So why only two stars? Well, frankly, it is not as good as most of Le Guin's work. Le Guin shows us what life might have been like for those Latin villagers, what a noblewoman like Lavinia could have expected in terms of being married off, the rituals and beliefs in their pre-Olympian, pre-Christian cultures. Many authors write about ancient Rome and Greece, but until now I've never encountered a book set just prior to the founding of Rome. Le Guin uses Lavinia to bring us a glimpse of a period of history often overlooked in contemporary literature. It isn't just Lavinia's story, though, which is truly what makes the book work. I found that a bit hard to follow, but it didn't really ruin my enjoyment of the book. She tells Lavinia's story from her point of view, wrapping it within the meta story of Lavinia encountering the poet Vergil through a series of dream sequences. Le Guin brings a feminist voice to the eponymous Lavinia, a character from Vergil's Aeneid. Works like her The Left Hand of Darkness allow you to read an intriguing story while at the same time, if you want, open yourself to new ideas. Le Guin greatly, for although she tackles many difficult and controversial topics, she never beats you over the head with her opinions.
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