The Telling

The latest novel in the Hainish cycle from the bestselling author of The Left Hand of Darkness.
Sutty, an Observer from Earth for the interstellar Ekumen, has been assigned to a new world-a world in the grips of a stern monolithic state, the Corporation. Embracing the sophisticated technology brought by other worlds and desiring to advance even faster into the future, the Akans recently outlawed the past, the old calligraphy, certain words, all ancient beliefs and ways; every citizen must now be a producer-consumer. Their state, not unlike the China of the Cultural Revolution, is one of secular terrorism.
Traveling from city to small town, from loudspeakers to bleating cattle, Sutty discovers the remnants of a banned religion, a hidden culture. As she moves deeper into the countryside and the desolate mountains, she learns more about the Telling - the old faith of the Akans-and more about herself.
With her intricate creation of an alien world, Ursula K. Le Guin compels us to reflect on our own recent history.
About the Author:
Ursula K. LeGuin was born in 1929 in Berkeley, California, and lives in Portland, Oregon. She has won many Nebulas and Hugos, as well as a National Book Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Newbery Honor, and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.