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Loading... A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1) (original 1968; edition 2004)by Ursula K. Le Guin (Author)
Work InformationA Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (1968)
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Exquisite writing, in a mythological/epic fantasy style. It can be considered as a fairy tale more than epic fantasy, because it's not interested in wars or big history, but in the protagonist's struggle against himself and against his own shadow, a monster that he created in an accident caused by his excessive pride. It has an eye for anthropology in the fond way it describes the different societies of humble fishermen distributed along the archipelago of Earthsea. Worth reading. ( ) I've been meaning to read something from this author for at least a decade, so I finally have. My taste is satiated now. This was one of the author's earlier books, and I suppose I should read (or listen to) a later one before I give up, but since this one didn't really capture me, I probably won't get around to it. Overall.. not that impressed? The pacing was slow. The character development was obsessively told rather than shown, and the main driving force of the plot (a wizard chasing a shadow he loosed into the world) was simply not compelling because the reader can’t possibly know or guess what will happen, and the “enemy” is nameless, faceless, and uncharacterized, making almost all aspects of the book feel like deus ex machina. The reader knows nothing about the capacity of the wizard, the world/context beyond what he experiences firsthand, and the dangers. Overall, a book that limits it scope can be fine, if the scope it limits to is clear and compelling, but this just wasn’t for me. This is the first in the series. Right now, Ged (the main character), is not in the best of moods. Things keep going wrong and he never feels like he belongs. But he makes progress in this book and I am looking forward to book #2. I want to see him come fully into his power. : ) And here are some of her thoughts from the afterward, which was awesome! "The conventionality of the story and its originality, reflect its existence within and partial subversion of an accepted, recognized tradition, one I grew up with. "...The principal characters were men. If the story was heroic, the hero was a white man; most dark-skinned people were inferior or evil. If there was a woman in the story, she was a passive object of desire and rescue (a beautiful blond princess); active women (dark, witches) usually caused destruction or tragedy. Anyway, the stories weren't about women. they were about men, what men did, and what was important to men. "It's in this sense that A Wizard was perfectly conventional... "In other ways my story didn't follow the tradition. Its subversive elements attracted little attention, no doubt because I was deliberately sneaky..." (p. Afterward p. 261-264) I loved reading in the afterward that Le Guin doesn't want her heroes to win war and battles, not the ones that involve slaying other people in wars between countries. The wars here are more internal. And her main characters are not white! It's subtle, but they are dark skinned. Nicely done Ursala!! Read the Afterward. ; ) Belongs to SeriesBelongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inHas as a commentary on the textAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance. No library descriptions found.
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