Dangerous People: The Complete Text of Ursula K Le Guin's Kesh Novella

A Library of America eBook Classic

Ebook
On sale Mar 05, 2019 | 100 Pages | 9781598536058

When it was first published in 1985, Ursula K. Le Guin’s ambitious and experimental novel Always Coming Home, a tapestry of interwoven stories, poems, histories, myths, and anthropological reports from the fictional Kesh society, included one chapter from a short novel called Dangerous People by Arravna, or Wordriver, which Le Guin had “translated” from the Kesh, the invented language of an invented people who “might be going to have lived a long, long time from now” in a post-apocalyptic Napa Valley, California.
 
Now Library of America presents, for the first time, the full text of the innovative and perceptive novella Dangerous People, which Le Guin completed shortly before her death, making this Le Guin’s final new work.
 
The story of one missing woman and the people around her who may or may not be implicated in her death or disappearance, Dangerous People explores larger questions about what—in relationships, in society—make a person “dangerous”; and in giving us the Kesh perspective, Le Guin ultimately shines a light on our own society’s perceptions of truth, gender, and relationships.
Ursula K. Le Guin is the author of twenty novels, ten story collections, four volumes of translation, six volumes of poetry, four collections of essays, and thirteen books for children. In 2014 she was awarded the National Book Awards Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. View titles by Ursula K. Le Guin

About

When it was first published in 1985, Ursula K. Le Guin’s ambitious and experimental novel Always Coming Home, a tapestry of interwoven stories, poems, histories, myths, and anthropological reports from the fictional Kesh society, included one chapter from a short novel called Dangerous People by Arravna, or Wordriver, which Le Guin had “translated” from the Kesh, the invented language of an invented people who “might be going to have lived a long, long time from now” in a post-apocalyptic Napa Valley, California.
 
Now Library of America presents, for the first time, the full text of the innovative and perceptive novella Dangerous People, which Le Guin completed shortly before her death, making this Le Guin’s final new work.
 
The story of one missing woman and the people around her who may or may not be implicated in her death or disappearance, Dangerous People explores larger questions about what—in relationships, in society—make a person “dangerous”; and in giving us the Kesh perspective, Le Guin ultimately shines a light on our own society’s perceptions of truth, gender, and relationships.

Author

Ursula K. Le Guin is the author of twenty novels, ten story collections, four volumes of translation, six volumes of poetry, four collections of essays, and thirteen books for children. In 2014 she was awarded the National Book Awards Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. View titles by Ursula K. Le Guin

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

Read more