The Unreal and the Real: The Selected Short Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin Kindle Edition

Ursula K. LeGuin's collection of short stories, The Real and the Unreal, was published in 2012. The individual stories were also published separately in the years from 1964 to 2014. The "Real" section contains 18 stories. The "Unreal" category includes 21 stories. Initially, I thought that the Real stories would have been about the old American West taking place during the times of the last U.S. expansion, to the California frontier and the Great Northwest, something about which Louis L'Amour and his contemporaries might have written. Alas, it was not so. Yet, I wasn't at all disappointed. Pleasantly surprised, actually. Her stories turned out to be quite good. They depict times more modern, than riding the trail with a herd of cattle, settling your differences with the fast-draw of a fully-loaded Colt .45 revolver, or going prospecting in the mountains with an intelligent and trusty burro pack-animal for company. Not at all. Not in the least. She did write about the lush, fertile California valleys and the wild, rugged mountain region, but concentrated her attentions more on the inhabitants. Still, I got the distinct impression that the author was knowledgeable enough to avoid getting lost in the desert during the hottest part of the summer, but couldn't resist the lure of the antarctic tundra and a visit to the South Pole from her stories. She places her focus on the human factor, on people who have been passively subdued by tacitly accepting the advent of suburbia, watching "Bonanza" and "Wild Kingdom" on television, dealing with the "Harper Valley PTA," and being treated by psychiatrists who administer anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medication. Nobody has all the answers, to be sure, but those pill-pushing quacks couldn't have cured what ails you if they tried, in my opinion, whatever the prognosis. Basically, they didn't help at all. It must have been extremely frustrating for those "at the end of their rope!" So, they just lived out their lives as normally as possible and carried on in the best way they knew how. Or, they began to fantasize about a world of escapism, fairy tales, and imaginary beings. "Mother Goose," the brothers "Grimm," the "Wizard of Oz," "Pooh Bear," and such. Rather than experience this fate worse than death, you'd be inclined to think that these stories represent a reflection of their reaction to the status quo. Ordinary people struggling against incredible odds. Fighting against mediocrity with all of their might and power. History defines and conspires against them. Society molds them. The government controls them. But this assessment isn't altogether right either. Not at all. Not in the least. Not if you want to foster a better understanding of the human condition. The author displays an uncanny knack and a keen ability for transporting you, the average, unsuspecting reader, from one place and time under certain given circumstances to a completely different milieu; yet, one just as interesting and captivating, or more so than the previous. We're not talking about "Greyhound therapy" here. She performs this singular sleight-of-hand achievement through the use of precise and descriptive narratives that put you at your desired destination amidst the turmoil, chaos, and confusion without every having to leave home. You can clearly see for yourself exactly what has transpired and you are curious to know what happens next. She allows you to judge the outcome for yourself at the end. You wonder, was it all worth the effort? I believe so. As you jump from one story to another, you perceive the strangest phenomenon: for a more meaningful life, all you have to do is simply follow in the footsteps of the author who merely tells a series of parables. Like following a roadmap and observing the signs along the way, you travel the scenic route of life. She guides you past the signs of the times. You can almost visualize those immortal words of caution signifying danger: "Do not drive into smoke!" and "Watch out for falling rocks!" Useful, important information, to be sure, for planning your next vacation. She also points out in a round-about manner just how helpful it is to be aware that when you stop and visit strange places and are in totally unfamiliar surroundings--not necessarily your average tourist trap, that when you aggravate people who are already tired and stressed, they may snarl, growl, and snap at you--a tendency which is rooted in instinctual animal behavior. It is perfectly natural and must have something to do with self-preservation. After all, they don't want anybody to completely ruin their day, which has been going so smoothly up until then. To continue the evaluation, the author appears to be socially aware of everything that is going on in her immediate neighborhood, much in the same way that everybody in a small town knows everybody else and their business. Thus, you have to be very careful about what you say and to whom you say it, because the fact of the matter is, they may be related to one another by blood or marriage. This much is obvious to most, but may be true insight to others. In all candidness, I'd have to admit that the author appears to know people much better than the average meteorologist working on a food truck serving up fine Mexican cuisine knows the weather. Just ask him if he expects cooler weather any time soon, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear him exclaim, "Chile tonight. Hot tamale." How exactly do the "Unreal" stories differ from the "Real" ones? First of all, I believe the Unreal is a gut reaction to leading a plain, ordinary life, contrary to what many others may claim. It is what carries us beyond our everyday, hum-drum existence that matters. More so than being noble or heroic; more than having dreams and imagination and fantasy. Certainly, you are ever mindful of these things. Of that, there is no doubt. As they say, "Action speaks volumes." Consequently, for all your aspirations, wishing and pretending didn't put a man on the moon. The collaboration of advanced civilization, science and technology, hard work and persistence put the men on the moon, and someday soon in the near future will put people on Mars. This is no far-fetched prediction, given the current rocketry skills and wireless communications expertise of NASA, Space-x, and their