A Wizard of Earthsea

I really enjoyed this book. The narrative has this very epic, very mythical feel to it. Almost as if you're sitting by the warmth of a fireside listening to a storyteller describing the experiences of Ged, a young man destined to become the Great Wizard of Earthsea. It's a great bedtime story, and, in fact, I've been reading this novel every night before bed. It is not a long book–my copy is just shy of two hundred pages. Because it is such a short book covering many adventures, it can be a bit lacking in character development and world building compared to more modern fantasy novels. However, that is one of the things I admired most about this book. It really shows the skills of the author–how she can strip down the story to just the basic elements, yet still have a solid narrative that is both interesting and entertaining. Furthermore, this book is timeless. I didn't feel like I was reading a novel written in the sixties, yet that was when this novel was published! That fact alone amazes me, so I guess my expectations for this book were not very high... I would have given this a 5 out of 5 stars; however, I hated the patriarchal society of Earthsea. I heard many people argue over the representation of women in this book, and while I agree that women were under represented–two of the four female characters were not even named!–the very male-oriented culture was more off-putting than anything else for me. Obviously, women could use magic just as well as the men in this fantasy world, yet the women were witches and enchantresses not of the same caliber as the Wizards of Earthsea. And, in fact, women were not even allowed to study at the wizardry school on Roke Island! I just don't understand why!? Why do witches not get the same respect and admiration as the wizards? Why were they all portrayed as selfish and shrewd? Why couldn't they just be allowed to study and become wise as their male counterparts? I honestly don't get it. I mean, it is one thing to under represent a population of people. But to make them inferior is another thing. Even Tolkien, who didn't have many female characters in his books, still managed to show women with power and respect and wisdom–just look at Lady Galadriel, Lady of Lothlorien and Eowyn, the Shield Maiden of Rohan. The fact that this book had none of that was just really upsetting to me...But despite all this, I am planning to read the next in the series [b:The Tombs of Atuan 13662 The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle, #2) Ursula K. Le Guin https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1166571534s/13662.jpg 1322146].4 out of 5 stars from me...maybe even 3.5 out of 5 stars (because I am that upset).