Paperback, 205 pages
French language
Published May 22, 1991
Ici, il y a des dragons. Il y a des enchanteurs, une mer immense et des îles. Ged, simple gardien de chèvres sur l'île de Gont, a le don. Il va devenir au terme d'une longue initiation, en traversant nombre d'épreuves redoutables, le plus grand sorcier de Terremer, l'Archimage.
Gainontzekoak irakurri ostean iruzkinduko dut istorio osoa, baina labur esanda: itzela izan daiteke!
I first read these books when I was actually in the target age group, but I have re-read them countless times since then, they are timeless and ageless. "A Wizard of Earthsea", with its superb world-building and archetypal story of shadow and light. "The Tombs of Atuan", with its marvelous sexual imagery and tentative exploration of female themes. And "The Farthest Shore", where Ged takes on life and the afterlife.
Ursula le Guin was like the leader of my tribe. I regret not seeing her in person, she was a regular a SF conventions, but she left behind a superb body of work which I am still discovering.
A must-read in the collection of fantasy classics
Prose is slim and considered, the imagery vivid without being exhausting, but I did not feel engaged with Ged, personally, philosophically, etc.
I appreciate how concise and capable a novel this is; that it is in its way rubbing against the grain of what, in 1969 especially, are the expectations of a fantasy novel and setting.
But I read it today, in a different cultural milieu. While Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed still felt compelling and relevant, Wizard of Earthsea is something I can only imagine once having a greater potency.
