Paradises Lost | Ursula K. Le Guin

 

This novella describes a multi-generational voyage on a ship destined for a distant Earth-like planet. Over successive generations apart from any semblance of an ecosystem (food is grown in “dirt” with few, carefully curated microbes, and there are no animals or insects on board), social fracture and growing religious fervour develop. Through Paradises Lost, Le Guin explores our connection with soil and environment, including the depth of its influence on us. It contains elements of eco-criticism with a critique of the idea that human beings are altogether separate from their natural environment. The novella has since been anthologized as well as adapted into an opera of the same name.