The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories, Volume One: Where on Earth

The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories—as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself—the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp. Companion volume Outer Space, Inner Lands includes Le Guin's best known nonrealistic stories. Both volumes include new introductions by the author. Praise for Ursula K. Le Guin's short story collections: "An important writer. Period."—The Washington Post "Witty, satirical and amusing. Yet it is the author’s more serious work that displays her talents best, as she employs recurring themes and elements-cultural diversity, unlikely heroes and heroines, power’s ability to corrupt, love’s power to guide-and considers characters and types (women, children, the differently sexed and gendered) so often disenfranchised by other, more technologically oriented SF writers. . . . [A] classy and valuable collection."—Publishers Weekly "Her characters are complex and haunting, and her writing is remarkable for its sinewy grace."—Time "Le Guin's prose is so luminous and simple, and she always tells the truth, and when I'm with her people, I'm with living people, on worlds as solid and real as my own. Le Guin has a gift, which is to transform words into worlds."—Molly Gloss "A master of the craft."—Neil Gaiman "[E]verything Le Guin does is interesting, believable, and exquisitely detailed."—Los Angeles Herald Examiner "Delicious ... her worlds are haunting psychological visions molded with firm artistry."—Library Journal "There is no more elegant or discerning expositor than Le Guin."—Kirkus Reviews Ursula K. Le Guin has received the PEN–Malamud and National Book Awards, among others. She lives in Portland, Oregon.