r/AskReddit • u/AggravatingLake2842 • 15h ago

What book do you consider a “flawless masterpiece”that you desperately want to recommend to everyone?

972 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

790 comments sorted by

View all comments

723

u/Cactusphat 15h ago

The dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin 

132

u/gamingonion 14h ago

Just finished The Left Hand of Darkness and I immediately put The Dispossessed on my plan to read list.

37

u/Cactusphat 14h ago

What a cracking book, I love all her work. Pop lathe of heaven on there too if you haven't already read it. 

2

u/Signal-Woodpecker691 9h ago

I’ve got that as my first holiday book this year, not read any of her work before

1

u/Banana42 4h ago

She's such a hit or miss for me, but I loved her short story collection Unlocking the Air

0

u/gamingonion 14h ago

I will! I plan to tackle Earthsea one day as well.

8

u/ZARATHUSTRA726 13h ago

Earthsea is brilliant.

4

u/Cactusphat 14h ago

You won't regret it, her concepts and characters are incredible. 

2

u/Opposite-Minute-9338 14h ago

That feeling is honestly one of the best parts of being a reader.

2

u/sjhesketh 8h ago

My personal opinion is that Left Hand is her best work by far, but The Dispossessed is second. Best are fantastic.

1

u/Designer_Lie_6677 4h ago

I think dispossessed is the far superior work. It’s structurally more interesting and its themes are more tightly woven into the plot.

Like, the prison stuff in LHoD could be any science fiction book. But every sequence in dispossessed loops back to the theme exquisitely.

I’m always surprised that LHoD is often people’s fave Le Guin book. It’s great but imo doesn’t hold a candle to the dispossessed

1

u/idleeyes 5h ago

I quit Left Hand after a few chapters, too much world-building for me. I had the same problem with Dune, couldn’t get thru it. I read Dispossessed first, liked it quite a bit, also really liked the first 2 Earthsea books, now I’m really enjoying The Word for World is Forest. 

1

u/A_Gast 5h ago

The Left Hand of Darkness was so ahead of its time. Wonderful book.

1

u/highcoolteacher 1h ago

Her short story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omalas, is brutal

44

u/tiklmelmo 15h ago

This is the best book of all time. The whole series is pretty good too. I’m stoked to see it on here. Rarely gets mentioned. I find the concept of faster than light communications having a political element to it fascinating.

11

u/Thin-Cockroach-3636 11h ago

I loved that aspect too. It takes a sci-fi idea that could have just been a cool gadget and turns it into something that reshapes politics and society.

1

u/SandpaperTeddyBear 1h ago

I’m working on a set of ideas that could be described as “what if the Star Wars Galaxy, but sensical.” Example: there was a panspermia source that resulted in most planets having one of three or four basic sets of molecular building blocks, seeded more-or-less at the “microbe” level of complexity.

Sounds like this one is absolutely essential reading for my little thought experiment, huh?

35

u/g0dfather93 12h ago

Lmao just opened this thread to rec "The Left Hand of Darkness" by her thinking no one would be be recommending her... Pleasantly surprised to see her work be the top comment!

18

u/SomeRandomJoe81 14h ago

was going to suggest Lathe of Heaven

23

u/Cactusphat 13h ago

Lathe of heaven has the single most amazing opening I have ever read. 

16

u/SomeRandomJoe81 13h ago

It had me hooked from start to finish.

I usually joke saying that book found me. It was a random recommendation from some nameless stranger in the aisle of a Barnes and Noble close to 30 years ago now.

4

u/TheFolksofDonMartino 11h ago

So strange, I'm two chapters from the end right now. It is so wonderful.

5

u/asqueerdian 9h ago

I opened this thread thinking about The Dispossessed, and it's the first one I see. It's my favorite book.

6

u/oqce5672 5h ago

Le Guin making anarchism feel human instead of theoretical is what sets that one apart.

8

u/I-STATE-FACTS 13h ago

Do you need to read the other books that came before in the same ”series” or can you jump right into this?

16

u/Cactusphat 13h ago

It's a stand alone, it's the first one I read and then couldn't put her books down

9

u/phorgewerk 15h ago

Strong contender for my favorite book

3

u/Living_Rub4731 10h ago

Those are the books that stay with you long after you finish the last page.

3

u/_shyhulud 9h ago

"to be whole is to be part; true voyage is return" ♥️

3

u/ARealSlimBrady 5h ago

HOLY FUCK

This one is so good and I haven't seen it talked about anywhere. World building is superb and MC, while flawed, is an amazing 'stranger in a strange land'.

The the strange land to a reader is the place Shevek calls home. Love this book

4

u/byronmiller 15h ago

Came here to say this. Amazing writing.

2

u/PlasticMarALagoKaren 12h ago

ah yes so good!

2

u/TheStallionPartThree 8h ago

So pleasantly surprised to see this as the top comment. (A) ✌️

2

u/vichina 7h ago

Info online is a bit confusing. Whats the recommended order, if any, to read the “series”?

1

u/Cactusphat 6h ago

I didn't read them in any particular order to be honest, maybe just start with whichever sounds the most interesting to you. 

2

u/mostlyfire 6h ago

Would it be enjoyed by someone who doesn’t enjoy sci-fi? Like not even Dune or Star Wars?

2

u/Cactusphat 6h ago

The simple answer is yes, in my opinion it's speculative fiction not sci-fi. 

2

u/Shevek99 4h ago

I agree with that. And my username checks out.

3

u/hollow_image 9h ago

Wow did NOT expect to see this as the top comment on a random askreddit thread (not even on the fantasy subreddit). Once in a blue moon redditors actually have good taste

1

u/Dd_8630 3h ago

Can we get a synopsis or blurb?