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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Although I could have seen a world where the original trilogy stayed as a trilogy and Tehanu was never written, I'm glad it was. You see a maturity in writing, a deeper meaning behind Le Guin's stories in Tehanu that wasn't quite there in the first three installments of the cycle. Even though all books in the cycle still read pretty YA, they are all a joy to get lost in.
Ursula Le Guin once wrote that the first three Earthsea books were about "what men did". Tehanu is about what women do in the world of Earthsea. Depressingly, it is largely the same as what women do in the real world: they are wives, mothers, and daughters; useful as the bearers of children and the keepers of houses, but nothing more. But Le Guin finds a strength in this. Here, men are defined by their power, but also constrained by that power; and what happens when that power wanes? Women carry on, finding a strange kind of freedom in the roles prescribed to them by men. And Le Guin hints at changes to come, at a shift in the gender relations of Earthsea.
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
It's almost like this book was written by an entirely different person than the Le Guin who wrote the first 3 Earthsea novels. The long gap in time must have changed her quite a lot. The writing style in the first was simple but powerful and effective. Here it is just simple, as if written for young children. The themes and issues dealt with have changed from the complexities and ambiguities of power, life and death, wisdom and action, to heavy-handed moralizing. It was very disappointing.
Wow. Wow wow wow. This book is incredible. I feel seen by the author in a way that I haven’t encountered in fantasy before. It was very brave, and very needed of Le Guin to take her series in this direction. The struggles and thoughts of Tenar as she goes about living her life, now a widow, struck me mentally and emotionally over and over again. Some parts are just hard to read because you can palpably feel the quiet injustice of them. I should probably write and essay about this book or something. I love it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
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
Is this the crowning achievement of the Earthsea series? Quite possibly. Tehanu is at once a mournfully sad yet ultimately hopeful tale about ageing and womanhood (in particular) whilst also being a quiet undermining of the original Earthsea trilogy. The story picks up with Tenar from two books prior and continuing Ged’s story post-The Farthest Shore. Two legendary heroes now older and pass their prime; Tenar a widow and realising societal set gender norms have now made her obsolete and Ged no longer the archmage and powerless. In between them, a scarred burned traumatised girl named Therru where over the course of the book, the three of them find hope again - I love a found family story, after all. It’s a long and very trying road to get there though. This is a much darker novel than the first three, less of the high fantasy adventuring whilst tackling some heady themes and narratives points. For such a short book, it’s dense and impactful. Le Guin’s prose is so direct and beautiful. Almost 20 years of development separates this and her original Earthsea books and the maturity of the writing is apparent. The way she kneads in her philosophy and now focus on being an older woman is perfect. Just based on the first three books alone, she’s one of my favourite authors, but with Tehanu she earns her place as one of the best.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury