Ace Books (Penguin), 301 pages, 1969
I inherited this book from my predecessor by default, and I honestly had no intention of reading it, but I picked it up randomly off the shelf after deciding I didn't feel like reading any of the (many) books I'd bought in Tokyo. I think I had a vague idea that I should try reading some sci-fi to fulfill my goal of reading a wider variety of genres; I don't know. But outside of the dystopian classics (Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451), it's the first sci-fi I've ever read, and I LOVED it. LOOOOOVED it. It was one of a very few books I've read this year that was completely engrossing (A Wild Sheep Chase was another, and maybe Revolutionary Road), and I know that's such a cliche, but I'm finding that very few books actually fit that description. For hours a day I just immersed myself in this world that the author created. When I finished A Wild Sheep Chase, I was overcome by the urge to see Hokkaido, and when I finished Montana 1948 I added Montana to my Epic American Road Trip 2012 itinerary; obviously no such thing is possible for science fiction, so I just found myself wishing the book would never end.
Since coming to Japan I'm finding myself drawn to stories of cultural isolation, especially if they involve an element of being unable to express oneself through verbal communication (which I think is why I was so moved by The King's Speech). It's kind of crazy to compare my situation to that of a protagonist in a sci-fi novel, but in a lot of ways I related to Genly. The idea of shifgrethor (遠慮？顔を立てる？) The inability of the locals to pronounce your name? The SNOW?? For a while I even wondered if Le Guin had Japan in mind as she wrote it, although I'm sure that's just projection. Anyway, I'll definitely be reading more of her work in the future.
Next up: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
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