"The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Shevek is a brilliant theoretical physicist from the anarchist planet of Annares who, tiring of the stifling impediments on his progress imposed by the society he lives in, decides to travel to the neighbouring planet of Urras with it's hierarchical and authoritarian society to continue his life's work. On Annares, Shevek found only apathy for his work and struggled against jealous colleagues. On Urras, Shevek discovers a new kind of "freedom" allowing him to fulfil his work but at the cost of him being subject to the political motivations of those in power within his host government of A-Io and the opposing revolutionists within the powerless, lower classes of Urras society. Shevek finds himself embroiled in bloody war and revolution, circumstances which he has trouble comprehending, coming from his anarchist upbringing. Amidst the turmoil, Shevek completes his paradigm-revolutionising work on the "Principle of Simultaneity" sharing the results with both planets, before returning home to face an uncertain future within his society on Annares.

The novel moves back and forward between Shevek's life on Annares, prior to his leaving, and his life on Urras in two chronological threads. Each thread weaves a consistent climax towards the end of the novel; on Annares, the chapters follow Shevek's increasing disillusionment with his anarchist society culminating in his decision to travel to Urras; on Urras, the chapters follow the growing political unrest following his presence on Urras, leading to completion of his work and his return home. Le Guin is an extremely intelligent writer, and creates fantastically believable politics and societies on both worlds. The book does a great job of exploring the complexities of how an anarchist society might function, which I found fascinating. Shevek is a top-notch protagonist; perhaps not as vibrant as other great central characters but I found that his quiet subtleties somehow made it easier to absorb some of the deeper ideas in the book. Takver (Shevek's partner and the mother of his daughter on Annares) is an absolute cracker of a character! It's somewhat sad that good female characters in science fiction are rarer than their male counterparts, particularly in older novels; I wouldn't go as far to say "The Dispossessed" is feminist science fiction as some do (it certainly explores feminist themes), but theres definitely a realistic gender-balance in the portrayal of the characters.

The only negative aspect I could possibly imagine is that the pace of the novel is a little on the pensive side, however, in my slightly biased opinion, I loved this (being a big fan of Kim Stanley Robinson, who I now realise must have had at least some degree of inspiration from Le Guin).

Overall, "The Dispossessed" is highly recommended and has creeped into my favourites list. I'm looking forward to reading more Le Guin; "The Left Hand of Darkness" awaits on the list.