Forgiveness Day

Like much of Le Guin's SF, this novella is set in the far future in the Hainish universe.

Spoiler Alert

Solly, a 'space-brat' who is a new Ekumen sub-envoy to planet Werel, is caught up in intrigue, then kidnapped with her guard, Tayeo. The planet has slavery, and a colony of slaves on next planet.

The narrative is part of the same sequence as "A Man of the People, A Woman's Liberation, Betrayal, and Notes on Werel & Yeowe. These four novellas, and the explanatory notes, are all included in the book Four Ways to Forgiveness (1995).

Old Music and the Slave Women is also part of the same sequence, but is not included in the book.

Keen-eyed observers will wonder how this story relates to Planet of Exile, Le Guin's second novel, which was set on a planet named "Werel" It does not. As Le Guin explains, she actually forgot that she already had a planet of that name.

Le Guin's enormous talent and bravery as an author are fully on display here. The four novellas could be regarded as an experimental novel - which actually works quite well. If you enjoy thinking outside the box, you may also wish to try Always Coming Home and Searoad - a chronicle of Klatsand. If you really really REALLY like to try different things - you might even try The New Atlantis. Might.

Foregiveness Day and the rest of the Four Ways to Forgiveness sequence is highly recommended. These works are highly relevant to our modern world and its recurring headlines of inhumane conditions.

My rating system: I begin with one star being equivalent to a rating of "C -". Progressing upwards, I add ½ star for each step, up to the maximum 5 stars, which is equivalent to a rating of "A"+. I reserve ½ star for BOMBS, there being no option of zero or negative stars.