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A collection of short stories by the legendary and iconic Ursula K. Le Guin—selected with an introduction by the author, and combined in one volume for the first time. The Unreal and the Real is a collection of some of Ursula K. Le Guin’s best short stories. She has won multiple prizes and accolades from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honor, the Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud Awards. She has had her work collected over the years, but this is the first short story volume combining a full range of her work. Stories include: -Brothers and Sisters -A Week in the Country -Unlocking the Air -Imaginary Countries -The Diary of the Rose -Direction of the Road -The White Donkey -Gwilan’s Harp -May’s Lion -Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight -Horse Camp -The Water Is Wide -The Lost Children -Texts -Sleepwalkers -Hand, Cup, Shell -Ether, Or -Half Past Four -The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas -Semely’s Necklace -Nine Lives -Mazes -The First Contact with the Gorgonids -The Shobies’ Story -Betrayals -The Matter of Seggri -Solitude -The Wild Girls -The Flyers of Gy -The Silence of the Asonu -The Ascent of the North Face -The Author of the Acacia Seeds -The Wife’s Story -The Rule of Names -Small Change -The Poacher -Sur -She Unnames Them -The Jar of Water

North to Orsinia and the boundaries between reality and madness ... South to discover Antarctica with nine South American women ... West to find an enchanted harp and the borderland between life and death ... and onward to all points on and off the compass. Twenty astonishing stories from acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin carry us to worlds of wonder and horror, desire and destiny, enchantment and doom.

For over half a century, multiple award-winner Ursula K. Le Guin's stories have shaped the way her readers see the world. Her work gives voice to the voiceless, hope to the outsider and speaks truth to power. Le Guin's writing is witty, wise, both sly and forthright; she is a master craftswoman. This two-volume selection of almost forty stories was made by Ursula Le Guin herself. The two volumes span the spectrum of fiction from realism through magical realism, satire, science fiction, surrealism, and fantasy. WHERE ON EARTH focuses on Ursula Le Guin's interest in realism and magic realism and includes 18 of her satirical, political and experimental earthbound stories. Highlights include WORLD FANTASY and HUGO AWARD-winner 'Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight', the rarely reprinted satirical short, 'The Lost Children', JUPITER AWARD-winner, 'The Diary of the Rose' and the title story of her PULITZER PRIZE finalist collection 'Unlocking the Air'.

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. "Semley's Necklace" is a short story originally published in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters.

Pete Dyson is devastated after the suicide of his wife and desperate to deal with his grief to protect his four-year old son. Realising that the only way to move on is to move back, he returns to his home town and to the ghosts of his past that seem far too ready to haunt him all over again - particularly that of his destructive first love, Fay.