Voices, 2

This book is a return to the Western Shores, the setting of Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore). While the main characters from Gifts make an important appearance, this is an independent story. Starting with Gifts is a good introduction to the world, however. Voices is the story of Ansul, a city under the rule of oppressive enemies and Memer, a halfblood child born under the enemy rule. The Alds are cruel masters, who despise reading and books - not a good thing for the people of Ansul, known for their wisdom and their books. Memer learns dangerous secrets, when the arrival of storyteller Orrec Caspro sets big wheels in motion. Le Guin portrays both the people of Ansul and the Alds rather well. The Alds are more than illiterate idiots. It's a very beautiful and touching story and I enjoyed it a lot. Voices may be written for young adults, but it won't disappoint an older reader either. Le Guin is a master of her trade.

A companion novel to Le Guin's Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore), VOICES looks in on the life of a teen growing up in a city controlled by an enemy people. Memer has never known a life when hostile soldiers didn't patrol the streets and the possession of a book was not a crime punishable by death. The invading army believes that written words are evil, and that the city of Ansul is full of demons. But Memer knows that the Waylord, the man who raised her after her mother's death, has a hidden library in his house. There, he teaches her to read, and then, to use her understanding to help the city face its greatest crisis. For a novel that has a lot to do with story-telling and reading, VOICES has more action and excitement than readers might expect. The arrival of Orrec, a great storyteller (and the narrator of GIFTS), rekindles the courage of Ansul's people, and they attempt to rebel against their oppressors. Memer finds herself caught in the middle, torn between her loyalty to the Waylord, who wishes to find a peaceful solution, and her hatred for the soldiers who destroyed so many things that she treasured. With many twists and turns along the way, VOICES delivers a conclusion that is both satisfying and unpredictable. Perhaps the strongest element of the novel, however, is the way it moves from black and white to shades of gray. Orrec believes that all people have some good in them, and as Memer is forced to get to know the invaders she despises, she realizes that they are not all terrible and cruel. Some of them are simply different, and unable to understand her way of life. The message seems to be that it is far better to reach an understanding with others, even if you dislike them, than to take revenge. In a time when cultural and religious clashes make news almost every day, this should hit home with many readers. VOICES is not a perfect book. It slows down a little more than I'd have liked before reaching its conclusion, and Memer was not as active in those events as I expect from a main character. But those flaws are minor compared to everything else about the novel: the distinctive setting and culture, the vivid language and personalities, and a voice that suggests, softly, without preaching, that there is more than one way to win a war. Reviewed by: Lynn Crow

The year Memer was born, the beautiful and peaceful University town of Ansul fell under the control of a fierce religious group that feared the demons of truth and knowledge associated with the written word. Priests who orchestrated this fear ordered all books to be destroyed, and possession of any by Ansul residents became punishable by death. The intolerance by monotheistic Alds of all aspects of the polytheistic Ansul's culture forms the premise of this thoughtful novel from Ursula K. Le Guin, the second installment in her Annals of the Western Shore series. Books were destroyed. Gender equality was forbidden. Learning was punishable by death. Freedom to worship was unacceptable; there was only one god and this was the Alds' god. The Alds overthrew Ansul's government and has occupied the town for 17 years. VOICES is a coming-of-age story for 17-year-old Memer but is much more. The novel introduces readers to the people of Ansul, their appreciation for education, peace, equality and love of learning. Memer is first met as a young child exploring a library room open only to her and her mentor, the Waylord of Ansul. The room's contraband, a collection of the last remaining books, is hidden from all but Memer and the Waylord. They protect the small library with the hopes of preserving it until a future time when the people of Ansul once again have the freedom to read books in public. Under the occupation of this foreign power, women fear being seen in public without the company of a man. When caught they could be raped or taken into slavery. The deplorable conditions hint at a previously glorious period. Memer lived in a house that was elegant but is now dilapidated. She moved through her day reading in the magic hidden library, quietly tending the household shrines and running errands while disguised as a boy. It was while buying household supplies 10 years later that her life and the future of Ansul changed. The great storyteller and poet Orrec and his animal-tamer wife Gry visit Ansul accompanied by the mystical lion Shetar and two majestic horses. The Gand (head of the occupying forces) has invited them, even though he fears books. Memer attempts to listen, but while fate and crowds prevent her from truly hearing the storyteller, it places her directly in the path of Orrec and Gry. They were destined to meet Memer and the Waylord. VOICES contains numerous thought-provoking parallels to current political events and subsumes multiple themes. Book banning at first seems to be the overarching theme, but in fact it's merely a symptom of the greater condition --- oppression. The Alds' priests tell them what to fear, including knowledge and reading. Memer becomes a voice of knowledge and reading for Ansul, while the great voice of Orrec channels the power of story. VOICES exposes the hungers of the occupying forces, the hunger for home and family, knowledge and story. It demonstrates the powers of peace and cooperation, but it also allows for co

Voices is the second novel set in a new world, unconnected to the Earthsea and Hainish backgrounds of many earlier LeGuin stories. The first book, Gifts, is set in an isolated upland community of families defined by hereditary "supernatural" abilities, some benign, but most leading their possesors to control by threat and terror. The effect of these hereditary anomalies on the development of those empowered/afflicted creates the ground of the narrative. Coming to understand and care about these people lead me to think in unfamiliar patterns about my own reality. Voices follows two of the gifted into a lowland world of tyranny and hidden resistance, with the forbidden printed word and the rhetoric of belief in conflict and confusion. Both books are full of absorbing action and adventure, both are challenging, but not heavy handed. Both sing with LeGuin's mastery of story telling.

Ursula K. LeGuin's VOICES will reach the same age group with a fantasy set in a world where a once-peaceful city of scholars has been captured by desert Alds, its residents forbidden to read or write. Teen Memer finds her life changed with poet Orrec and his wife arrive - and finds that as she explores her skills and talents, forbidden in the new world, she may prove her people's last hope. This is the second book of the Annals of the Western Shore - but it stands alone well and needs no prior introduction to prove compelling, with its strong characterization and fast-paced story line.