Short Story Wednesday: "Forgiveness Day" by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

"Forgiveness Day" by Ursula K. Le Guin is a science fiction novella published in 1994, a part of Le Guin's Hainish cycle of books. I have not read any of the Hainish novels and I am not sure how much my unfamiliarity with those stories affected my reaction to this story. However, in retrospect I don't think that was the problem. 

First paragraph:

Solly had been a space brat, a Mobile's child, living on this ship and that, this world and that; she'd traveled five hundred light-years by the time she was ten. At twenty-five she had been through a revolution on Alterra, learned aiji on Terra and farthinking from an old hilfer on Rokanan, breezed through the Schools on Hain, and survived an assignment as Observer in murderous, dying Kheakh, skipping another half millennium at near-lightspeed in the process. She was young, but she'd been around. 

The story describes Solly's experiences as the first Envoy of the Ekumen to the Divine Kingdom of Gatay. The themes of the story seem to be feminism, misogyny, sexual repression, and slavery.

Solly is assigned a Guide and a Guard, plus a Maid. At least one of those three were with her at all times. The Maid was assigned to her as an asset, which was essentially the same as a slave, which Solly was very uncomfortable with. Women did not take part in any events that Solly attended. Solly is treated as an equal to the males in the society, to a certain extent, but it is clear that they all look down on her. She never has any contact or conversations with women, because they all wait at home for their husbands. Solly and the Guard, Rega Teyeo, have an antagonistic relationship, which is explained to some extent by revealing his very complex backstory.

She gets around her isolation to a certain extent by gaining access to Batikam the Makil. He is a transvestite, part of a traveling troupe of entertainers, and is allowed to visit her at night after his performances.

During Forgiveness Day activities, Solly and the Guard are taken prisoner by a rebel group. Up to that point they have never spoken more than necessary, but they are forced to get to know each other under the circumstances.

The first half (or more) of the story was very complex and confusing for me. I suspect I read it too fast. I went back and reread bits of it and figured out where I had gone astray, and I intend to read it again in full.

I was emotionally engaged and moved by the ending of the story, and when that happens, I figure that the author has succeeded. So my final "rating" for this story is very high.

I read this story in The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twelfth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois. All the stories in that anthology were published in 1994.

It is also included in Five Ways to Forgiveness, an eBook published by Library of America, which includes five stories (one novelette and 4 novellas) in the Hainish cycle.

Two other short stories I have read by Le Guin are "The Shobie's Story" (also in the Hainish cycle) and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", reviewed at the Casual Debris blog in September 2023.

Reading in June and Pick of the Month

In June, I read a total of nine books. My usual reading is crime fiction but this month I included a fantasy novel, The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. I had never read anything by Le Guin, and I will be finishing the rest of the Earthsea Trilogy and looking for other books by this author.

I also read a non-fiction book covering an area I always enjoy reading about: grammar and words. The book is Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O'Connor. I agree with other reviews, the subtitle is silly. The book is not written for grammarphobes, which would be those afraid of grammar. Reactions on Goodreads were mixed, but I found it enjoyable. I especially liked the sections dealing with similar words and which is correct to use in various situations. Words, spelling and grammar are not usually a problem for me, but I did learn things from this book. Two years ago I read Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language by the same author. That one was superior; it talked a lot about how word usage changes over time.

Crime fiction books I read this month:

Hope by Len Deighton
The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard
Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham
Johnny Under Ground by Patricia Moyes
See Also Murder by Larry D. Sweazy
Susannah Screaming by Carolyn Weston
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

It is hard to pick a favorite this month. There were no duds in the group, and several were very, very good. But I will go for a book by one of my favorite authors: Hope by Len Deighton. That book is the eighth in a nine book series about Bernard Samson. I have loved every book in the series.

The Crime Fiction Pick of the Month meme is hosted at Mysteries in Paradise. Bloggers link to summary posts for the month, and identify a crime fiction best read of the month. Check out the link here to see the other bloggers picks.

A Wizard of Earthsea: Ursula K. Le Guin

A Wizard of Earthsea is widely considered to be a classic of fantasy literature. I found the history of how this book came to be very interesting. This is from a review at No Wasted Ink.

In 1967, Herman Schein, the publisher of Parnassus Press and husband to Ruth Robbins, the woman who would later illustrate the book, asked Le Guin if she would consider writing a book “for older kids”, leaving the concept and subject free of her own choosing. A Wizard of Earthsea followed the next year and was published by Parnassus Press. Le Guin based the novel on a pair of short stories she had published in 1964, The Rule of Names and The Word of Unbinding. In these short stories, she explored the concept that wizards were always portrayed as old and wise figures in literature. The author wondered where the wizards might have learned their magic before they gained their wisdom. These two stories served as the groundwork for the Earthsea trilogy that would follow.

The first paragraph of the book provides a perfect introduction to the story:

The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-racked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards. From the towns in its high valleys and the ports on its dark narrow bays many a Gontishman has gone forth to serve the Lords of the Archipelago in their cities as wizard or mage, or, looking for adventure, to wander working magic from isle to isle of all Earthsea. Of these some say the greatest, and surely the greatest voyager, was the man called Sparrowhawk, who in his day became both dragonlord and Archmage. His life is told of in the Deed of Ged and in many songs, but this is a tale of the time before his fame, before the songs were made.

The story is told very simply. There are not a lot of characters. The main character is a young, dark-skinned boy who will become a great wizard. The story is about part of his journey to becoming a "dragonlord and Archmage." His name is Druny at the beginning, later he is given other names. His character is almost the only one with any depth in the story. Yet, regardless of its simplicity, the fairy tale quality, and the lack of characterization, I found it a captivating read.

The trade paperback reprint I read included the original illustrations by Ruth Robbins.

Two more books followed A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan in 1970 and The Farthest Shore in 1972. The three books are referred to as the Earthsea Trilogy. In 1990, Le Guin published an adult book set in Earthsea  titled Tehanu. I believe there have been other books published since then. I plan to read books two and three of the original series and then perhaps read some of the related short stories.

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Publisher:   Bantam Books, 2004 (orig. pub. 1968)
Length:      182 pages
Format:      Trade Paperback
Series:       Earthsea Cycle
Setting:      The fantasy world of Earthsea
Genre:        Young Adult Fantasy
Source:      Purchased my copy at the Planned Parenthood book sale, 2014. My son has a copy of the mass market boxed set of the Earthsea Trilogy. That set was what first enticed me to try the series.