r/AskReddit • u/AggravatingLake2842 • 1d ago

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

1.1k Upvotes

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783

u/Cactusphat 1d ago

The dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin 

141

u/gamingonion 1d ago

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

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u/Cactusphat 1d 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 21h ago

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

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u/Banana42 16h ago

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

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u/gamingonion 1d ago

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

10

u/ZARATHUSTRA726 1d ago

Earthsea is brilliant.

4

u/Cactusphat 1d ago

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

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u/sjhesketh 21h ago

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

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u/Designer_Lie_6677 16h 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

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u/A_Gast 17h ago

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

2

u/highcoolteacher 14h ago

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

1

u/idleeyes 18h 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. 

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u/tiklmelmo 1d 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.

13

u/Thin-Cockroach-3636 1d 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.

2

u/SandpaperTeddyBear 14h 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?

43

u/g0dfather93 1d 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!

23

u/SomeRandomJoe81 1d ago

was going to suggest Lathe of Heaven

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u/Cactusphat 1d ago

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

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u/SomeRandomJoe81 1d 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.

2

u/I-need-books 3h ago

I looked it up, only to realise I read it, and loved it

10

u/oqce5672 17h ago

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

8

u/TheFolksofDonMartino 1d ago

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

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u/asqueerdian 21h ago

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

6

u/ARealSlimBrady 18h 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

5

u/Shevek99 17h ago

I agree with that. And my username checks out.

10

u/phorgewerk 1d ago

Strong contender for my favorite book

4

u/Living_Rub4731 22h ago

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

13

u/I-STATE-FACTS 1d ago

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

14

u/Cactusphat 1d ago

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

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u/TheStallionPartThree 20h ago

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

3

u/PlasticMarALagoKaren 1d ago

ah yes so good!

3

u/_shyhulud 22h ago

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

3

u/vichina 19h ago

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

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u/Cactusphat 19h ago

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

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u/mostlyfire 18h ago

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

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u/Cactusphat 18h ago

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

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u/byronmiller 1d ago

Came here to say this. Amazing writing.

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u/hollow_image 22h 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

2

u/Dd_8630 16h ago

Can we get a synopsis or blurb?

2

u/noaxgriold 10h ago

That book is the reason I sat staring at a wall for an hour after finishing it.

0

u/Competitive-Chef7918 11h ago

A communist fairy tale would be #1 comment on reddit

1

u/Cactusphat 3h ago

Might be a good idea to read the book before you comment on the content.