The Telling Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Telling Book

Earthling Sutty has been living a solitary, well-protected life in Dovza City on the planet Aka as an official Observer for the interstellar Ekumen. Insisting on all citizens being pure "producer-consumers," the tightly controlled capitalist government of Aka--the Corporation--is systematically destroying all vestiges of the ancient ways: "The Time of Cleansing" is the chilling term used to describe this era. Books are burned, the old language and calligraphy are outlawed, and those caught trying to keep any part of the past alive are punished and then reeducated. Frustrated in her attempts to study the linguistics and literature of Aka's cultural past, Sutty is sent upriver to the backwoods town of Okzat-Ozkat. Here she is slowly charmed by the old-world mountain people, whose still waters, she gradually realizes, run very deep. But whether their ways constitute a religion, ancient traditions, philosophy, or passive, political resistance, Sutty is not sure. Delving ever deeper into her hosts' culture, Sutty finds herself on a parallel spiritual quest, as well. With quiet linguistic humor (Dovza citizens are passionate about their hot bitter beverage, akakafi--the ubiquitous Corporation brand is called Starbrew), dark references to the dangers of restricted cultural, political, and social freedom, and beautifully visualized worlds, award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin pens her latest in the Hainish cycle, which includes The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. Le Guin explores her characters and societies with such care, such thoughtfulness, her novels call out for slow, deep attention. --Emilie CoulterRead More

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  • Product Description

    "In The Telling...Le Guin combines the gifts of a pure storyteller at the height of her powers with a wise and passionate heart and the disciplined, ceaselessly questioning mind of a true philosopher." (Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn)

    From award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a highly anticipated addition to her acclaimed Hainish cycle, "a social anthropology of the future, fascinating and utterly believable." (Peter S. Beagle) Once a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. But an official observer from Earth named Sutty has learned of a group of outcasts who live in the wilderness. They still believe in the ancient ways and still practice its lost religion-the Telling. Intrigued by their beliefs, Sutty joins them on a sacred pilgrimage into the mountains...and into the dangerous terrain of her own heart, mind, and soul.

    "Spellbinding." (The Denver Post)

    "Sings true in every line...simple and profound." (Los Angeles Times)

    "The Telling will make you anticipate tomorrow a bit differently than you did yesterday." (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

    "Powerfully moving...This is humanist SF at its best, Le Guin in top form." (Faren Miller, Locus)

  • 0441008631
  • 9780441008636
  • Ursula K. Le Guin
  • 1 October 2001
  • Ace Books
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 256
  • Reprint
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