The Dispossessed
On sale
14th May 2026
Price: £10.99
‘One of the literary greats of the twentieth century’ Margaret Atwood
‘A work of extraordinary imagination and compassion’ Atlantic
‘The book I wish I had written’ Roddy Doyle
Shevek, a brilliant physicist, was raised on Anarres, a barren moon with no government, army, laws, or police that has long been isolated from other worlds because of its rigid dedication to radical equality.
Shevek’s work promises a breakthrough that could alter the course of human civilisation, but to realise it, he must journey to Urras: a planet dazzling in its beauty and advancement yet fractured by hierarchy.
Though initially welcomed by this unfamiliar civilisation, Shevek soon finds himself caught between competing visions of freedom, a bridge – and a threat – to both. In the conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs, even as he ignites the fires of change.
From the inimitable Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed is a true classic of the twentieth century, a moving story about what it means to return home and a must-read science fiction masterpiece.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION FROM RODDY DOYLE
‘A work of extraordinary imagination and compassion’ Atlantic
‘The book I wish I had written’ Roddy Doyle
Shevek, a brilliant physicist, was raised on Anarres, a barren moon with no government, army, laws, or police that has long been isolated from other worlds because of its rigid dedication to radical equality.
Shevek’s work promises a breakthrough that could alter the course of human civilisation, but to realise it, he must journey to Urras: a planet dazzling in its beauty and advancement yet fractured by hierarchy.
Though initially welcomed by this unfamiliar civilisation, Shevek soon finds himself caught between competing visions of freedom, a bridge – and a threat – to both. In the conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs, even as he ignites the fires of change.
From the inimitable Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed is a true classic of the twentieth century, a moving story about what it means to return home and a must-read science fiction masterpiece.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION FROM RODDY DOYLE
Reviews
Written with thought, care - even love
[Le Guin had] the heart of a poet who knew all too well the difference between miracle and eureka, revelation and revolution
A deeply imagined work of art
One of our finest projectionists of brave old and other worlds
The Dispossessed is still one of Sci-Fi's' smartest books . . . Remains a thoughtful exploration of politics and economics nearly 50 years later
Dystopia and utopia are entwined in Le Guin's story of hierarchy-bound Urras and its anarchist neighbour planet Anarres. With stylish prose and intellectual rigour, Le Guin charts the journey of young physicist Shevek, whose theories cause upheaval on both planets, as he struggles to survive, falls in love and contemplates human society
A well told tale signifying a good deal; one to be read again and again
Le Guin's book ... is so persuasive that it ought to put a stop to the writing of prescriptive Utopias for at least 10 years
One of the great American political novels . . . Full of intrigue and drama
Le Guin's storytelling is sharp, magisterial, funny, thought-provoking and exciting, exhibiting all that science fiction can be
This remains a challenging and urgent book
Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power
The Dispossessed paints a hopeful; and complex portrait of a society rooted in collectivism
A seamless creation: everything is made up, nothing seems arbitrary
An extraordinary work ... [Le Guin] created a working society in exquisite detail ... a fully realised hypothetical culture [as well as] living breathing characters who are inevitable products of that culture
The book I wish I had written ... It's so far away from my own imagination, I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin
