The Telling by Ursula K. LeGuin

by Ursula K. LeGuin; Published by Harcourt, Inc., New York in 2000

Opening Line: “When Sutty went back to Earth in the daytime, it was always to the village. At night, it was the Pale.” (p. 1)
This opening line engages the reader with unspoken questions, the first of which is, what is the Pale? Since it capitalized, when know it is a proper noun; perhaps the name of a place. But, what and where? Since Sutty goes there at night, is it favorite nightclub or a city? Is this a physical return or a memory in which the protagonist relives her life?

Then we are entranced with deep descriptions about “the village”, its sights and sounds and the family members that make it tangible. We also learn that these are memories that Sutty has as she walks the streets of Dovza City or takes breaks from her work during the day. While “the Pale” represents those elusive moments directly before or after sleep, or when waken from sleep by dreams because “night is the same on any world. Light’s absence is only that.” (p. 2) Most readers make an emotional connection with Sutty at this time. After all, who hasn’t experienced those special memories during long nights when sleep won’t come because memories rush into our minds? Or waken up from a dream that spurs another memory and causes us to question ourselves? Many readers will also identify with waking memories, which are indicative of a home we left behind, even it was by choice. The language is rich with adjectives and metaphors and keeps us reading without the necessity of blatant action. Instead we are engaged emotionally with the protagonist as we learn that Sutty admits that she “scarcely [knew] her mother and father for the past 15 years, yet finding it easier to talk to them than to her Aunty and Uncle Huree.” This arouses sympathy with the reader and compassion or an identity with the protagonist. Younger adults may especially make a connection with Sutty’s inability to talk to the ones who raised here as easily as she talked to the virtual strangers that are her parents. How natural it seems to have difficulty talking to care-givers who are still trying to guide our lives, our thoughts, and our growth. Who hasn’t had a favorite aunt, uncle, or another caring adult who we find easier to talk to you? LeGuin enhances this reader-protagonist connection during the scene in which Sutty reports to her “boss”, Tong Ov, and the conversation is tense. Sutty wants to quit this job of Observer in which she feels unfulfilled, she fears that Tong Ov is probing her for information, testing her for insight, and possibly assigning her to a job she is not ready to accomplish. She even questions her own responses, saying, “Wrong, wrong,” to herself when she thinks she has answered inappropriately. These are all factors that keep the reader reading, not because the action takes off like a rocket blast, but because we connect with the very real human qualities of the protagonist, and because we are presented with more questions. Even the name of the planet, Aka, raises questions in our mind of which we may not be conscious. After all, a.k.a is an acronym for “also known as”, so somewhere in our subconscious we are asking, “also known as what?”

These techniques are excellent for drawing in the reader. As a writer, they made me realize that I was telling too much up front in my story, that I needed to raise more questions than eyebrows in the beginning in order for the reader to seek answers to be further divulged in the plot. You may want to watch for this in your own writing. in general, we want to have the reader connect with our protagonist and to tease the reader with pieces of information, rather than letting them see the entire story in the opening.
I could be write or I could be wrong, but I think that makes for a good opening and good reading.