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A review by theanitaalvarez
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.0
I’ve wanted to read A Wizard of Earthsea (and the rest of the books in the saga, but that’ll have to wait) for some time. So having this as a required reading for a class, made me very happy. So, here’s my review.
The first volume of the saga narrates the story of Ged, a young man that has incredible abilities. He learns magic at first from his aunt, who is some sort of local witch. Even if she cannot teach him everything that his abilities could ask, she gives him the first glimpses into the world of magic. After saving his hometown of an invasion, Ged gets the visit of a wizard that offers to train him. And then he goes to a school of magic (that is not really like Hogwarts, mind you) and fights dragons.
So, yes, Ged is pretty cool.
But he’s also stubborn, proud and sometime a little selfish. Of course, this leads to a lot of trouble for him, as he constantly feels like he has to prove himself to other. This, of course, leads to several dangerous moments, the worst being the one in which he invokes a shadow. This ends up killing one of his masters in the school, as he tries to protect Ged from what he’s done. Of course, the boy is pretty much traumatized by the experience and decides to run away from it forever.
One of the themes that appear constantly throughout the novel is the idea of identity. Ged himself is known by several names in his life; and it is explicitly stated that your “real name” is not something you’d tell anyone. “Identity” here is made synonymous with “essence”. Your real name in Ged’s world is the only way people can have power over you. Names are important in terms for understanding the world and being able to control it. Besides, the whole journey Ged undergoes is precisely aimed at that, at him finding his identity and reconciling himself to that other, darker, side of him. I liked that part, because the book makes it very clear that there’s not black and white, but rather a lot of grayish tones in between. Darkness is a part of us, and the only way to control it is to accept it.
The book also makes a lot of references to the idea of the circle of life. There’s a scene in which Ged wants so save his friend’s son, but remember that one of his masters told him once that some people have to let go. I think that is a point of inflection in the novel, as it marks the beginning of Ged’s journey to destroy the shadow that keeps haunting him through all his life. He’s upset the balance and he has to restore it.
So, I’d recommend this book to any fantasy lover. It might not have the complex mythology that you get from Tolkien, but it is a very good story, with interesting characters and so on. I really want to get to read the rest of the novels in the saga… soon.
The first volume of the saga narrates the story of Ged, a young man that has incredible abilities. He learns magic at first from his aunt, who is some sort of local witch. Even if she cannot teach him everything that his abilities could ask, she gives him the first glimpses into the world of magic. After saving his hometown of an invasion, Ged gets the visit of a wizard that offers to train him. And then he goes to a school of magic (that is not really like Hogwarts, mind you) and fights dragons.
So, yes, Ged is pretty cool.
But he’s also stubborn, proud and sometime a little selfish. Of course, this leads to a lot of trouble for him, as he constantly feels like he has to prove himself to other. This, of course, leads to several dangerous moments, the worst being the one in which he invokes a shadow. This ends up killing one of his masters in the school, as he tries to protect Ged from what he’s done. Of course, the boy is pretty much traumatized by the experience and decides to run away from it forever.
One of the themes that appear constantly throughout the novel is the idea of identity. Ged himself is known by several names in his life; and it is explicitly stated that your “real name” is not something you’d tell anyone. “Identity” here is made synonymous with “essence”. Your real name in Ged’s world is the only way people can have power over you. Names are important in terms for understanding the world and being able to control it. Besides, the whole journey Ged undergoes is precisely aimed at that, at him finding his identity and reconciling himself to that other, darker, side of him. I liked that part, because the book makes it very clear that there’s not black and white, but rather a lot of grayish tones in between. Darkness is a part of us, and the only way to control it is to accept it.
The book also makes a lot of references to the idea of the circle of life. There’s a scene in which Ged wants so save his friend’s son, but remember that one of his masters told him once that some people have to let go. I think that is a point of inflection in the novel, as it marks the beginning of Ged’s journey to destroy the shadow that keeps haunting him through all his life. He’s upset the balance and he has to restore it.
So, I’d recommend this book to any fantasy lover. It might not have the complex mythology that you get from Tolkien, but it is a very good story, with interesting characters and so on. I really want to get to read the rest of the novels in the saga… soon.