A Wizard of Earthsea

Such a clean, simple, appealing young adult fantasy novel. It's a bit thin by modern standards, a bit simple, but that just makes it more of a pleasure. I was greatly moved by Le Guin's afterword explaining that she didn't want to write the book but there basically was no young adult fantasy, so she decided to give it a try. (And get paid!) Her formula was "what was Gandalf like as a young student?" and that seemed to have worked out well.

The book feels a bit dated now in some was, but I think also good enough to stand out as a document of its time.

Update re-read this a few years later and appreciated it a lot more the second time. It's just so nicely written. And so humanistic. Also LeGuin's prose really sparkles. The simplicity I complained about the first time seems like a virtue this second time.