183 pages
English language
Published June 15, 2004
A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin and first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968. It is regarded as a classic of children's literature and of fantasy, within which it is widely influential. The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins a school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with a fellow student. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows Ged's journey as he seeks to be free of the creature. The book has often been described as a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, as it explores Ged's process of learning to cope with power …
A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin and first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968. It is regarded as a classic of children's literature and of fantasy, within which it is widely influential. The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins a school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with a fellow student. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows Ged's journey as he seeks to be free of the creature. The book has often been described as a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, as it explores Ged's process of learning to cope with power and come to terms with death. The novel also carries Taoist themes about a fundamental balance in the universe of Earthsea, which wizards are supposed to maintain, closely tied to the idea that language and names have power to affect the material world and alter this balance. The structure of the story is similar to that of a traditional epic, although critics have also described it as subverting this genre in many ways, such as by making the protagonist dark-skinned in contrast to more typical white-skinned heroes. A Wizard of Earthsea received highly positive reviews, initially as a work for children and later among a general audience. It won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in 1969 and was one of the final recipients of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1979. Margaret Atwood called it one of the "wellsprings" of fantasy literature. Le Guin wrote five subsequent books that are collectively referred to as the Earthsea Cycle, together with A Wizard of Earthsea: The Tombs of Atuan (1971), The Farthest Shore (1972), Tehanu (1990), The Other Wind (2001), and Tales from Earthsea (2001). George Slusser described the series as a "work of high style and imagination", while Amanda Craig said that A Wizard of Earthsea was "the most thrilling, wise, and beautiful children's novel ever".
Sometimes you can go home again. Just as captivating today as when it first sunk its hooks into me back in second grade.
Sweetly told coming-of-age story, that preaches Daoism as much as Daoism may be praught. I loved how it takes a very male story and turns machismo into a self-punishing weakness, but was also troubled by how even Le Guin wrote a story in which the women were all minor characters and very limited in what they could do. I gather later Earthsea books fix that, and look forward to them.
Sweetly told coming-of-age story, that preaches Daoism as much as Daoism may be praught. I loved how it takes a very male story and turns machismo into a self-punishing weakness, but was also troubled by how even Le Guin wrote a story in which the women were all minor characters and very limited in what they could do. I gather later Earthsea books fix that, and look forward to them.
This was brilliant. There is so much in it that I would not have picked up as a kid, but now it spoke very strongly to me. The notion of the conflict being an externalized version of the main character, the rambling pace that it took, and the focus on trust was all excellent.
I'm not normally a fantasy reader, but I love Ursula Le Guin. I heard her refer to this as her most anarchist book, so I had to read it. It is about power, knowledge, and how we need to own our worst selves. I found it delightful.
Dass es nur wenige Dialoge gab, war schon etwas nervig, auch wenn es zu der Plotline der "Reise nach innen" passt, die in diesem Buch herrscht. Großartig fand ich die Umsetzung der "Shadow"Idee von C.G.Jung (wenn ich mich nicht irre :P) Ich mochte die Wandlung des Hauptcharakters sehr , seine Auseinandersetzung mit Macht und Korruption. Es haben Frauen gefehlt imBuch und auch hier und da gabs nervigen Realweltsexismus. Anderseits waren beinah alle negativen Frauenfiguren weiß, während die einzige positive weibliche Person die gegen Schluss auftauchte, ein dunkelhäutiges Schwarzes Mädchen war,und auch der Hauptcharakter ist Schwarz. Generell wurde "weiß" als Marker für barbarisch und unattraktiv benutzt, was angenehm war,grade für ein Buch von 1968. Aber ich mag v.a. auch das Handwerk . . Le Guin schreibt großartig und ich kann sie flüssig lesen, und ihre Worte ziehen mich ziemlich schnell in ihren Bann!
A classic with no immediate legacy, unfortunately, than Le Guin's own series. A pitch perfect exploration of power, ambition, and responsibility that should have had more of an impact than it ever did. The clear plotting, the sharp characterization, and an evocative world makes for one of the best fantasy novels ever.
A Wizard of Earthsea is one of the most important fantasy novels in the genre, right up there with Tolkien. Reading this book, finally, for the first time, I see how other novels have stood on its shoulders (most notably the Kingkiller Chronicles), and I am glad this book exists.
That being said, it is not a book for me; possibly, Ursula K. Le Guin is not an author for me. It reads like it was written by an anthropologist (in fact, I was certain she must be until I looked it up just now), which was fine during The Left Hand of Darkness, but dry and wearing during a fantasy adventure.
As with many books I'm just getting around to, I think to myself, "If only 10, 15, 20 years ago someone handed me this book."
Points off for style. A strange choice. Props to her for pulling it off, but I just don't like it. maybe if I listened to the audio book it would have been a better experience?
Regardless, I plan on reading the rest of the series. Excellent world-building.
I loved this novel. It was an excellent representation of what fantasy is, and it was well written to boot. After reading this book, I feel that I can look to Le Guin as a model of how to write fantasy novels. As someone who is trying to write her own novel, I enjoyed the book on an extra level, as it provided many examples for accomplishing certain aspects within a story. I loved the way she introduced Sparrowhawk, and how he was a pretty unlikeable character at first, and the way she transformed him into a sympathetic character. His character was fairly simple too--he had simple motivations, feelings, and reactions. She didn't overcomplicate him or her story, and in that way as well, it was a very refreshing read.
An amazing book, indeed. All that issues regarding the power of naming people, animals and things were just amazing, hiding a powerful message about the language and Linguistics. In a land where the real or true names are so precious, the "magic power" only can be the power of... naming the world around us, giving meaning to our surroundings from the moment we are born until we die! That's awesome, somehow and indirectly a beautiful homage to the Levi Strauss' Structuralism or, perhaps more important, a beautiful homage to the Language itself.
An amazing book, indeed. All that issues regarding the power of naming people, animals and things were just amazing, hiding a powerful message about the language and Linguistics. In a land where the real or true names are so precious, the "magic power" only can be the power of... naming the world around us, giving meaning to our surroundings from the moment we are born until we die! That's awesome, somehow and indirectly a beautiful homage to the Levi Strauss' Structuralism or, perhaps more important, a beautiful homage to the Language itself.
My rating might have been much higher if I had read this earlier in my life. Now this book's interesting details seem like "more of the same" but I have a feeling they were much fresher at the time of publishing.
It's well known as a masterpiece of fantasy, but here are two things that aren't as well known.
1. Ged is black. Race was (and is) a big deal to Ursula K. Le Guin.
2. It's a great illustration of the principles of Taoism.
3. It's great as a standalone novel, but one of the best beginnings to a trilogy ever. (this is just my opinion)
I never knew the setup was from «Daphnis and Chloe».
https://reading.ramram.ink/book/107.