A Wizard of Earthsea

There's something singularly beautiful about the way Le Guin writes. She eschews complex narratives. Her pacing is terrible. Her characters are flat and boring. Despite all that, her books are true art and high literature.

She shares a strange kinship with Lovecraft in that her nontraditional style is enchanting and enthralling (I'd argue both of them had undiagnosed Asperger's. Fight me.). Le Guin (like HPL) is a worldbuilder. A supremely skilled worldbuilder with a uniquely anthropological slant. She says so much with so little. I wish she'd have taken a bit more time out and hit me over the head with her points a bit more though.

A Wizard of Earthsea tells a very straightforward coming of age tale in an amazingly actualized universe. Once I was able to quiet the voice in my head screaming “She's not showing! She's telling! That illeeeeeegal!”, I was able to not just come to terms with her unique prose, but see the magic and skill involved that's led to Le Guin's lasting appeal.

The more I step back and fight my biases over what a novel can and can't be, the more I'm enjoying her work.

I can't wait to dive into the sequels.

Also I have a new headcanon for dolphins now, so that's fun.