Rawr Reader,
Two books in one month? What! I know I'm proud of myself too. I actually finished this novel a couple days ago and am still ruminating. Much to delve into.
The synopsis for The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin is provided by Goodreads:
Once a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. Records of the past have been destroyed, and citizens are strictly monitored. But an official observer from Earth named Sutty has learned of a group of outcasts who live in the wilderness. They still believe in the ancient ways and still practice its lost religion - the Telling.
Intrigued by their beliefs, Sutty joins them on a sacred pilgrimage into the mountains...and into the dangerous terrain of her own heart, mind, and soul.
Reference:
Instead of being rather general with a normal Instagram or Goodreads rec instead I'll share where I first heard of this prolific author, the movie: The Jane Austen Book Club. The adorable Grigg, played excellently by Hugh Dancy, is a nerd for anything sci-fi and tries to indoctrinate another less-genre-more-literary member of the eponymous group into trying out some Le Guin. Out of curiosity, I knew I had to give her a chance.
Review:
What's the best kind of read? Books about books. What's the next best thing? Stories about stories. Oral, written, melodic, instrumental—cast me away, spellbind me into waves of alliteration or the open winds of free verse.
One of my favorite things about Le Guin is her breadth of language. In my humble opinion, the structure of her stories aren't so much formed by technical frames. Her stories are as much a soul as one of her characters. You remember less about hair color or shape of nose but how they made you feel, what memories you created together. When I read a Le Guin, The Telling being my fourth, I am not only transported to another world. Her language evokes emotions as much as the actions of characters. Her world structures invite speculation and introspection. And probably one of the greatest gifts an author can leave: to have the reader discover something new with each reread.
A quote of hers that resonates with me is from the 65th National Book Awards in 2014, where Le Guin earned the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She says:
"Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art."
There are people who have voices that are loud and make statements in their epochs, then there are people who speak gently and whose voices reverberate throughout history. As a writer myself, I take pride in being an artist. And hearing someone take up arms against the system no matter how small they may be or outnumbered, to use their platform to lift the message that writing isn't something to commercialize with disposable and expendable attention but to study, respect, and grow from through longevity. This work of art is a prime example.
Our protagonist Sutty is in search of truth. The people of the planet Aka are strictly monitored. The few she interacts with spew the same scripted responses. Perhaps they live freer lives—but she never witnesses it. In an unexpected turn of events, she's granted permission as an Observer from Terra to leave the major city Dovza City and travel to a smaller community to learn cultural languages and literature—which is the reason of her presence on Aka the first place. Far from technology, far from modern civilization, the people of Okzat-Ozkat take in the alien from Earth with more nuanced curiosity and shy enthusiasm. Throughout her time in Okzat-Ozkat she begins to realize that the culture and society she was accustomed to in Dovza City was in fact not reflective of the cultures in less monitored cities. Within the last one hundred years (during Sutty's transit from Earth to Aka), the planet went through a major cultural wash. Many books were destroyed. Languages and customs forbidden. It is in Okzat-Ozkat where traces of the past linger and where Sutty makes her greatest discovery.
The Telling. A religion without a clear definition. A religion that is highly regarded even in guarded times. Its weight isn't measured by conventional means. Its significance is in a way heightened due to the illegality of it. Carriers of the Telling, the maz, itinerants and typically elders, spread the Telling through oral renditions. The stories they tell are endless and in a beautiful way, the interpretations are as well.
What makes this religion very appealing you might ask? Aside from a spoiler (down below), it focuses on connection, community, and respect. It places worth on the mundane. It values a simple life and the experiences within one.
There is an antagonist, a Monitor (whom Sutty prefers to label than name), who doesn't cater to the flashiness of a Terran in his presence. In the world of Aka, Terrans are known to possess knowledge and technology that is valuable which make the arrival of any Terran alien held in esteem. His significance goes beyond shallow motives like stopping Sutty from learning about secret societies as he harbors a secret that Sutty never would have imagined.
The story's strength comes from understanding the culture of this alien species and their customs. What is so rewarding about Le Guin's worldbuilding is that you can feel the history that's occurred by the language used (between characters this time—not Le Guin's writing) and the events that take place which explain the present way of life. Her worldbuilding reminds me of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. He doesn't baby the reader. You land in the action and you have to learn to keep up. (Though Le Guin has a softer, more eloquent way of landing you in the action.) Because, you the reader is not just comparing one small community's way of life to you the reader's reality—you need to compare it to the present dominant way of life on Aka AND against Sutty's memories of ways of living back on Terra. A pinch political, but Sutty wants to prevent what happened, the irreversible destruction on Terra, from happening here. It's honestly amazing Le Guin managed so much in a novel under 250 pages*.
