A review by nigellicus
Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

adventurous emotional mysterious tense

5.0

'Weak as womens' magic' was a flaw in Earthsea, right there in the first pages, and in light of that flaw, what was seen as balance was merely status quo. Tehanu seeks to address that flaw, with Tenar living the life of an ordinary woman, a farmer's widow, a murder, a carer for a damaged little girl, friend of a dying wizard, nurse to an Archmage stripped of his power, dogged by the malignant hatred of men, even, in the end, heartbreakingly subject to the internalised misogyny and entitlement of her own son. So what is the change that has come to Earthsea, and where is the power of women?