Searoad: Chronicles of Klatsand

As an avid fan of Ursula K. Leguin and of female-authored fantasy literature in general, I expected great things from "Searoad" and was not disappointed. I was surprised though, that there isn't a hint of fantasy in this book. In fact, it's quite the opposite - painfully real. Leguin captures the nuances of sadness, joy, disappointment with gut-wrenching accuracy. Right after I read it, I bought two more copies for friends. Enjoy! sp

This is my first foray into Le Guin's work. I should mention that I read fantasy, but am very picky about my tastes in the genre and I generally don't read scifi (I plan to read her scifi work soon!). However, I've read a lot of literary novels and short stories while studying for a creative writing degree (Richard Ford, Raymond Carver, etc.) and I'm comfortable in that genre. Searoad is definitely in the literary novels/short story collections genre. The stories are all tied together by the setting, in particular, a small seaside town in Oregon. As is often the case with the literary genre, these stories tend to be more character studies than plot-driven novels. From what I've read about Le Guin's scifi work, these characteristics also accompany her other works, differentiating them from other books in the scifi genre. Remember, these are character-driven, not plot-driven. So if you're used to reading crime, thriller, horror novels, you should prepare yourself for a different type of reading altogether. That said, I highly recommend Searoad. In it, you'll find compelling, charismatic, interesting characters across different periods of time dealing with all of the things most of us deal with every day.

Searoad: The Chronicles of Klatsand is a collection of short stories set in Oregon. For those who resist even the cream of the Science Fiction genre, these are pure fiction, and serve as a wonderful introduction to Le Guin's work. For previous fans, these are a must-read. The only draw back to the collection is that it has gone out of print- a tragedy for readers.

This is less of a review than a complaint and expression of disbelief that this book is no longer in print - meaning you have to hunt for it at used bookstores. "Searoad," a collection of short stories set in a small town on the Oregon coast, is a step away from the wonderful SF/fantasy stories that Le Guin normally writes. It is also, in my opinion, Le Guin's absolutely best work, and that's saying quite a bit. With "Searoad" Le Guin proved that she is a master fiction writer in any genre. I can't recommend this book enough - if you can find it.