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snazzaro's review
- 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
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Rape, and Violence
bloomerism's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- 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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Rape
kfox's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I just love this book. I honestly don't think I have words in my vocabulary to describe how much. I need to learn more languages to express how much my soul sings with every re-read.
Content Warnings
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
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
the scream i scrumpt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Ableism and Child abuse
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual assault
citrine's review
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
skienight's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Child abuse
ingridaleida's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
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
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism, Rape, and Abandonment
rosieryel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
got much darker than i expected but so good - i loved getting to see how tenar has changed as a character and in her relationship with ged although i won’t lie i really didn’t like that it became romantic/sexual :( i’m a little stuck on the fact that they met when she was 15 and he was an adult and even that aside i always liked their weird platonic/familial/mentoring combination bond. that’s my singular gripe with this book so good otherwise the characters conveyed the themes so well the writing was beautiful as always
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Rape
apollos_books's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
you really REALLY need to read le guin's "afterword" for this one. initially, i was disappointed in this book - it is not a flashy, magical adventure like the first 3 books. quite the opposite: this book takes place in mostly domestic settings and revolves around ordinary life and problems. the main characters, Tenar and Therru, are an old widow and a child, rather than the great mages, dragons, and other mystical beings we met in prior books. i thought there were interesting (if not obscure) mediations on gender and power, but that overall the book was quite slow and i wasn't sure what purpose it served in the Earthsea cycle.
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!!
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!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Misogyny