Voices (2006)

Voices (2006) is the second book in the trilogy Annals of the Western Shore, a young adult fantasy series by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is preceded in the series by Gifts (2004) and followed by Powers (2007). The story is set in the fictional city of Ansul, once famed as a center of learning, but invaded and subjugated by the Alds, a desert people who believe the written word to be evil. The protagonist, Memer Galva, is the child of a woman raped by an Ald soldier. She lives in the house of the Waylord Sulter Galva, who teaches her to read after finding she can enter the house's hidden library. When Memer is seventeen the city is visited by Gry and Orrec, the protagonists of Gifts; Orrec is now a famous poet, invited to perform by the Alds. Their arrival catalyzes an uprising against the Alds, while Memer tries to come to terms with her ability to interpret the Oracle that resides in her house.

Voices examines the cultural and religious strife between the monotheistic beliefs of the Alds and the polytheistic practices of the citizens of Ansul. Described as a "plea for cultural relativity", the novel also juxtaposes violent and non-violent means of ending a conflict. As with the other stories of Annals of the Western Shore, Voices examines enslavement and the treatment of women, and the theme of justice. The story traces Memer's coming of age, and the power of words, stories, and writing is a recurring theme. The book received acclaim from critics, who praised its nuanced portrayal of religion and cultural conflict, the characterization of Memer, and Le Guin's writing and detailed world building. Multiple reviewers compared it to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, also prominently featuring the destruction of books. Voices was a finalist for a Locus Award in 2007. Scholar Elizabeth Anderson wrote that the book "[encouraged] young adult readers to imaginatively approach their own encounters with religious difference."

Setting

Voices is the second volume of Annals of the Western Shore, following Gifts (2004). Gifts told the story of Gry and Orrec, who grew up in Uplands in the far north of the fictional world depicted in the series. Violence is endemic to the region, leading the couple to leave home and make their future elsewhere. Voices is set in the city of Ansul, in the southern region of the same world. The civilization of this world was settled by people from across a desert to the east of the regions depicted in the series. It consists of a number of city states, as well as some nomads on the borders of the desert. The city of Ansul was once famous as "Ansul the wise and beautiful", a center of learning with a renowned library and university. Situated on the shore of a bay, the city is named for a mountain it faces across the water.

Ten years before the story told in Voices the city, which has no military, was attacked by a desert people known as the Alds, who broke into the city looting and raping before being expelled. After a year-long siege, the Alds conquered the city. Memer Galva, the protagonist of the story, is a "siege brat", a child born during the siege to a mother raped by an Ald soldier. Memer's mother Decalo was head housekeeper to the "Waylord" of Ansul, who arranges trade between Ansul and its neighbors; his house of Galvamand is the oldest in the city, and is among the largest and wealthiest as well. Decalo died soon after giving birth to Memer. The Waylord, Sulter Galva, was imprisoned and tortured, and was crippled when released. Under the Alds the city has become greatly impoverished and many of its residents are enslaved.

Plot

The story begins with Memer narrating her earliest memory: of entering a secret room filled with books, to which the door may only be opened by making shapes on the wall. Memer believes she is the only who knows how to get in, until she finds the Waylord there when she is nine years old. He offers to teach her to read, after swearing her to secrecy. Memer proves to be a quick learner. Four days after her seventeenth birthday, Memer makes the acquaintance of Orrec and Gry, the protagonists of Gifts. Orrec, famous as a poet and storyteller, has been invited to Ansul to perform: Memer invites him and Gry to stay at Galvamand. They tell the Waylord that though the Alds invited them to Ansul, they came to find Galvamand, for the ancient library rumored to have once existed there. Orrec questions Memer about the history of the city: she tells him that Galvamand used to be known as the Oracle house, and realizes she does not know why.

Dressed as a male groom, Memer attends one of Orrec's performance for the Gand, the leader of the Alds. Orrec, holding no belief in the Ald god, is not allowed within the Gand's residence, but performs before an open pavilion. The relationship between the Gand Iorath and his son Iddor is seen to be tense: Iddor believes Orrec's poetry to be blasphemy. Some of Ansul's citizens, led by Sulter's friend Desac, hope to rouse the city against the Alds, taking advantage of the struggle between the Gand and his son. Desac asks Orrec to act as an instigator for a rebellion. When Orrec hesitates, the Waylord offers to consult the Oracle, revealed to still be in the house, about a rebellion. He tells Memer that their family has the responsibility of "reading" the Oracle, which provides answers in the pages of certain books in the secret room. He asks the Oracle about the rebellion: Memer sees the phrase "Broken mend broken" in a book in response.