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Title: A Wizard of Earthsea
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: Ruth Robbins
Published: New York: Bantam, 1975 (1968)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 183
Total Page Count: 114,236
Text Number: 331
Read Because: personal enjoyment, purchased for $0.50 from the Corvallis Public Library
Review: Before he became a legend, the sorcerer Ged, called Sparrowhawk, was a proud and standoffish young man who conjured a nameless and dangerous shadow—a feat of impressive magic that would haunt him throughout his youth. A Wizard of Earthsea is the truth behind a fable, told in a dry but arcane tone that mimics both parts; unfortunately I had no love for the language, which fulfilled its purpose but also reads as stilted and, for me, mostly served to slow the text. Fortunately it's a slim volume, so even when slowed it never stagnates, and the austerity of language combined with the density of action does have a certain fable-esque quality. It seems strange to say this of Le Guin, but one wishes for more (or any) worthwhile female characters, but Ged is fantastic, flawed but rich with potential, and I can understand why this is a young adult/coming of age classic. Best of all, the ending—while not unpredictable—carries weight: it's strong and satisfying, and rewarded my otherwise ambivalent interest in the book. I expect I wasn't the ideal audience for this, and don't think I'll pick up the rest of the series, but I still recommend it on the basis of the strengths I saw although I wasn't the one to appreciate them, and on the assumptions that others will.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: Ruth Robbins
Published: New York: Bantam, 1975 (1968)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 183
Total Page Count: 114,236
Text Number: 331
Read Because: personal enjoyment, purchased for $0.50 from the Corvallis Public Library
Review: Before he became a legend, the sorcerer Ged, called Sparrowhawk, was a proud and standoffish young man who conjured a nameless and dangerous shadow—a feat of impressive magic that would haunt him throughout his youth. A Wizard of Earthsea is the truth behind a fable, told in a dry but arcane tone that mimics both parts; unfortunately I had no love for the language, which fulfilled its purpose but also reads as stilted and, for me, mostly served to slow the text. Fortunately it's a slim volume, so even when slowed it never stagnates, and the austerity of language combined with the density of action does have a certain fable-esque quality. It seems strange to say this of Le Guin, but one wishes for more (or any) worthwhile female characters, but Ged is fantastic, flawed but rich with potential, and I can understand why this is a young adult/coming of age classic. Best of all, the ending—while not unpredictable—carries weight: it's strong and satisfying, and rewarded my otherwise ambivalent interest in the book. I expect I wasn't the ideal audience for this, and don't think I'll pick up the rest of the series, but I still recommend it on the basis of the strengths I saw although I wasn't the one to appreciate them, and on the assumptions that others will.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
