Wallowing in summer + recent reading
Jul. 7th, 2015 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaI've spent a week at an activist tree climbing camp in the south of Sweden, and now I'm up north doing a botany inventory. I love that it's summer and I get to spend all day being outside doing physical stuff. I love using my brain to figure out the best way to solve a climbing problem. And I love improving my botany skills and contributing to science. In short: I am happy.
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A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin
Reread, though it's been a long time and I've only read them in Swedish before. I found them gripping and not at all tarnished by the suck fairy (not that I would've expected that from Le Guin). That said, there are things here I didn't notice when I was younger--I can see why Le Guin wanted to revisit this world with feminist glasses on. Not just the obvious of all wizards being men--it struck me that the masters of Roke are shown as wise men in accord, but in Atuan there's infighting and power struggles among the leading priestesses. Also, the monarchism grated on me a bit. I dunno, perhaps I'm taking this too literally? Maybe I should go and reread Jo Walton's thoughts on seeing monarchy in fantasy as saying something about family writ large. Anyway. I would've liked to see some of Le Guin's anarchism, is what I'm saying. *craves anarchist fantasy books*
It's interesting how Lebannen's feelings for Ged are described as "falling in love", "romantic". Why does she choose those words, which are usually reserved for other kinds of relationships? *ponders*
An incomplete list of things I enjoy about the books:
- the idea of language/words as magic
- the language used in the books themselves
- the way that magic isn't a grand system that is the same everywhere, but varies from place to place
- the resolution of the first book
- Arha's underground world, the way that she's circumscribed and yet free in some ways.
On to Tehanu, I guess! It'll be interesting to read all these books in one go.
***
A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin
Reread, though it's been a long time and I've only read them in Swedish before. I found them gripping and not at all tarnished by the suck fairy (not that I would've expected that from Le Guin). That said, there are things here I didn't notice when I was younger--I can see why Le Guin wanted to revisit this world with feminist glasses on. Not just the obvious of all wizards being men--it struck me that the masters of Roke are shown as wise men in accord, but in Atuan there's infighting and power struggles among the leading priestesses. Also, the monarchism grated on me a bit. I dunno, perhaps I'm taking this too literally? Maybe I should go and reread Jo Walton's thoughts on seeing monarchy in fantasy as saying something about family writ large. Anyway. I would've liked to see some of Le Guin's anarchism, is what I'm saying. *craves anarchist fantasy books*
It's interesting how Lebannen's feelings for Ged are described as "falling in love", "romantic". Why does she choose those words, which are usually reserved for other kinds of relationships? *ponders*
An incomplete list of things I enjoy about the books:
- the idea of language/words as magic
- the language used in the books themselves
- the way that magic isn't a grand system that is the same everywhere, but varies from place to place
- the resolution of the first book
- Arha's underground world, the way that she's circumscribed and yet free in some ways.
On to Tehanu, I guess! It'll be interesting to read all these books in one go.
