The Dispossessed
On sale
30th April 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
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
A well told tale signifying a good deal; one to be read again and again
A deeply imagined work of art
[Le Guin had] the heart of a poet who knew all too well the difference between miracle and eureka, revelation and revolution
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
Le Guin's storytelling is sharp, magisterial, funny, thought-provoking and exciting, exhibiting all that science fiction can be
Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power
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
