The word for world is forest summary
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Synonyms for World Is Forest is an unusual addition to the Gollancz SF Masterworks series, yet a terrific one.
Being little more than 100 pages (and that includes a three-page Introduction by Ken MacLeod and a six page Introduction by the storyteller herself) it was the winner of the Hugo Award in 1973 for Best Novella.
Despite its brevity, it is a masterclass in the case of the adage that sometimes ‘less is more’. Like Fritz Leiber’s equally brief Award-winning novella The Enormous Time (won in 1958 and reviewed HERE), Forest does not outstay its welcome. It makes its point, leaves an ingenuous impression and then leaves.
The plot is thus, to quote the back of the book:
‘When the inhabitants of a peaceful nature are conquered by the bloodthirsty yumens, their existence is irrevocably altered. Forced into servitude, the Athsheans find themselves at the mercy of their brutal masters.
Desperation causes the Athsheans, led by Selver, to retaliate against their captors, abandoning their strictures against violence. But in defending their lives, they have endangered the very foundations of their community. For every blow against The Word for World is Forest is a novella by science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It was published as a self-contained story in 1976 but had appeared in a science fiction anthology four years earlier. Le Guin included the story in her series, the Hainish Cycle, which details an alternate version of the future in which Earth is a colonizing force on other planets. The story examines themes of imperialism, racism, friendship, and the corrosive effects of violence on a society. When the story begins, humans are already years into the colonization of a forest planet called Athshe. Wood has become a luxury on Earth, and loggers are on Athshe to cut down the trees and send them home for use. A man named Captain Davidson is flying over Smith Camp in an airship and thinking eagerly about the shipment of women that has recently arrived on Athshe. When he returns to camp after his furlough, it has been destroyed. All the humans have been killed by Athsheans, who are referred to by Davidson—and others—by the derogatory term “creechies.” The Athsheans have been enslaved by the humans and forced to labor for them in the camps. As Davidson walks throug In the Afterword to "The Word for World is Forest" (WWF) Le Guin remarks that writing this story was "like taking dictation from a boss with ulcers. What I wanted to write about was the forest and the dream; that is, I wanted to describe a certain ecology from within, and to play with some of Hadfield's and Dement's ideas about the function of dreaming-sleep and the uses of dream. But the boss wanted to talk about the destruction of ecological balance and the rejection of emotional balance." The story accordingly describes the conflict between the forest-dwelling natives of the planet Athshe—who possess a sane and balanced, if (to a prejudiced eye) "primitive," social order—and the Terran colonists who exploit and brutalize them and their world. The Terrans, having already reduced Earth to a poisoned wasteland, regard the forests of Athshe purely as a source of lumber, and the native Athsheans as a pool of slave labour. The Bur Lyubov has a headache. He tries to daydream the headache away, as Selver taught him. He can’t concentrate; he is too preoccupied with the burning of Camp Smith because “[h]e had believed the Athsheans to be incapable of killing men, his kind or their kind” (63). He goes to a meeting at HQ. Davidson is already there. The room is filled with people from the ship Shackleton. Several of them are new to him, “non-Terran humans” (65), including a hairy Cetian named Mr. Or and a Hainishman named Mr. Lepennon. Commander Yung gives a debrief of the destruction of Smith Camp and opens the floor up for those present to question Davidson, who returned to the camp the day after the attacks and set fires to drive creechies out of hiding. Mr. Lepennon asks him if the camp staff—the creechies—were content. And if so, why would they revolt? Davidson says they were well treated and were never required to perform unusual work. Lyubov asks Davidson if he is aware that Selver—who they know as Sam—had a grudge against him. Davidson says he did not know. This audacity surprises Lyubov, who says, “‘Since his wife died immediately subsequent to sexual intercourse with Want to learn the ideas in The Word For World Is Forest better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of The Word For World Is Forest by Ursula Le Guin here. Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book. We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on The Word For World Is Forest, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Ursula Le Guin. The Word for World is Forest is a science fiction story about the relationship between humans and aliens on another planet. It was written by Ursula K. Le Guin, who has a series of books that deal with how Earth acts as an empire in space. The book explores themes such as racism, friendship, and violence through the eyes of the main character. The story starts off with humans already on a forest planet called Athshe. They have been there for years and they are cutting down trees to export them back to Earth, where wood is scarce. A man nThe Word for World is Forest
Science Fiction Studies
#7 = Volume 2, Part 3 = November 1975
Ian Watson
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The Word for World is Forest
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