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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
What a surprise this book was, in more ways than one. Yet again, Tenar, who is now called Goha, is the narrator, and Ged comes into the book late. As much as I didn't like the sheltered, young Tenar in The Tombs of Atuan, I felt comfortable and enjoyed reading from her older, wiser perspective. It also answered some of my lingering questions about her and Ged's connection. There is a new character introduced in this book called, Therru, who is Tenar's adopted daughter and a survivor of severe burns, among other things. She was interesting to read about, and was kind of an enigma for most of the book.
Even though this book was not an adventure-style story like The Wizard of Earthsea and The Farthest Shore, I never got bored. The dynamics between the characters shift so much that it keeps it quite interesting. Another facet of this story that kept me intrigued was the examination of the power of men versus the power of women. I found myself wondering if the events going on in the real world inspired Le Guin to delve into this subject, or if it just arose out of the story that dealt with two strong female characters. Whatever the reason for its presence, I thought that the concept of acknowledging a woman's power without forcing it to resemble a man's power was very good; the added level of a person's magic reflecting their power, be it a woman's power or a man's power, made it a little more easy to comprehend, I think. I especially liked this part of Ged and Tenar's discourse on the issue:
“If women had power, what would men be but women who can't bear children? And what would women be but men who can?"
"Hah!" went Tenar; and presently, with some cunning, she said, "Haven't there been queens? Weren't they women of power?"
"A queen's only a she-king," said Ged.
She snorted.
"I mean, men give her power. They let her use their power. But it isn't hers, is it? It isn't because she's a woman that she's powerful, but despite it.”
It made me start to look at the world a little differently. And that's what great books should always do. :-)
Even though this book was not an adventure-style story like The Wizard of Earthsea and The Farthest Shore, I never got bored. The dynamics between the characters shift so much that it keeps it quite interesting. Another facet of this story that kept me intrigued was the examination of the power of men versus the power of women. I found myself wondering if the events going on in the real world inspired Le Guin to delve into this subject, or if it just arose out of the story that dealt with two strong female characters. Whatever the reason for its presence, I thought that the concept of acknowledging a woman's power without forcing it to resemble a man's power was very good; the added level of a person's magic reflecting their power, be it a woman's power or a man's power, made it a little more easy to comprehend, I think. I especially liked this part of Ged and Tenar's discourse on the issue:
“If women had power, what would men be but women who can't bear children? And what would women be but men who can?"
"Hah!" went Tenar; and presently, with some cunning, she said, "Haven't there been queens? Weren't they women of power?"
"A queen's only a she-king," said Ged.
She snorted.
"I mean, men give her power. They let her use their power. But it isn't hers, is it? It isn't because she's a woman that she's powerful, but despite it.”
It made me start to look at the world a little differently. And that's what great books should always do. :-)
Le Guin said in her author's note at the end of A Wizard of Earthsea that she didn't give women much to do in that book because she didn't think fantasy readers were ready to read about women yet. I guess she changed her mind before this one, and I'm extremely glad, because DAMN. So much truth gets dropped in this book, you have no idea. As is true for all the books in this series, if you are waiting around for sword-swinging, adrenaline-pumping adventure, you will wait in vain, but that was and is A-OK with me. One of the most grown-up books I've ever read, and I mean that 100% as a compliment.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The fact that this is listed as YA is actually bewildering to me. I think that if you could call any of the Earthsea books YA it would definitely not be only this one.
A return to Tenar and "normal" life in Earthsea. Which does make it richer, its not all dragons and magic and ancient wisdom for this one. We finally get to see what life is like for non-Wizard folks and see that it has many of the same paternalistic structures and behaviors of our own world.
Though I liked this normalization, and the fact that we finally get to see Ged as just a man instead of a mythic all powerful figure, I did find this book in particular to be a bit pedantic. While Tenar is extraordinarily intelligent and empathic, it just didn't see realistic to have as many long meandering conversations on the nature of power, magic, psychology, and differences between men and women when there are farms and flocks to take care of.
Though I liked this normalization, and the fact that we finally get to see Ged as just a man instead of a mythic all powerful figure, I did find this book in particular to be a bit pedantic. While Tenar is extraordinarily intelligent and empathic, it just didn't see realistic to have as many long meandering conversations on the nature of power, magic, psychology, and differences between men and women when there are farms and flocks to take care of.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
This was the most "story" of the series so far, with "story" being all the attributes that put together a satisfying tale of interesting events in a nurturing - for the story - setting and enticing characters.
I loved the idea of revising characters already known through other novels and finding them changed with time, finding them in a very different stage of life than we were used to, and seeing them develop and grow even in old age.
I loved the idea of revising characters already known through other novels and finding them changed with time, finding them in a very different stage of life than we were used to, and seeing them develop and grow even in old age.
Tehanu is a much different book than its predecessor. There's no epic quest here - there's barely a plot at all by the standards of fantasy. Where "The Farthest Shore" was an epic quest and a coming of age story, "Tehanu" is a more mundane story about ordinary people dealing with age and the impositions of powerful people on their lives. It's a more heartfelt book than the third installment, more personal and real. Tenar is a strong enough character to carry the book on her shoulders despite a lack of much action or movement. We see much less of the world of Earthsea, but much more of the daily life of the regular people, and it lends an authenticity to the place that the quest-format books don't have time to build.
I was a little surprised to realize that despite being unconventional by genre standards, this slow, contemplative book is easily my favorite in the series.
I was a little surprised to realize that despite being unconventional by genre standards, this slow, contemplative book is easily my favorite in the series.
Oh, that thing broke my heart into so many beautiful pieces.
"There was nothing she could do, but there was always the next thing to be done."
This is what fantasy could be--or should be, anyway. What it is at its best, anyway--not about dragons and magic, not really, but just about people. And unlike the rest of the series, which follows the usual fantasy genre trends of having almost exclusively male characters in a male-dominated world, this book focuses on a middle-aged woman and a scarred, abused child. What follows is a thoughtful meditation on gender, power, grief, and our own responsibility to do the next thing, to do the right thing.