The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Series)

Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to the lost, stray world of Gethen, or Winter - as the planet is known by outsiders who have experienced its arctic climate. His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where people are of the same gender, this is a broad gulf indeed. The inventiveness and delicacy with which Ursula K. L…