Hugo Award Best Novel Winner
The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Summary
An envoy from a galactic coalition travels to the icy planet Gethen, where the inhabitants are ambisexual and shift between male and female, to persuade them to join an interstellar alliance. Through his evolving friendship with an exiled native politician, Le Guin examines gender, politics, loyalty, and the meaning of difference. The novel is a landmark of feminist and anthropological science fiction and a cornerstone of her Hainish cycle.
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Historical Context & Significance
The Left Hand of Darkness won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards, making Le Guin the first woman to receive the Hugo Award for Best Novel.