The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
About the event
Maganimously, I, the czar of book club did not throw a fit about us picking my least favorite author (come fight me). We will be reading the classic The Left Hand of Darkess.
*The Left Hand of Darkness* is a [science fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction "Science fiction") novel by the American writer [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin "Ursula K. Le Guin"). Published in 1969, its popularity established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction.[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness#cite_note-FOOTNOTESpivack198444%E2%80%9350-8) The novel is set in the fictional universe of the *[Hainish Cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainish_Cycle "Hainish Cycle")*, a series of novels and short stories by Le Guin, which she introduced in the 1964 short story "[The Dowry of Angyar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dowry_of_Angyar "The Dowry of Angyar")". It was fourth in writing sequence among the Hainish novels, preceded by *[City of Illusions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Illusions "City of Illusions")* and followed by *[The Word for World Is Forest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Word_for_World_Is_Forest "The Word for World Is Forest")*.
The novel follows the story of Genly Ai, a human native of [Terra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth "Earth"), who is sent to the planet of Gethen as an envoy of the Ekumen, a loose confederation of planets. Ai's mission is to persuade the nations of Gethen to join the Ekumen, but he is stymied by a limited understanding of their culture. Individuals on Gethen are *ambisexual*, with no fixed sex; this situation has a strong influence on the planet's culture, and it creates a [barrier of understanding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock "Culture shock") for Ai.
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