The Left Hand of Darkness is a masterpiece in Science Fiction. Ursula conducts a thought experiment with her readers, as described in her own words -

“This book is not extrapolative. If you like you can read it, and a lot of other science fiction, as a thought-experiment. […] The purpose of a thought-experiment, as the term was used by Schrödinger and other physicists, is not to predict the future—indeed Schrödinger’s most famous thought-experiment goes to show that the “future,” on the quantum level, cannot be predicted—but to describe reality, the present world. Science fiction is not predictive; it is descriptive.”

Genly Ai is an envoy of the intergalactic confederation of intelligent beings, the Ekumen. He is sent to the remote and isolated world Winter, with climatic conditions apt to it’s name, in an effort to convince it’s intelligent inhabitants to join the Ekumen. The inhabitants of Winter(Gethen), the Gethenians, are ambisexual and are at least three thousand years into their Industrial age but their technology has only so far limited them to staying on ground.

Unlike other Sci-Fi ideas of a dystopian intergalactic empire, this one is quite utopic in it’s general outlook. The Ekumen have long abandoned war and the guile which is so iconic of human nature today. Instead, the Ekumen are a confederation based solely on the exchange of information and knowledge. There can only be benefits to the Gethenians in joining the Ekumen but do they believe it? Wouldn’t any society be apprehensive of an alien federation…? The story is about Genry’s struggles as he travels the harsh and unforgiving terrain of Gethen in an effort to consolidate the Ekumens offer to the nations of Gethen, his experiences dealing with an idiosyncratic ambisexual society.

Ursula is masterful and provides an Envoy’s guide to the galaxy here. Her ideas are borderline Science-NonFiction which is what makes this an exceptional read. The writing is brief, descriptive and effortlessly teleports the reader to an alien world. The characterizations are captivating and moves the reader. She draws astounding parallels between our society and that of Gethen making this a profound treatise on polity as well. This book has something profound for everyone including the nationalist, the spiritualist, the diplomat, the wayfarer and the scientist.

“The only thing that makes life possible is permanent intolerable uncertainty”
- Ursula K Le Guin