The Telling
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 includesThe DispossessedandThe 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 Coulter