calypte
Edinburgh
A story about this — 1 year ago
It took me a long time to read this book, as I – fairly rightly – considered the four books as quite separate entities, albeit following the same character. Plus, it was a writing style that I didn’t feel I could take too much of in one go. It wasn’t until I started the final volume – Tehanu – that I realised just how linked all four are, and that I might have enjoyed the ‘slower’ parts if viewed as part of a whole.
There’s something about the style: sort of sketchy, uncomplicated, almost uninvolved, that somehow – sometimes – draws you in without you noticing. Still, it can make it hard to warm to the characters quickly.
The first ‘chapter’, A Wizard of Earthsea, introduces Ged aka Sparrowhawk, and sort of skips through his early life and entry into the world of wizardry. It’s… not uninteresting, just didn’t entirely capture my heart.
The second, The Tombs of Atuan, at first seems unrelated, although it was by far my favourite – I really loved the atmosphere and setting. The focus shifts to Arha, a girl priestess, and a labyrinth where light is forbidden.
The Farthest Shore again left me a little cold: it tells its story – a good one, of death and life being intertwined – but the story seems bigger than the container and some bits just dragged for me.
Finally, Tehanu – written many years after the previous three, interestingly – draws together the threads from all the rest, and felt like a bit of a penny dropping. However, it ends rather quickly, and left me wondering if there’s another book.
And if there is [there is – it’s called The Other Wind, and then a short story collection], would I buy it? Hmm. I’m not sure. I liked the stories, but the style was a bit hit’n’miss for me, I think.
On the plus side, it’s good to see fantasy with a bit of philosophical thinking going on.