numerous subsidiary corporations. Especially so, given the the healthy competition and support generated by the prevailing ambitions of Earth's Super-powers, all of whom have lofty goals. After mankind lands on Mars, I believe that humans will eventually advance to the moons of Jupiter, Europa and Io. It's only a matter of time. Beyond the farthest reaches of our own galaxy and we are back to square one, however. We are back to the realm of fantasy and imagination, especially considering that distances separating the universes are relative to the speed of light and measured in light-years. They only go that fast in "Star Trek." Who knows though? There may be intelligent life out there somewhere after all, which may prove to be our ultimate salvation. If these Beings can somehow bridge the gap separating the universes. Or, if we and they have a simultaneous cataclysmic cosmos-sized "Big Bang" event. We may wake up one day to find that we have extra-terrestrial neighbors much closer than we ever thought possible. "Uh oh! Somebody must have reconfigured the Universe! Where did those extra planets come from?" Hence, we have already discovered that imagining life on another planet is like having all the freedom and joy in the world, without any of the burden of responsibility for getting there. R. Royce held up the gilded metal cage to the light so that he could look the bird directly in the eye. "How are you doing today, my fine-feathered friend?" he asked the bird, similar in size to a parakeet, only more plump. The green, grey, and maroon plumaged creature began to whistle a melodious song of obvious contentment. Dumb bird doesn't have a single care in the world, thought Royce. We are in a dark, dank, clammy environment, but the bird is unfazed. When his good friend and business associate, Cornelius Korn, and his constant traveling companion, Alexa Sue Shell, brought the pair home with them from a recent trip "South of the Border," he thought he overheard them say that they had named this one Bert, short for Pretty Birdie Bert, but that wasn't exactly right. "Dirt is a contraction for 'dear heart' and is obviously a term of endearment," explained Alexa Sue, most sincerely. "Actually, Dirt likes to scratch around on the ground with his beak and claws like a chicken, poking around for chicken feed," elaborated Korn. "The Crowned Princess Margaret loves him so," continued Alexa Sue, pointing to the other one of a matched set. "They are very affectionate towards one another, singing and chattering all day long." "She's talking about their being love-birds," said Korn, for clarification, now fully tuned-in to the conversation. "It only goes to show you," replied Royce, "that 'birds of a feather stick together.'" On this particular day, Royce had transported Dirt into the mine Korn and he had recently discovered in some isolated region of the Rocky Mountains. He set the bird in its cage down on a wooden table top located in vicinity of the breezeway shaft, as a major safety precaution, while he labored with a pick and shovel in the cavernous depths. The place looked like a gigantic geodesic dome with magnificent, super-natural crystalline chandeliers that lit up when you shined a light on them. Like living inside a big hollowed-out geode, he thought. They had been hiking and climbing around for years, merely scratching the surface, as they say, but never found anything even remotely resembling this "Lost Dutchman's Mine," until recently. They'd dug and dug and dug some more in many places, but scarcely found an iota of minerals or metal ever worth becoming overly excited about. Enthused perhaps. Eternally hopeful, definitely. As any serious-minded professional miner knows, if the canary stops singing for any reason whatsoever, or keels over and passes out altogether from lack of oxygen or the presence of some strange, unknown gas, it is high time to high-tail it out of there. Quickly! You must get fresh air into your lungs immediately, Royce remembered. It just so happened that only moments before, for some inexplicable reason, the roof fell in near the entrance to the mine. Perhaps it was a cave-in. Most likely, a rock-slide. So, Royce was trapped inside the mine, with Dirt being his only companion. At least he could count his blessings that a grizzly bear hadn't wandered inside before the collapse. Or a wolf. Or a cougar. "'Sylvester' is looking for you, 'Tweety,'" said Royce, as cynical as ever in a pinch, as he grew increasingly concerned about their prospects for survival. He knew it was crunch time. For one thing, his cell phone wouldn't function inside the cavern. Cornelius would come looking for him after a few days, but that might be too late. On a whim, he decided to let Dirt out of his cage. The untroubled bird hopped about on the ground, probing his surroundings with the sharp claws of his feet, and pecking at a few pebbles with the point of his beak. Royce illuminated the area with his lantern. He aimed an LED flashlight into the dark, mysterious passageway which opened before them. Quite unexpectedly, the bird flew away in the direction of the void that was a winding, meandering, and as yet unexplored passageway. Their path was punctuated and accentuated by stalactites and stalagmites, other unusual rock formations, tunnel detours, crevices, and a great abyss. Apprehensive and cautious, Royce followed the bird as he flew for short distances, or hopped merrily along the path. Eventually, a few kilometers away, Royce spied a splinter of light at the end of the tunnel. There must be another entrance to the cave, after all, he thought. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. Dirt had saved him from a grave peril. "The Crowned Princess has been waiting patiently in the 'Hatchery' for their joyous reunion," said Alexa Sue. "Who knows! She may turn out to be 'the goose that laid the golden egg,'" said Korn. "In light of recent events," said Royce, "I've been re-thinking our exit strategy for the bird-sanctuary consignment of talking African Grays." He was as detail-oriented, conscientious, and rambunctious as ever. Back to being his old self again. Quite a card! Aren't they all? Meghan Thomas had been away finalizing the sale of exotic birds. Upon her late arrival, R. Royce's significant other and business associate could not have helped but wonder, "Why do they call you Dirt?" "It's because he narrowly escaped being buried alive in a landslide," explained Royce.

