A Wizard of Earthsea

Wonderful descriptions and fascination with magic. Dragged on a little towards the end, more so than The Left Hand of Darkness in the glacier phase, because most of the introspections felt like abstract magical ideology rather than conversational or scientific observations. Ursula claims it was ripped off by JK Rowling in Harry Potter, but I didn't see a huge parallel myself.

What I love about this book is the strong metaphor for confronting the shadows of one's self. I furthermore loved the premise of the incantation language, where knowing the "true" name of a thing grants you power over it, and names can be learned by a process of attunement. For example, fishing in the same region of the sea might lead you to learn the names of local winds or waves, allowing you to push your boat and summon the fish.

The magical language also carries the powerful message that naming something allows you to speak it into a corporeal existence in which you can deal with in; Speaking shame is the cure for shame, and You have to articulate something before you can deal with it. It also reminds me of the flavour of joy when someone (be it a writer or someone spitting fire after a few beers) articulates something you've known your whole life, but just never had the words for.