A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am yet to figure out how I came to love a story told in the third person omniscient this much! There is something about Le Guin’s style that binds you to her tale. You want to hear what she’s going to tell. She took me back to the days when I used to sit before my grandfather and hear him tell the legends of mighty Gods and Kings. Except, of course, my grandfather never spoke English.
The protagonist of AWoE is Ged (aka Sparrowhawk), a young boy with great potential. However, he is also your everyday adolescent so he possesses all the mighty traits of one — pride, vanity, overconfidence, temper, ambition. Le Guin makes Ged seem so realistic that you can’t help but identify with him. The fact that the author is spiritually inclined is also pretty clear from the subtle messages she leaves behind through Ged’s actions, mistakes, and regrets.
Okay. Now the story, itself, is not that great for me. A reckless wizard loosens an other-worldly shadow upon Earthsea and then strives to right his wrongs. Yeah, okay. But the manner in which the tale unfolds, the development of the character and the world, and the magic system alone deserves awe. I wouldn’t rate them similarly, but reading AWoE gave me a feeling that was pretty close to what I had as I read one of the Narnia books.
Loved the book and maybe I will read the rest in the series too.
