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Okay, I've been convinced. Which of her books should I start with?
Dispossessed is amazing. The first chapter is a prank to filter out the weak of heart tho lol
The Ones Who
Left forWalk Away From Omelas. A 19-20 page short story about what a "utopia" truly is. (Yes, yes, "we live in an society")Her non-fiction essays on writing, and reflecting on her body of work are also very good. She was an incredibly forward thinking writer, and one of my favourite authors of all time.
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas*. Not to be pedantic, but that completely changes the message of the story.
Omg not pedantic AT ALL, you're right! Embarrassing mistake, thank you for the correction!
Earth sea. I haven't read it yet, but it's at the top of my list
Personally, I wouldn't start with Wizard of Earthsea, that book was published in 1968 and definitely has the prose and flow modern readers are not as used to, especially for the fantasy genre.
I read Left Hand of Darkness for school, but it was The Dispossessed plus her non-fiction essays that got me into her. Omelas is also a good short story starting point, and I think it's only 20 pages.
I'm not super versed in modern Fantasy, in what ways does Earthsea flow different? I always thought the first book was a very accessible Hero's Journey deal and a good jumping off point
Oh the story itself is very accessible, I agree, and foundational for a lot of "magician's journey"-type storytelling we see today. The issue is that the writing itself is very...not dry per se... but definitely almost academic. It's closer to Tolkien's Two Towers than any of the Song of Ice and Fire series, to make a basic comparison.
Even reading the first chapter of Wizards, you see a lot of exposition and sentence structures that aren't as popular in modern writing today. For example, we have the author talk to us (the reader) directly, instead of through Sparrowhawk. That really isn't used anymore nowadays unless for comedic effect. Sparrowhawk himself is also kind of distant to us readers. We're reading his journey as a tale, but we're not necessarily experiencing it with him, if that makes sense.
If you're used to reading older sci-fi/fantasy, you'll be fine with most of this. If you've grown up in the Harry Potter/Percy Jackson/Song of Ice and Fire/ era, this will be incredibly jarring. I would actually say that Tombs of Atuan (the second book) is a better entry point to the series for these readers.
None of this means Wizards is badly written by the way. It is intentionally written like a "modern" (1960s) saga akin to the Poetic Edda, and it works extremely well in that sense. For me personally, the Earthsea Cycle is probably my favourite fantasy series of all time, and nothing (sorry Tolkienites, not even LotR) comes close to the experience I had reading for the first time. But I can't recommend Wizards of Earthsea as the entry point to le Guin without asking whether or not you read the Silmarillion by yourself front to back of your own volition, lol.
But if you read Atuan first you miss the experience of going
Minor Tombs of Atuan spoiler
oh shit that's my boy
I think a good way to counteract the dryness is by listening to an audiobook. That way it feels more like a story being told to you
LOL
Don't worry, I actually originally started with Atuan first (just what my grandma had on the shelf), and then went back to the first book. I still had that moment like a chapter into Wizards.
Lathe of Heaven is short and what I started with in highschool. The Left Hand Of Darkness is fantastic as well.
The Left Hand of Darkness
I liked The Dispossessed a lot, aside from one scene. The book overall really made me think.
The ones who walk away from omelas is uhh apropos nowadays and a very short story.
Intracom in very funny and the read by the author version is cozy
The lathe of heaven is a good un that always leaves me feeling discombobulated
Gwailans harp is the b-side of the read by the author lp that has intracom on it and is also quite nice.
The Earthsea books are probably what all ya fantasy should try to be.