What to say about A Wizard of Earthsea? It is obvious that Ursula cannot compare to Tolkien, so I'm not going to focus my discussion around that. But I will say that the book just did not capture me in the way a book should. Even in the bits that were supposed to put me on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen next, such as when the shadow chases Ged on Osskil or their final confrontation toward the end of the book, I knew that everything would be alright. Certainly this is the case with many books and movies. Even in Harry Potter, where somehow he manages to meet Voldemort toward the end of each of his school years, I know he will continue on. But I still can't stop reading and am mesmerized by the stories in the books.
Not so with Wizard. I honestly don't care that much. Perhaps this is because of my slight dislike for the main character Ged. In ways he is similar to Harry, a boy of seemingly humble background (for Harry it is the years living in the cupboard under the stairs) with amazing magical abilities. And though Harry gets a little whiny in his adolescent years, I still prefer him over self-centered Ged. Why does it always have to be about him? I want to hear more about Vetch and his family, not Ged and his shadow. And the poor little otak. I was really enjoying the little squirrel-y creature.
Going back to what Josh said in an earlier post about Ursula seemingly pulling names out of a hat to throw at us, I feel that is the same with the story. It follows a typical fantasy plot, but has none of the magic (pardon the pun). One should be swept into the story following a boy going to wizarding school and travelling the sea between the small islands. In the end I was left wishing I could feel a part of the world, but remained on the outside, uncaring and uninterested.
And one more complaint from me and then I'm done. Why did he have to kill the baby dragons? Totally unnecessary as far as I'm concerned. Though this is coming from someone who is pro-dragon and hate it when they die in books (yes, I know one is killed in The Hobbit). Why could people never learn to coexist with them and them with us?
Remembering again that this book is not meant for my audience group, I still am a great lover of fantasy and wish Ged could have captivated me like Harry or Bilbo or Frodo or like characters out of Jane Yolen or Anne McCaffrey books once did.
It turns out that I really did have something to say about the book, though perhaps I have been too harsh. I hope my strong opinion here will at least provoke some discussion amongst yourselves.
In what ways does Le Guin not compare to Tolkien? Is it that her world is more inventive? Or that her magic system is more realistic? Is it that her writing is less turgid than his?
ReplyDeleteYeah, you know I just wish that Tolkien could stand up to what Ursula has come up with in her world of Earthsea, but I know Middle Earth just can't make the same cut. Hobbits and elves? COME ON!!! [Read like Gob in Arrested Development when he is "boss" of the Bluth Company]
ReplyDeleteExactly! He’s one of the people most versed in old European myths—able to read chants, rhymes, eddas, and songs (in the original language, no less) about the wee folk and fairies—and he writes books about… wee people and fairies. Tolkien gets too much credit for pure invention when what he’s doing is synthesizing and adapting older material. Le Guin makes a new world, Tolkien repackages an old world, and presents it as new.
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