Ursula Le Guin's writing is something to savour, always. I love her ability to so subtly create entire worlds and people that are so true, so flawed, so beautiful. There was a need to pause, to meditate after each novella, I was both impatient and hesitant to begin the next one.

These are stories of freedom and liberation, of slavery of body and mind.

Why wasn't this one of my five stars' books? Writing about atrocities and cruelty is extremely difficult, and there is fine balance to maintain - how much do you tell, how much do you imply, how do you get your message across... I felt the balance wasn't always perfect, in this case.
( )

sigh* Le Guin is so hit-or-miss for me, and this one was a big miss. ( )

this must be my least favorite book of hers. ( )

A much welcomed continuation in the Hainish series, this one dealing strongly with the notions of feminism, class structure and slavery. I loved it. ( )

**Four Ways to Forgiveness** is part of *Ursula K. Le Guin*'s Hainish Cycle, and gives us a bit of a backstory on the Hainish themselves, how the Ekumen was founded, and how worlds may come to join the Ekumen. The story is told in four parts, a character apiece. The characters do interact, but they form their own narratives. From the perspective of a slave, a military slave owner, an envoy, and a historian, we gain a perspective on the world of Werel, and the rebellion of the slaves against their owners. I was very impressed with the discussion of slavery, dependence, culture, misogyny, and revolution from the different perspectives. It's not easy reading though – Le Guin doesn't shy away from depicting all the horrible parts of oppression and slavery. Despite that, the stories were touching and hopeful and noticeably written to work well together. ( )