Voices -- Ursula K. Le Guin

Watch out for spoilers about Gifts.

Voices, the second installment in the Annals of the Western Shore sequence, takes place almost twenty years after Gifts. 

Ansul is a city once known for its great university, for its scholars, and for its books. You caught that, right? A city once known for its books. Because, you see, seventeen years ago, the Alds invaded and conquered Ansul, and the Alds believe that reading and writing are evil—that they lead the way to demons.

Seventeen-year-old Memer, a girl who is easily identified as a "siege brat" by her "sheep hair" and her pale skin, has lived her entire life under Ald rule. Due to her smaller build and her Ald-like features, she has more freedom then most young women, but that still isn't much. The religion of her people has to be practiced in secret, and simply making the daily trip to the market (especially for a young women, but even for a young woman disguised as a boy) is perilous. Though she hasn't ever lived any other way, she is angry. If she had the power, she'd strike down every single Ald, in her city and throughout the known world.

So, regardless of the fact that it is a crime punishable by death, when Memer is given the opportunity to learn to read, she takes it:

"Can I learn?"

"It's dangerous, Memer," he said.

"Because the Alds are afraid of it."

He looked back at me. "They are. They ought to be."

When Orrec, a famous Maker of poetry, story and song, comes to town with his wife, Gry, life changes. For everyone.

I see why people loved this one so much. The secret library behind a magic door, alone, would have done it for a lot of us, but add to that the importance Voices places on words and story... I suspect that for many, the message of diplomacy over violence didn't hurt, either. 

Despite the situation and Memer's family history, the environment in Voices is less lonely and bleak than in Gifts—add that to the library/book themes and I do understand why, for many, it was the more likable of the two. Do you think it would make a difference if the order of the books were reversed? If you got to know Orrec and Gry as adults and then went back to see their childhood? Just wondering.

There are some nice parallels between the two books: Memer, like Orrec, feels that she is being used (By whom and for what? Big spoiler. Not telling.), both are born into responsibility, both are unsure of accepting their legacy. Both lose their mothers and have to deal with the desire for revenge.

I have to say it, and I swear, I'm not just being ornery: I liked Gifts more. That isn't to say that I didn't like Voices—I did, and a lot. But there was something that felt, I dunno, more standard about it. Orrec and Gry were so isolated in Gifts that it felt, to me, that their more internal challenges were more difficult to overcome than the Ald army. I'm going to have to think about all of it a bit more—all I can articulate at the moment is this: Though I loved them both, Gifts resonated with me more.

Still looking forward to Powers. I'll dive in as soon as I finish The Various Haunts of Men, which I'm really enjoying.