Candid admission - I love ULG! The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness stand out within the genre. I consider Always Coming Home one of the top SF books ever. This extensive collection of her short stories, however, is a mixed bag. Some merely weak and pedestrian, some quite good, but not a few extraordinary. So, at the risk of repeating myself - ULG may be at times disappointing, but when she's good - Oh my! My score reflects my feeling that although overall the score should be 3 stars, the excellent stories pull it to a higher grade. The first few stories, including the Orsinia cycle, are either indifferent, too long, or too atmospheric. Her sensitivity to the senseless cruelty of totalitarian police and soldiers is somehow a weak echo of "1984", "The Banality of Evil", or "Darkness at Noon". "May's Lion" was the first story in the collection that I really liked. "Buffalo Gals" is excellent and the wonderful fusion of animal and human fabulously written. I LOVED the Coyote-a real beacon for the independent indomitable spirit. I liked "Sleepwalkers", although the "shortcuts"-style of different points of view has been used again and again in books and movies. "Hand, Cup, Shell" reads like stream of consciousness, but is much too long and atmospheric. Leaves no residue. "Ether, Or" is another multiple points of view story of a place that doesn't stay in one place. Liked it a lot. "Half Past Four" is a multi-generational micro-saga about poor America cyclic life trap. Very powerful but requires attention to follow the intricate ULG tapestry. "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" is conceivably the best and the most powerful story in this collection. Depressing, frightening, insightful. "Semley's Necklace" is a quintessential ULG, where completely alien concepts mesh with analogies to familiar (but not necessarily enviable) human society. Very good. "Nine Lives" uses the space exploration scene to explore the human cloning idea. Very well written, but the solution (or resolution?) somewhat trite. "Mazes" is rather weak, both conceptually and artistically. "The First Contact With The Gorgonids" is ULG's foray into humor. Not bad, but I prefer her thoughtful rather than chuckling. "The Shobbies Story" tries to tackle the unexplainable, and fails. "Betrayals" is the good old ULG again, but could be told about real lives on our planet. "The Matter of Segri" is a genre at which ULG is in her best form - inventing new sociological systems and making them plausible and insightful. The same goes for "Solitude", though it is less well written. "The Wild Girls" is a powerful pseudo-feudal, pseudo-ancient civilization tale. It's real value is in the skill of the ULG's narrative. I loved "Fliers of Gy". ULG's soaring imagination at its best. I also enjoyed "The Silence of the Asunu". "The Ascent...", "The Author of the Acacia...", "The Wife's Story", "The Rule of Names", "The Poacher", and "Sur" -are just not up to the par, while "Small Change" and "She Unnames Them" are just a stream of unconsciousness. "The Jar of Water" is a well-told oriental parable, nice but not amazing. All in all- a mixed bag with many trinkets but quite a few sparkling jewels.

