muito atual， infelizmente。 Impressionante e impactante。 Le Guin é uma das minhas escritoras favoritas， cada vez que leio uma obra é um deleite。 Não foi diferente dessa vez。 'Floresta é o nome do mundo' é uma história curta e incrível， cheia de metáforas e significados sobre integração à natureza， transformações e legado。 E claro， mostra bem como a raça humana pode ser desgraçadamente ruim。 Escrita em 1972 ainda é muito atual， infelizmente。 Impressionante e impactante。 。。。more
Kenzie Gallaher
，
Incredible as always。 I love Ursula K Le Guin’s writing so much。
Cort
，
I found it difficult to push through the the first chapter from the antagonist's harsh， bigoted point of view， but the read was well worth it。 Le Guin delivered as thought-provoking a narrative as found throughout her Hainish cycle。 I found it difficult to push through the the first chapter from the antagonist's harsh， bigoted point of view， but the read was well worth it。 Le Guin delivered as thought-provoking a narrative as found throughout her Hainish cycle。 。。。more
Brandy Cross
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What do you have to lose？ Why， everything。 On a little green planet， where the word for world is forest， a race of humanoids is asked to make a choice between losing everything or losing everything in an altogether different kind of way。 So much of this book is a single message， a bare， raw polemic directed against the destroying power of imperialism。 It's succinct， direct， and brutal， with that touch of attention to detail and culture that is so very characteristic of Le Guin's style。 Themat What do you have to lose？ Why， everything。 On a little green planet， where the word for world is forest， a race of humanoids is asked to make a choice between losing everything or losing everything in an altogether different kind of way。 So much of this book is a single message， a bare， raw polemic directed against the destroying power of imperialism。 It's succinct， direct， and brutal， with that touch of attention to detail and culture that is so very characteristic of Le Guin's style。 Thematically， I think it loses power because the characters are so very simple and one-dimensional， it's not like Le Guin and it is a thing she has said she regrets。 All three of the main characters serve only to fill a plot device， you don't have to care about them， you aren't asked to， you are simply asked to observe the story。 It doesn't matter that pure evil doesn't exist in any real form， it doesn't matter that pure intellectual curiosity doesn't exist in any real form， it doesn't matter that the dreamer we are asked to follow shows little real understanding of what he has done， we are simply being given pieces on a board guiding us to what Le Guin wants us to understand。 What is that？ The things which we grind into our capitalist， imperialist machine cannot be recovered。 Not now， not ever。 Maybe， if we fight， and in so fighting， we lose pieces of ourselves， we can stop that machine， maybe if the people in power do the right thing， that fight and that loss will be worthwhile。 There are significant messages here surrounding racism， the ecosystem/environment， and human treatment of "other"， but I think those messages are so wound up in imperialism and capitalism that separating them detracts from the message of the book。 。。。more
Maria
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A great subversion of the White Saviour trope， but man do I dislike Davidson。
Erasmios
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The Athshean culture Le Guin has created feels organic and cohesive， apparently coincidentally sharing many similarities with the Senoi people of Malaysia。 For the little green men of Athshe dreaming isn't separated from reality， but the other half of it。 The book is quite short so it left me hoping for more details regarding the Athshean way of living as we don't really see how the wake-dreaming works until the very end。 But that's just something all good books do， they leave you wanting more。 The Athshean culture Le Guin has created feels organic and cohesive， apparently coincidentally sharing many similarities with the Senoi people of Malaysia。 For the little green men of Athshe dreaming isn't separated from reality， but the other half of it。 The book is quite short so it left me hoping for more details regarding the Athshean way of living as we don't really see how the wake-dreaming works until the very end。 But that's just something all good books do， they leave you wanting more。 At least the story never stagnates but rolls forward at a steady pace。Even when writing about distant planets and alien species that don't exist， Le Guin had the talent to write about real things， things that actually matter。 Here Le Guin warns us how dangerous it can be to not see people as people， but as animals， as rats。 How easily one can consider slave camps "The Voluntary Autochthonous Labour Corps"， or how easily the end justifies the means if it's for the good of the human race。 The evil in this novel is utterly corrupted， beyond salvation， probably the evilest Le Guin has ever written。 I wonder if Colonel Miles Quaritch （Avatar） was modelled after Captain Davidson （they honestly feel like the same character to me）。 The bellicose evil he represents isn't fictional but has fought， killed， tortured， raped， murdered and burned homes since the dawn of man。This novel is a must-read for all SciFi fans。 。。。more
María
，
El único problema que tiene este libro es que es demasiado corto， por lo demás: touché
Lisa
，
Very， very good。 Short， harsh， beautiful， and enlightening。
Jeffrey Henning
，
This starts as a 1950s-style pulp science-fiction story with 1960s-style morals before embracing 1970s despair over imperial power and the capitalist rape of the environment。 A polemic bordering on allegorical， with little to no character growth， it is so heavy handed one of the characters even refers to the Vietnam War centuries past。 Improved by wonderful riffs on Aboriginal Dreamtime。 It’s probably a novella that won the Hugo Award because of the times rather than its merits。 One of many book This starts as a 1950s-style pulp science-fiction story with 1960s-style morals before embracing 1970s despair over imperial power and the capitalist rape of the environment。 A polemic bordering on allegorical， with little to no character growth， it is so heavy handed one of the characters even refers to the Vietnam War centuries past。 Improved by wonderful riffs on Aboriginal Dreamtime。 It’s probably a novella that won the Hugo Award because of the times rather than its merits。 One of many books set in the Hainish series。 While Le Guin is one of my favorite authors， this one doesn’t stand the test of time。 。。。more
Chris Weaver
，
I came to Ursula K。 Le Guin via the "The Dispossessed" and "The Left Hand of Darkness"。 On the strength of those books I though I would tackle the rest for the "Hainish Cycle"。 Compared to those two books this is full of one dimensional， stereotypical characters。 The story is merely a device that takes you from A （the start） to B （the end）， a cross between Apocalypse Now and Avatar。 Quite disappointed， amazed it was by the same author！ I came to Ursula K。 Le Guin via the "The Dispossessed" and "The Left Hand of Darkness"。 On the strength of those books I though I would tackle the rest for the "Hainish Cycle"。 Compared to those two books this is full of one dimensional， stereotypical characters。 The story is merely a device that takes you from A （the start） to B （the end）， a cross between Apocalypse Now and Avatar。 Quite disappointed， amazed it was by the same author！ 。。。more
Pickle。
，
4。5*
Natalia Rodrigues
，
Do tipo que rasga e dilacera， que pega na garganta e deixa um gosto amargo por ser essa a humanidade。 Por ainda serem esses os ideais da sociedade， do mundo atual。Passei raiva desde o primeiro parágrafo， mas mesmo com uma conclusão satisfatória， o sentimento final é de derrota。 Derrota como espécie， presos num ideal colonizador machista e violento， que destrói sem querer entender。
Paul
，
A commentary on colonialism/racism。 It’s Eden， earth men bring sin and through cruelty teach it to the innocent who don’t want the knowledge but must take it to live and keep their home。 Selver is a galactic Quanah Parker in a way - if Quanah were， say， an Algonquian。 It’s a profoundly sad work。
Moon Captain
，
Ewoks were the best part of Star War， even if a little cringy。 Imagine if Ewoks weren't cringe at all and we're totally badass。 Ewoks were the best part of Star War， even if a little cringy。 Imagine if Ewoks weren't cringe at all and we're totally badass。 。。。more
Mafer Ángeles
，