The Dispossessed cover art

The Dispossessed

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Dispossessed

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Roddy Doyle, Tim Treloar
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

One of the very best must-listen novels of all time - with a new introduction by Roddy Doyle

'There was a wall. It did not look important - even a child could climb it. But the idea was real. Like all walls it was ambiguous, two-faced. What was inside it and what was outside it depended upon which side of it you were on...'

Shevek is brilliant scientist who is attempting to find a new theory of time - but there are those who are jealous of his work, and will do anything to block him. So he leaves his homeland, hoping to find a place of more liberty and tolerance. Initially feted, Shevek soon finds himself being used as a pawn in a deadly political game.

With powerful themes of freedom, society and the natural world's influence on competition and co-operation, THE DISPOSSESSED is a true classic of the 20th century.

Featuring a new introduction written and read by Roddy Doyle

©2019 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group
Fiction Literary Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary Political Science Fiction Thought-Provoking Scary
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Solaris cover art
The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness cover art
Parable of the Sower cover art
The Found and the Lost cover art
The Birthday of the World cover art
The Mote in God's Eye cover art
The Custom of the Country cover art
A Canticle for Leibowitz cover art
Brave New World cover art
Fahrenheit 451 cover art
Hominids cover art
Atlas Shrugged cover art
Red Rising (Part 2 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
His Master's Voice cover art
Pastwatch cover art
Way Station cover art

Critic reviews

The book I wish I had written ... It's so far away from my own imagination, I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin (Roddy Doyle)
An extraordinary work ... [Le Guin] created a working society in exquisite detail ... a fully realised hypothetical culture [as well as] living breathing characters who are inevitable products of that culture (Baird Searles)

What listeners say about The Dispossessed

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    323
  • 4 Stars
    113
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    271
  • 4 Stars
    96
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    278
  • 4 Stars
    89
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the greatest SF novels of all time

The Dispossessed is a fantastic layered book. It is what science-fiction should be, an exploration of modern concepts and social dynamics through believable fantasy. Tim Treloar's narration is brilliant too, he has such a variety of voices and his regular reading voice surprised me with how compelling it was. Considering that this is included with Audible Plus, I would rate this as nothing other than absolutely essential

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Didn't like that part when it ended

Amazingly refreshing view on the human experience. I'm very happy there are more books written by the same mind.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A superb rendidtion of a true classic

One of my all-time favourite books, I was concerned the audiobook would not live up to my recollection. However, it is one of the best performed audiobooks I have bought. I recommend this audiobook to anyone, not just SF lovers. It is so full of heart, wisdom, politics, ideas and humour, all set within a well-paced and plotted story. It is as relevant today as it was in 1974. I was just sad it had to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I only wish there were more chapters!

At the beginning I wasn’t sure about the voice since I was expecting a woman but I grew fonder and fonder of it. Truly a masterpiece in all its formars

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

incredible

such timely issues, so beautifully written. the honesty between the main couple was particularly touching. wonderful book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More than SciFi a imagining of alternative society

Really intriguing, great story. Describing the anguish of a principled creative mind of the theoretical physicist Shevek as he seeks to make his breakthrough. All with the backdrop of the culture and environment that shaped him and contrast between parallel worlds. An exploration and critique of society.

Shevek is a really interesting and compelling character, I'd highly recommended this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An incredible, classic work

listening to this more than ten years after I first read it, I am still surprised by it's relevance. An incredible classic work of speculative fiction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best books I’ve read

This is a brilliant book. Story is engaging. Contains a lot of food for thought. I expect it’ll lend itself well to rereading

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

anarchism for dummies

A brilliant exposition of how anarchism leads (inevitably?) to the tyranny of socialism. Great characters. Vivid descriptions of other worlds, their polarised societies (capitalist/socialist; rich/poor), and the inevitable politics of human life. Excellent performances. I will read it again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb book and made by the narration

Loved Roddy Doyle’s intro, have now listened to whole book 3 times as am studying for literature module on OU degree course, but I’ve loved it so much .. and initially it was Roddy’s intro that gave me the urge to read on with some guidance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!