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The Unreal and the Real
- Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, Volume One: Where on Earth
- Narrated by: Tandy Cronyn
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Anthologies & Short Stories
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good book spoiled by awful reading....
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In Victoria on a former prison colony, two exiled groups - the farmers of Shantih and the city dwellers - live in apparent harmony. All is not as it seems, however. While the peace-loving farmers labor endlessly to provide food for the city, the city bosses rule the Shantih with an iron fist. When a group of farmers decide to form a new settlement further away, the bosses retaliate by threatening to crush the "rebellion".
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Great story!
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No Time to Spare
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From acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin, and with an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler, a collection of thoughts - always adroit, often acerbic - on aging, belief, the state of literature, and the state of the nation. Ursula K. Le Guin has taken listeners to imaginary worlds for decades. Now she's in the last great frontier of life, old age, and exploring new literary territory: the blog, a forum where her voice - sharp, witty, as compassionate as it is critical - shines. No Time to Spare collects the best of Ursula's blog, presenting perfectly crystallized dispatches on what matters.
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Gorgeous book, wonderful audiobook
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Publisher's Summary
The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories--as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself--the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world, from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp.
What listeners say about The Unreal and the Real
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jean R
- 04-30-16
Pretty disjointed
From the descriptions at the start of the book it sounded like it would be very interesting. Unfortunately, it seems as if most of the stories are simply exercises by Le Guin in character development. Interesting, and her writing is interesting, but not enough to make a book out of it.
I stuck it through to the end to see if there was anything that was worthwhile. I don't think I needed to read the entire thing.
The second volume of science fiction stories is much more interesting and I believe are definitely worth reading. I would not recommend this first volume to anyone. Unfortunate, because I really enjoy Le Guin. I have read many of her books and look forward to reading more.
15 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Audrey McCombs
- 07-03-20
Shame on you, Audible
Every story in this collection was a labor of love by Le Guin. And the narration seemed effortless, which is generally a sign of a lot of hard work. And Audible can't even get the chapter breaks right, or include a useful Table of Contents? Seriously, I could fix this in an hour with basic audio editing software. Audible, you disrespect the work of the artists when you release such a shoddy version of their product.
4 people found this helpful
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- M. Richardson
- 06-23-17
Did not get on with narator accent/dialect tone
Would you try another book written by Ursula K. Le Guin or narrated by Tandy Cronyn?
I enjoy many of UKLG novels
Did not enjoy Tandy Cronyn
What was most disappointing about Ursula K. Le Guin’s story?
It was dull. Like a day to day journal of a dull life
How did the narrator detract from the book?
monotonous and unfamiliar American accent
Did The Unreal and the Real inspire you to do anything?
*** stop using audible (!) not really
Any additional comments?
I will look for her other works but be wary of the narrator
1 person found this helpful