Is Le Guin's Earthsea Saga worthwhile for adults?

I've posted something about this before, so I'm going to literally copy and paste it:

About two months ago I read all six books. I work in a corporate office, and spend my days filling out spreadsheets. I keep a book by my side at all times, and I had The Farthest Shore (the third and, in my opinion, the best of the Earthsea books) on my table. Along comes my coworker (I'll call him Jigglypuff), an ex lax-bro and resident stud muffin. When he enters your space you feel your balls shrink a little bit into your pelvis. So Jigglypuff saw my book, picked it up without asking, and scrutinized the cover. Marketed as YA, it looks like YA, and the back cover reads like YA. The front is a close up of a dragon's eye, and the back reads something like "Darkness has overcome Earthsea, and the wizards are losing their power..only Sparrowhawk can save the day!..." yada yada yada. To my embarressment he promptly read the back out loud for my coworkers. To be fair, I wasn't embarrassed that I was reading a fantasy book, much less an Ursula K. Le Guin book. I was embarrassed because the Earthsea books, so full of wisdom and life, seemed like children's fare when Jigglypuff read the back. But the Earthsea books aren't only for children, nor do I think they are best in a child's hands. Having already passed the point where, in a classical sense, I am 'coming of age', had I missed the crucial moment when these books should have found their way into my life? Not at all. The saving grace is the protagonist Sparrowhawk, who starts young and already by the second book is a man. With each adventure a new youth joins the ensemble, and 'comes to age', but then again Sparrowhawk also evolves in his own wizened way. We're always 'coming of age', and the Earthsea books enlightened this necessity, to always open yourself to change, a change in truth and a change in heart. Sparrowhawk, though eventually a powerful mage, makes awful mistakes, even in his wisdom, and until the end sacrifices himself and adapts to every situation. Though certainly not a child, by already halfway through the first book, he's dealing with adult shit, and conquering himself in ways many adults who have supposedly 'come of age' never have and probably never will. They have other merits too. The Earthsea books offer a rich and complex world to explore. Ursula is careful never to expose too much, and the universe her books imply is probably more magical than the universe on the page. All in all, despite their YA marketing and their coming of age roots, the Earthsea books are for everyone, even those who despise the traditional 'coming of age' arc. The wisdom of these books don't pass with experience and age, but stay truth to our origins, and should always be remembered. So read the Earthsea books. But don't read them because you want a book where you will express your adulthood. Read them because they so properly remind us of the lessons we often forget as adults, the lessons which have been turned trivial but which Le Guin reinvigorates with urgency. For a great book, it's never too late to come of age. It's also never too late to remember who you were, who you are, and who you need to become. That is the magic of the Earthsea books. permalinksavecontextfull comments (20)editdisable inbox repliesdelete Gay icons celebrated at the Lambda Literary Awards by ApollosCrow in books [–]loosemoose29 5 points 21 days ago* Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. It's easy to understand why it might seem strange that sexual orientation is the criteria for an award, but if you just allow a bit of explanation, maybe you can look at this a little differently. Due to a complex mixture of individualistic history and cultural traditions, many gay men and woman share certain experiences unfelt by the heterosexual majority. I'm not blaming anyone when I say this: it is simply the truth. That doesn't mean gays think of themselves as victims and that doesn't mean a straight individual can't learn to understand their perspective. In case you didn't know this, people often connect with those with shared experiences, and due to the specificity of the gay identity (which you so elegantly described above; absurd, right, that sexual preferences can be the basis of an entire identity!) many gays seek a sense of community and unity that the otherwise straight community is already afforded through popular culture, and simple majority benefits. Again, this isn't to say that gays see themselves as victims! This is merely an observation, and one that's rather difficult to resist (if you do have an intelligent and meaningful response that might show why gays wouldn't seek identity and comfort with other gays, considering their often, though not necessarily ubiquitous, shared experience, I would love to hear it! Please change my mind if you can!). In addition, gays and lesbians are often overlooked by the publishing market due to the material of their work. But why should gays and lesbians be allowed to write about being gay and lesbian? It's ONLY a sexual orientation right? That's absurd! Again, many gays and lesbians have shared experiences that not only strain the often heteronormative mythology of sexual experience (imagine if Milan Kundera wrote about homosexuality for once...I wonder what it would look like?), but this shared experience extends into very specific experiences that extend beyond where one places their genitals. Unfortunately or fortunately, it goes both ways, members of the gay community have encountered very specific (though, again, not always ubiquitous) situations merely because of their sexual preferences. These situations are often shared amongst the community, if only because human variety in treating minorities is often uncreative. There are only so many variations of homophobia, even if they range in subtlety and purpose. Awards like this help to recognize an entire range of literature usually overlooked merely on the basis of its content. But if it was ACTUALLY GOOD WORK, you might say, it WOULD be considered by major award institutions! Again, this isn't always the case, and if you really need me to elaborate upon all of the criminally overlooked pieces of literature that haven't entered the canon only because the majority is uninterested in their superficial content, I would be glad to. Hopefully I've helped.

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