“The Real and the Unreal” dieser Kontrast bezieht sich auf die beiden Teile einer Kurzgeschichten-sammlung (ASIN B01E4A32TC) von Ursula Le Guin, in der sie im ersten Teil („Where on Earth“) eben Geschichten aus der "realen" Welt erzählt und im zweiten („Outer Space, Inner Lands“) eher Ge-schichten, die in der SF/Fantasy-Ecke anzusiedeln sind.Aber so leicht ist eine Genre-Unterscheidung nicht zu machen und so finden wir bereits im ersten Teil eine Menge unheimlicher bzw. leicht phantastischer Geschichten, in der etwa Gespenster vorkommen, oder ein Land, das durch die Geographie wandert und in dem die Menschen in eher ungewohnter Art und Weise altern und eine Geschichte nicht von ungefähr „Imaginary Country“ heißt. Die Geschichten sind in sich oft durch wiederkehrende Handlungsfiguren miteinander verbunden und sollten deswegen auch eher in der Reihenfolge gelesen werden, in der man sie im Inhaltsverzeichnis vorfindet.Im zweiten Teil finden sich auch ein paar Geschichten, die eher der klassischen Fabel oder dem Märchen zuzuordnen wären. Gerade die Geschichten in diesem Teil - die teilweise konzeptuell ziemlich interessant sind (wie etwa zu einer Welt in der Frauen und Männer streng getrennt leben („The Matter of Seggri“) und diese Trennung sehr auf Kosten der Männer geht, oder die Probleme in einer Gesellschaft, in der einige Individuen tatsächlich Flügel bekommen und fliegen („The Fliers of Gy“) und wie man mit Tieren sprechen könnte sowie eine Neubetrachtung von Dornröschen („The Poacher“)), sind diese zum Teil sprachlich so sperrig, wie Einige der schlimmsten Auswüchse der Hard-SF. Ja, einige Texte sind bewusst wie scheinbare Sachtexte oder Expeditionsberichte aus dem ausgehenden 19. und beginnenden 20. Jahrhundert zu lesen - und das ist schon manchmal zäh. Aber andere Geschichten sind doch sehr schön und lohnen allein für sich schon die Anschaf-fung der Sammlung.

Em contos selecionados pela autora de A Mão Esquerda da Escuridão, Ursula presenteia o leitor com histórias curtas de ficção; para quem ama a autora, são mais de 700 páginas de puro deleite. Suas palavras são precisas, simples e honestas.

As I expected given the author's track history, this is an excellent and varied anthology. It's fascinating to see the breadth and depth of LeGuin's imagination.

Premesso che i racconti ambientati sulla terra mi piacciono molto meno degli altri e quindi la prima parte è un pochino deludente, questa è un'antologia formidabile che raccoglie davvero il meglio della produzione breve della Le Guin. Da leggere.

Was looking for S.F.a la "the Word for world is forest". Found psychologically intricate characterization. Lost interest after a third of the way through.