Now I know science fiction can be a little challenging in regards to relating to characters. Sutty doesn't have as many layers to her as Jamie Lannister, Frankenstein's Monster, Mattie Ross, etc, but like I mentioned above, she is in search of a truth, in particular a truth she was unable to find back on her home world. And I think all of us can connect in even a small way with wanting to know a bigger truth about our existence and being alive. I was glad she was the eyes we saw this world through. She's a historian, striving to be unbiased, eager to learn, open to listening—as readers we want to discover a world with as little influence from our pasts and to discover a world like everyone else. Not through only good experiences and not through only bad. We want the full spectrum, humor and tragedy and triumphs and lessons galore.
I hate to be repetitive (again!) but this really is a landmark novel. It could take maybe even a couple reads to really appreciate the weight that this novel carries. Premise is one thing, delivery is another, but stamping an impression through your narrative that can transcend generations is an entire feat altogether. Ursula Le Guin, I only wish I could have met you—but thank you for your words. They will not be forgotten.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Quote:
"She was living among people to whom the highest spiritual attainment was to speak the world truly, and who had been silenced."
"There's a Hainish parable of the Mirror. If the glass is whole, it reflects the whole world, but broken, it shows only fragments, and cuts the hand that holds it."
-Ursula K. Le Guin, The Telling
My Goodreads:
Next To Read:
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Spoilers:
I want to mention the spoiler about the Telling religion which I didn't want to give away in my review. The Telling is a religion of stories, many stories that almost never match exactly than when another maz tells it, however what I loved most about it is the fact that it's a religion that isn't at its root based on morals. Religions tend to be that way. They tend to dictate to people to perform a certain way. To not perform a certain way. To believe only what was told by a certain person or text. However the Telling doesn't derive its power from that. It is a religion of stories about people. It's focus is on community. You can extract lessons from their telling or you cannot. The Telling is meant to be a present ghost of people who lived long ago. Wicked or good, brave and foolish and fundamentally human (okay this is a stretch since Akans are literally aliens but you get my point). The stories are sometimes simple and sometimes heroic. At its base, they are stories of experiences, each unique because we all have experience life unique from one another.
Another strength Sutty learns about this religion is that due to its stripping of moral juice the religion only asks for people to listen. "Not to question, only to listen" (page 153, The Telling by Ace publishers, 2001). Perhaps its running on the coattails of recent years, but its something we in our instant gratification and social media society can all learn to relearn. (This girl included!) We can all slow down, make an effort to listen to one another.
The Monitor was a character I couldn't quite put my finger on. I wanted more of his presence to be the textbook definition opposite force to my protagonist who causes turmoil and challenges—but Le Guin didn't want to tell the narrative you expect—nay want. In fact, the revelation that he actually grew up with the Telling and had been reformed into forgetting it and wanting to eradicate it was a very surprising and appropriate twist. It made his character more interesting by about 8 points and then made his suicide pages later more poetic, as it mirrors a story Sutty overheard a maz share not long before, (one that must've stayed with him after years). I would like to note how as Sutty begins to understand the Monitor, he becomes less a label and more of a person; lost as she was (mirrors everywhere! not just in stories ;) ), and eventually comes to regard him by his name (Le Guin let me tell you).
I thought I wanted to write an essay in this section about how incredible Le Guin's worldbuilding was, but upon reflection, I'm afraid it'll sound more like proof I read the book. While I've covered a fair amount, there is still so much I hadn't covered—locals in Okzat-Ozkat, stories maz share, Sutty's past, the politics on Aka and how the system was formed, what exists in the mountains. Too much for me to say without sharing an essay longer than the novel itself. I stand by wanting to grow and allowing myself the pleasure and honor of discovering something new each time I read this. How many books can I say that for?
If you've gotten this far without reading it . . . naughty . . . but I'm glad I put my foot down. Go read this, wonderful you. I don't think you'll regret it.
Until Next Time,
Nicole Ciel
*My copy of The Telling is an Ace Trade paperback edition, published 2001
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