Sutty experiences and tells of the conflicts there between the repressive state capitalist government, and the native people who resist.

[1] Le Guin constructed the recent historical situation of Aka as a parallel to the history of China during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.

The Telling was published in 2000 as part of the Signed First Editions of Science Fiction series by Easton Press, who describe themselves as releasing 'works of lasting meaning, beauty and importance.'

[3] It has also been noted as having a standard Le Guin writing approach because it has a clear outside observer/narrator and a setting that includes strongly contrasting civilizations.

[7] The Telling was translated into Hebrew as ההגדה(The Haggadah) by Ornit Shachar (אורנית שחר), into German as Die Überlieferung (collected in the volume Grenzwelten) by Karen Nölle, and into Turkish as Anlatış by Kemal Baran Özbek.