Extremely compelling and human... Le Guin tells the (of course and always) incomplete tale of a people fighting for independence and freedom from slavery. Each story briefly touches the others but stands apart, mimicking the way an overarching history seems to be made of one decided narrative when really it is the minute and monumental interactions between individuals, all seeking their own ends. She touches on all the great tragedies of slavery and war, including the blunting of curiosity, the slave mindset, the destruction of an owner's humanity, and the turbulance that inevitably comes from co-opted/competing visions of liberation.

An outstanding collection of connected short stories. I'm continually amazed at how good the loosely connected Hainish books all are. This is up there with [b:The Left Hand of Darkness|18423|The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle #6)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488213612s/18423.jpg|817527] and [b:The Dispossessed|13651|The Dispossessed|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1353467455s/13651.jpg|2684122] as some of the best in there.

Note about this Library of America edition: it contains [b:Four Ways to Forgiveness|92605|Four Ways to Forgiveness|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1410140299s/92605.jpg|822755], plus one story published afterwards which continues the story. It's the weakest of the lot (if the others are all five stars, I'd put that one at a three), but I greatly appreciate its inclusion for completeness' sake. In the introduction to [b:Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 2: The Word for World Is Forest / Stories / Five Ways to Forgiveness / The Telling|33533491|Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 2 The Word for World Is Forest / Stories / Five Ways to Forgiveness / The Telling|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483421580s/33533491.jpg|54298768], Le Guin writes that she had an idea for a sixth story, but at the time of publication, hadn't been able to fully form it yet. Alas, we'll never know where that one would have gone. But what's here is so good it's hard to be too sad about that.

So, I really love Ursula K. LeGuin, but I still really don't enjoy short stories with their abrupt endings and loose ends.