Feb 06 2009
The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction by Ursula K Le Guin
Today, we are being given a rare treat: A guest post from a fellow blogger here at Today.com. Ravyn has been blogging on her site, Exchange of Realities, since June of 2008, and is (as you’ll be able to tell below) a very talented writer. If you are at all interested in role-playing games (the topic of her blog) then you’ll definitely want to check out her site.
For us, Ravyn wrote up a review of a nonfiction book called The Language of the Night, written by a popular science fiction author many moons ago. Read through and be sure to leave her lots of praise in the comment section. 
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I found The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction by Ursula K Le Guin by accident. My original goal in asking for reading material had been finding linguistics books, so I could write about slang. And where better to go than my mother and her shelves full of references on language? But amid the pile of pieces on semantics and colloquialisms and the evolution of language, she handed me this book. In a way, I haven’t put it down since.
Having read a few of Le Guin’s pieces, I’d expected the writing to be excellent. What I hadn’t expected was for it to call out to me so perfectly. Yes, the book was published thirty years ago, and most of the essays therein are at least a decade older than I am. But they’re still true, and with every essay I read, I found one more point that I’d always wanted to make but never known how to say.
What I find particularly interesting about it is her approach. Le Guin doesn’t talk about how to write, in the way that many ‘how to write’ articles do, with should and shouldn’t filling every other page. Instead, she talks about how she writes, and how other people write; what was out there at the time, and what she wanted to read; she grounds the essays in the real world with personal anecdotes, but at the same time couches them in terms of archetypes and ideals. Like the author, the book stands with feet in two worlds, and without one the other makes no sense.
And most importantly, she laughs at all of it, even as she tackles issues that go far beyond science fiction.
Did you know that I am a very rare creature? My species was at first believed to be mythological, like the tribble and the unicorn…I am extremely puzzled, even embarrassed, at my own rarity. Are they going to have to lock me up in pens, like the Whooping Cranes and Duckbilled Platypuses and other species threatened with extinction, and watch eagerly to see if I lay an egg?
~In “The Stone Axe and the Muskoxen” essay
Every six months I read this book, and every time I do something ends up as a blog article. The first time, it was a rail against the lack of proper critique in science fiction, something that from what I can see hasn’t changed a bit since the essay that inspired me was written. This read-through, I penned my own opinion on where to find that elusive image of humanity in fiction known as Mrs. Brown. Next time - who knows?
The advice here is eternal; it’s something every writer of science fiction or fantasy should go through at least once, every teacher of how to write should treat as a reference book, and anyone merely interested in the written word should at least consider skimming. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Ravyn
Thanks again to Ravyn for her wonderful review of The Language of the Night. Now I’m going to have to add another book on my To Be Read list! Again, be sure to visit Ravyn at her site, Exchange of Realities. ~Hava
PS Do you have a favorite nonfiction book that you’d love to review for my site? I’m open to either exchanging guest posts, giving payments for the guest posts using EntreCard credits, or any other idea that sounds reasonable to you. Drop me a comment through my contact page and we’ll see what we can figure out. 
I have heard a lot about Le Guin, but have not actually read any of her work. Your (Ravyn’s) review of this book has me very much wanting to read this collection of essays. Yet another title to add to that to-read list… although I might bump this one to the top
For *after* I get back from my trip, that is..! 
Rayvn I love to read anything you write you have a way with words. Now I have another book to put on my giant wish list!
When I was in junior high, one of her [fiction] books was on my required reading list, but I don’t remember it particularly touching me. At the time, I had a tendency to devour an author and would generally not go back to an author that didn’t get me the first time. Clearly, I should revisit some of those authors. Le Guin certainly has an impressive body of work.
That she spoke to you so clearly, that you identified so well with her writing ideals and processes, views and aspirations argues, that you found just the book you needed to help with your own aspirations.
And you did a fine job expressing your admiration and why. Excellent work.
Lynne: Excellent!
Carrie: Thanks.
Steph: Thank you; I’m glad it came across so well. Which book did you start with? My first experience with her writing was in children’s books, which might have made a difference.
Catana: Most logical reason I can think of for you to have missed it is that it’s very firmly nonfiction and most of her work isn’t; the copy I’m reading is a library discard that was originally coded 809.3.
The Left Hand of Darkness. I was 12 I believe.
I wanted you to know I “tagged” you on Journeys and Adventures the other day. I used it as a way to tell people about myself and some of my travel experiences.
http://journeysandadventures.today.com/2009/02/08/ive-been-tagged-more-about-me/