I just couldn't stay focused on <i>Kalpa Imperial</i> despite my best attempts. I picked up this book having noticed that LeGuin translated it. I can see why, based on her own work, why she'd have been drawn to it; however, I just wasn't captivated. The writing style is compelling and the structuring of the stories as being told orally is interesting, but after a while it felt quite repetitive. It is hard to say whether I'd call this a series of short stories or a novel, given that the stories take place in the same universe but over such a huge span of time that they feel quite disconnected. Every so often, a discriminatory comment or an unexpected reference to gender-based violence would turn up rather unexpectedly; I found these jarring, and not in a good way.

<i>Content warnings:</i> sexual assault, rape, misogyny, racism, violence