Scan barcode
snazzaro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Sexism, Rape, and Violence
bloomerism's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
"I chose to mold myself like clay to the use of a farm and a farmer and our children. I made myself a vessel. I know its shape. But not the clay. Life danced me. I know the dances. But I don’t know who the dancer is."
I want you to imagine that Ursula Le Guin is personally bashing you on the head with a comically large hammer like one would use in a game of whack-a-mole. That's how it felt to read this book. Tehanu takes all the conventions that we know from the previous 3 books in the Earthsea Cycle and turns them inside out, choosing to look at the story from a different perspective: a middle-aged Tenar, mother and widow, a woman who shunned offers of power in favor of a pastoral life that she never experienced in childhood. With her, a child who was abused and abandoned by her family.
"And so we must live on into the new age with the spoils of our victory over evil. You with your burned child, and I with nothing at all."
Tenar spends much of this book musing on the power that is deemed appropriate for men and women to hold, and the fear and shame that she often finds herself living in for no reason other than her womanhood. Meanwhile, Ged is in his washed-up loser era (see the above quote), and he's being a little baby about it. It's okay though I still love him.
This book was criticized by some for being too low-magic to be part of a fantasy series. I think those people missed the point of the book. Since the beginning, it has been clear that the power and privileges of wizardry are available to few people. This book is about the people who will never get to taste that power and privilege and sometimes bear the brunt of its misuse by the people who have it.
I'm gonna stop before I get too long-winded, but just know that while the previous three books of the Earthsea Cycle were fantastic, it's books like Tehanu that make Le Guin my favorite author. She uses vehicles of fantasy and sci-fi to explore the nooks and crannies of the human condition with a nuance that makes it fit seamlessly with the world she's created.
But even so she did not feel she understood his shame, his agony of humiliation. Perhaps only a man could feel so. A woman got used to shame.
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Rape
kfox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexism, Body shaming, Stalking, Ableism, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Miscarriage and Domestic abuse
keeves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Ableism and Child abuse
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual assault
citrine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
skienight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Child abuse
ingridaleida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Abandonment, Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, and Body shaming
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent
geekmom's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism, Rape, and Abandonment
rosieryel's review
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Rape
apollos_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
having finished the book AND supplementing it with the afterword, this is probably one of my favorite books in the series (so far). how often do authors have the courage to directly question and challenge their previous works (especially ones that made them famous in the first place)? how often do fantasy series take the time to slow down and seriously weigh the perspectives of those who are least powerful and inconsequential in their worlds? this book felt incredibly courageous, honest, and vulnerable in a way that deeply touched me. this is the kind of genius that only the greatest artists can achieve. this is a demonstration of a patient, consistent growth, discipline, and inner reflection that i'm so so happy le guin chose to share with us. this book is a unique gem that transcends the fantasy genre entirely. give this one a chance!! sit with it. take your time. read le guin's reflections on it. it's well worth it, i promise!!
Graphic: Rape and Misogyny