I can see why he rewrote it. ( )

I disliked this on pretty much all levels. It's written with passion but incredibly overwrought. It wants to be cosmic but ends up constantly pretentious. It wants to be anthropological SF a la Left Hand of Darkness, but none of the three societies (Earth and two alien societies) are described in any depth. There are just a few odd and not very well-worked out things each one does, and a lot of very dialog that undermines any sense of actual alien-ness. There's homo-eroticism mixed with pedophilia in the protagonist's telling of it, if not in the actual ages given for the characters. Ugh all around. This was Bishop's first novel, and within 5 years, he completely rewrote it, and won't allow this version to be reprinted. Trust the author. ( )

Another re-read of an old favourite. Some sustain their magic, some fade over time. Some important messages in this book, but it seems a little too mystical in places for my taste, and I didn't recall from previous readings the ambiguity around the roles the various protagonists played in the unfolding tragedy. That might actually be its strength, but it also undermines a little what I had previously thought to be its key message. Maybe I did not get the message first time around. All in all a bit of a mixed bag. Well worth a read but not as hard-hitting as it could have been. ( )