The Wind's Twelve Quarters: Stories

By Ursula K. Le Guin

Book Overview

"Splendidly intricate and hugely imaginative tales." --Newsweek

A striking new 50th anniversary edition of Ursula K. Le Guin's extraordinary short story collection

The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her lyrical writing, rich characters, and diverse worlds. The Wind's Twelve Quarters collects seventeen of her powerful stories--including one of her most famous works of short fiction, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." Each story, ranging from fantasy and intriguing scientific concepts to the medieval world and the future, has an introduction by Le Guin providing perspective or background. The collection also begins with a foreword by the author, sharing her approach to selecting the stories and her experience writing them.
This superb retrospective collection explores human values, relationships, and survival, and showcases the myriad talents of one of the most provocative writers of our time.
The stories included in the collection are:

Semley's NecklaceApril in ParisThe MastersDarkness BoxThe Word of UnbindingThe Rule of NamesWinter's KingThe Good TripNine LivesThingsA Trip to the HeadVaster than Empires and More SlowThe Stars BelowThe Field of VisionDirection of the RoadThe Ones Who Walk Away from OmelasThe Day Before the Revolution

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0058M7HZG
• ISBN13: 9780060914349
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent collection of short stories

I bought this book for the first story "Semley's Necklace" however; all of them will surpass your expectations. Ursula has a unique way with words that rival her tales. The Winds Twelve Quarters Ursula K. Le Guin (Harper & Row, 1975, hc) Foreword Semley's Necklace ["The Dowry of Angyar"] - ss Amazing Sep '64 April in Paris - ss Fantastic Sep '62 The Masters - ss Fantastic Feb '63 Darkness Box - ss Fantastic Nov '63 The Word of Unbinding - ss Fantastic Jan '64 The Rule of Names - ss Fantastic Apr '64 Winter's King - nv Orbit 5, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam's, 1969 The Good Trip - ss Fantastic Aug '70 Nine Lives - nv Playboy Nov '69 Things ["The End"] - ss Orbit 6, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam's, 1970 A Trip to the Head - ss Quark #1, ed. Samuel R. Delany & Marilyn Hacker, Paperback Library, 1970 Vaster Than Empires and More Slow - nv New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971 The Stars Below - ss Orbit 14, ed. Damon Knight, Harper & Row, 1974 The Field of Vision - ss Galaxy Oct '73 Direction of the Road - ss Orbit 12, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam's, 1973 The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - ss New Dimensions 3, ed. Robert Silverberg, Nelson Doubleday, 1973 The Day Before the Revolution - ss Galaxy Aug '74 A little about Ursula: Legal Name: Le Guin, Ursula Kroeber Birthplace: Berkeley, California, USA Birthdate: 21 October 1929 Received Nebula Awards for the novels "The Left Hand of Darkness," "The Dispossessed," and "Tehanu"; for the novella "Solitude"; and for the short story "The Day Before the Revolution."

So glad it's being reprinted!

I can't believe this is out of print. That is just a plain old crime. This is wonderful stuff. There's something about reading science fiction that feels like fantasy that I just love, because it feels somehow smarter than plain old fairies-and-elves fantasy. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Her comments before each story are priceless, and the words and names and place names she made up are peerless. I think I'd pick Darkness Box and The Stars Below as favorites.

A Great Collection

My favorite story of this collection,"Semeley's Necklace" tells of a young woman of a backward colony who seeks the return of her family's heirloom from The Spacelords who are really anthropologists. A eclectic blend of fantasy and sci-fi, including a story from her "Eathsea" Series. Every story has an interesting twist that will surprise you., 17 stories in all.

Simply Amazing!

The Wind's Twelve Quarters gave me a deeper understanding of one of my fave SF writers of all time--and pure reading enjoyment. The stories just blew me away--especially the last two, 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas' and 'The Day Before the Revolution.'(So had 'Nine Lives,' but I'd seen it before.) About the ones who walk away,I don't think they've gone to findhelp for the child. Like the author says, 'helping' the child wouldn't really be helping him/her much and besides, it would ruin the happiness of thousands. In a way, I guess, they're refusing to live happily at the cost of another--but it's more than that. They know how terribly wrong it is to know the child is there, and accept it. Even if that is the basis of all their happiness and their achievements. They're not just running away from that reality, but trying to do something about the terrible injustice in it, because sacrifice of one for thousands is right only when it's voluntary and comes from love. Remember how Dostoyevsky makes the pious younger brother respond to his elder brother's cynicism about tormenting one innocent child for the happiness of all mankind. He said Jesus had played the role of that child. Not that the man's sacrifice has turned this world into a near-paradise like Omelas, but Omelas isn't paradise anyway, because there is such gross injustice in it. Can the unwilling scapegoat be the only kind of sacrifice that works? The ones who walk away are out to find out, I guess. Joy to the ones who want questions, not answers.