the day before the revolution

[toastykitten]

I really liked this Ursula LeGuin short story, currently available for free as a PDF. I've really been having a lot of trouble concentrating and just focusing, and reading LeGuin reminded me of why I love her work so much. It's not just about the sci-fi/fantasy ideas, which are fun/fine in and of themselves, but also how beautifully she uses and chooses her words. Contemporary sci-fi often seems a little on the overly dry, descriptive, and plain side.

I think this part was my favorite, for what it evokes:

The toes, compressed by a lifetime of cheap shoes, were al-

most square where they touched each other, and bulged out

above in corns; the nails were discolored and shapeless. Be-

tween the knob-like anklebones ran fine, dry wrinkles. The

brief little plain at the base of the toes had kept its delicacy, but

the skin was the color of mud, and knotted veins crossed the

instep. Disgusting. Sad, depressing. Mean. Pitiful. She tried on

all the words, and they all fit, like hideous little hats. Hideous:

yes, that one too. To look at oneself and find it hideous, what

a job!