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Aug. 9th, 2003 09:18 amI just finished A Wizard of Earthsea. I enjoyed reading it, but it took me an awful long time. I really do love the book, but it's difficult for me to push through it when I know exactly what's going to happen at each and every point. I really need that what's-going-to-happen-next impetus to get me to pick up a book. Without that impetus, I still enjoy the book when I sit down to read it, but I sit down with it less frequently, and am less likely to choose it over other activities. Also, particularly with this series that I have read so many times before, I appreciate the books more when I sit down and read them for a significant amount of time, rather than just grabbing a few minutes of reading time here and there. So The Tombs of Atuan is next, and that's the one I usually have the most trouble getting through, so I'm going to have to make the effort this weekend to spend some significant time reading in order to get it done and get the most out of it. After that I've got The Farthest Shore and Tehanu, both are just so incredibly moving that I don't usually get bogged down with them.
I don't like talking about "getting through" these books as though it's some kind of assignment and that's all there is to it, because that's really not the way I feel. There's so much that I love about these books, and they are such a big part of myself. It's interesting, because I really do think that reading the multiple times was formative for me when I was younger, but now that I'm older and not in such need of forming, my response to them has changed. My reaction is not nearly as raw and emotional as it was when I was about fifteen. It's now much more meditative, which gives me the opportunity to think about the profound affect that these books have had on me, and also to step back and appreciate the beauty of LeGuin's writing. She writes with a lovely, simple formality that serves to reflect Ged's character and heighten the emotionality of the story. That simple formality is particularly evident in the dialogue between characters. Lately I've been realizing that those conversations between characters are one of the most appealing aspects of the series, and one of the main things that keep me reading the series over and over again. There are so many significant discussions between the characters of these books that stand out for me--when Ged is talking to Yarrow in the kitchen, Ged and Vetch in the boat, Ged's responses to Arha's questioning in the labyrinth, and later the lovely talk between the two of them in the mountains after she has become Tenar, of course every conversation between Ged and Arren on their long journey, and the intensely touching moment when Ged asks Tenar to confirm all the moments of their shared history... Just thinking about all of those moments makes me realize how important these books are to me.
I don't like talking about "getting through" these books as though it's some kind of assignment and that's all there is to it, because that's really not the way I feel. There's so much that I love about these books, and they are such a big part of myself. It's interesting, because I really do think that reading the multiple times was formative for me when I was younger, but now that I'm older and not in such need of forming, my response to them has changed. My reaction is not nearly as raw and emotional as it was when I was about fifteen. It's now much more meditative, which gives me the opportunity to think about the profound affect that these books have had on me, and also to step back and appreciate the beauty of LeGuin's writing. She writes with a lovely, simple formality that serves to reflect Ged's character and heighten the emotionality of the story. That simple formality is particularly evident in the dialogue between characters. Lately I've been realizing that those conversations between characters are one of the most appealing aspects of the series, and one of the main things that keep me reading the series over and over again. There are so many significant discussions between the characters of these books that stand out for me--when Ged is talking to Yarrow in the kitchen, Ged and Vetch in the boat, Ged's responses to Arha's questioning in the labyrinth, and later the lovely talk between the two of them in the mountains after she has become Tenar, of course every conversation between Ged and Arren on their long journey, and the intensely touching moment when Ged asks Tenar to confirm all the moments of their shared history... Just thinking about all of those moments makes me realize how important these books are to me.
