The Classics: “The Left Hand of Darkness”

The Classics are must-see, must-read, must-play works revered by The Verge staff. They offer glimpses of the future, glimpses of humanity, and a glimpse of our very souls. You should check them out.

The Left Hand of Darkness is a classic by almost any measure: it’s award-winning, having grabbed the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1970; and it is genre-defining — famed literary critic Harold Bloom said that it was this book, more so than even Tolkein, which had “raised” fantasy to the stature of “literature.” Most of us out here in the real world, though, have long known that the distinction between literature and sci-fi / fantasy is a semantic one, and yes, Ursula K. LeGuin’s books are fine proofs of that, though they’re far enough off the beaten path of popularity that it’s just possible you’ve never read one. That’s all about to change.