Direction of the Road

by Ursula K. Le Guin

"Ursula Le Guin is more than just a writer of adult fantasy and science fiction . . . she is a philosopher; an explorer in the landscapes of the mind." - Cincinnati Enquirer

The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her spare, elegant prose, rich characterization, and diverse worlds. Direction of the Road is a short story originally published in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Nature, Fantasy, Philosophy, American, Science Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published July 1, 1973

About the author

Ursula K. Le Guin published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. She lived in Portland, Oregon.

She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.

Reviews

[Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp · Rating 4 out of 5]

|| 3.5 stars ||

I was pleasantly surprised with this ecocritical short story. It is written from the perspective of an Oak Tree as it looks upon a road and its "motorcars" for years and years. It shows the tree's feelings, thoughts, experiences and wants, which really manages to shine an important light on society's influence on and treatment of nature.

Very few of the drivers bothered to look at me, not even a seeing glance. They seemed, indeed, not to see any more. They merely stared ahead. They seemed to believe that they were “going somewhere.” Little mirrors were affixed to the front of their cars, at which they glanced to see where they had been; then they stared ahead again. I had thought that only beetles had this delusion of Progress. Beetles are always rushing about, and never looking up. I had always had a pretty low opinion of beetles. But at least they let me be.

It clearly has an environmental message and a certain critique on mankind. Even more so, it has an interesting, engaging and well-crafted story all on its own.

I am not death. I am life: I am mortal. If they wish to see death visibly in the world, that is their business, not mine. I will not act Eternity for them. Let them not turn to the trees for death. If that is what they want to see, let them look into one another’s eyes and see it there.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s short stories:
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - 4.5 stars
Direction of the Road - 3.5 stars

[Hayat · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant ! Ingeniously crafted. What an accomplishment here !!
Perspectives from an Oak tree through time ... (in seven pages)

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing and perspective were interesting but the story itself is rather meager. Almost more like a writing exercise than a true story.

[nymeria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminds me of the ap beti we had to write in school and college

[fertuads · Rating 5 out of 5]

god bless my narratology professor

[Hannah Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool story from the perspective of an oak tree, made me question reality. There's a good critique of industrialization and our detriment to the environment

[Keymil · Rating 5 out of 5]

went from: why is this tree fucking yapping? to: wooooooow

so so tender

[Jungian.Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing the review of 'The Wind's Twelve Quarters' is my review of 'Direction of the Road'. A story about the loss of importance as a result of industrialization told from the perspective of an Oak tree. The oak began to feel invisible in a world that moves faster than it does. Not only does its ability to move multidirectional irrelevant, but he is also unable to accept the fact that the fast world headed in one direction would make him insignificant!!!
'Eternity is none of my business. I am an oak, no more, no less. I have my duty, and I do it; I have my pleasures, and enjoy them, though they are fewer since the birds are fewer, and the wind's foul. But, long-lived though I may be, impermanence is my right. Mortality is my privilege. And it has been taken from me'
An accident happened, that caused the dying man to see the oak as a symbol of eternity. Even when Industrialization is making the oak see its doom [In a few years' time when I reread this story, I might have developed a better understanding of the oak or the people in moving fast. Or I might even stand in either position. But, for now, I will remain natural in my opinion of this book]
The Oak is under pressure by human illusions of eternity!!!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 2 out of 5]

so...trees?

[Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collected in The Wind's Twelve Quarters: A Story. A surprisingly profound story told from the perspective of an Oak Tree, who grew from a small tree into a large one, staying stationary as the world goes on around it, looming over the side of a highway.
"Very few of the drivers bothered to look at me, not even a seeing glance. They seemed, indeed, not to see any more. They merely stared ahead. They seemed to believe they were "going somewhere." Little mirrors were affixed to the front of their cars, at which they glanced to see where they had been; and they stared ahead again. I had htough that only beetles had this delusion of Progress. Beetles are always rushing about, and never looking up."

[Rikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was endeared by the personification of the oak made narrator, the anthropomorphising; I was turned pensive by the challenge to our idiotic sense of universal, of us being at the center of things—even as we pretend to humble ourselves by the arm's-distance revelations that we are not—of the idea that all the world moves as we do in ways we cannot fathom if only because of our own hubris; I was brought to tears by Ursula's typical rendering in 4K at 100 frames of the ugliest parts of the human condition.

Let them not turn to the trees for death. If that is what they want to see, let them look into one another’s eyes and see it there.

And of eternity. Phew. Caught forever by another's perception, unchangeable after death. Seeking truth, then, so we can hold no one in contempt retributively, even if by accident, could be an altruistic point of existing on purpose, purposefully. But I suppose that's limited by our abilities to perceive—and oh, how limited they are. Onward, then, and this time with the trees in view.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh…okay…

I can’t believe I just paid $6.99 for about 13 1/2 pages (large print) on my Kindle for a story that started out incomprehensible. As it goes along, you figure it out.

I’m not talking about that it was in the normal way of not understanding at first what’s going on and then figuring it out, like with a lot of books. It’s just an odd concept.

Normally, I like odd concepts.

But this was not a well-developed concept. It was more in the nature of an “imagine this” comment that should take about 30 seconds to explain and is interesting for another 30 seconds after that.

If I paid $6.99 every time someone had an interesting way to take a minute of my time and stretch it into a few minutes, I’d be broke and homeless in short order.

This is the first of Le Guin that I’ve ever read. I read it after I had a dream, told the dream to an LLM, and got back a recommendation that I should turn it into a full story a la Le Guin. That led to a recommendation that I read this story, as it seemed to fit with my dream. (Having read this, I disagree.)

This wasn’t the first time I’d heard that Le Guin was a writer worth reading. But having read this, I have doubts I’ll bother reading anything of hers again.

Oh, well, maybe learning THAT was worth spending $6.99 on a book of hers that would probably take you less time to read than did this review.

[Tobias Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Som de mange andre små noveller, der i disse år bliver enkeltudgivet på dansk af Ursula Le Guin, er der tale om en interessant og overraskende perspektivforskydning. Vejens retning er fortalt fra en ikke-menneskelig eksistens' synspunkt. Teksten er hurtigt læst, men langsomt fordøjet. Den får en til at stille grundlæggende spørgsmål til erkendelse og perception. Det er med andre ord eksemplarisk og fremragende fiktion.
Det giver fortsat god mening at udgive og læse økokritikeren Ursula Le guin.

[Océane Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

My flash-new rating system. It rates the things I find important, and if it scores high, it satisfies me!

Overall rating ⭐️⭐️

Characters ⭐️⭐️
Dialogue -
Setting ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Clear setting. From grass to road. From natural to making. From life to death.
Pacing ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Repetitive
Immersion ⭐️
Writing style ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Depth/complexity ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Humans don't look up anymore
Re-readability ⭐️
Creativity ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unique because its from the perspective of a tree
Ending ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked the final lines

+a tree watching the downfall of humanity and it's new role in the world
+tree

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think there’s an element of abstraction in the way we see the world as we learn to make sense of the laws of it, which often gets lost with childhood as we become set in the rigidity of our interpretations with their growing normalcy. Ursula Le Guin has such a fascinating way of subverting those (no less or more correct) and tapping into what’s beneath them in a way I find so beautiful

[Anim macqq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biutifuls

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending had me real good.

[Narmeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever wondered what observations can a tree make about humanity? Well, then go no further, heres an example.

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an idea that the feeling of going somewhere has to do with the scenery!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose and the narrator make this story interesting. Although the ending's message didn't really interest me or make the entire story stick the landing in my opinion.

[Karen Christine]

Hun har gjordt det igen

[kazerniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF after 4 pages, pointless fluff

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

i feel like im missing something

[isabell ☮︎︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this reminded me of “the fir tree” by hc andersen and lemme tell you this THAT BOOK TRAUMATIZED ME. i will never look at a christmas tree the same way ever again. ursula’s tree is actually badshit crazy doe.

my question is; is it possible to write about a personified tree without making traumatizing?
i generally think it’s impossible!!