Tehanu
Book Four
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4.4 • 177 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The Nebula and Locus Award–winning fourth novel in the renowned Earthsea series from Ursula K. LeGuin gets a beautiful new repackage.
In this fourth novel in the Earthsea series, we rejoin the young priestess the Tenar and powerful wizard Ged. Years before, they had helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Together, they shared an adventure like no other. Tenar has since embraced the simple pleasures of an ordinary life, while Ged mourns the powers lost to him through no choice of his own.
Now the two must join forces again and help another in need—the physically, emotionally scarred child whose own destiny has yet to be revealed….
With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Now the full Earthsea collection—A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind—is available with a fresh, modern look that will endear it both to loyal fans and new legions of readers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The publication of Tehanu will give lovers of LeGuin's enchanted realm of Earthsea cause for celebration. In Tehanu , LeGuin spins a bittersweet tale of Tenar and Ged, familiar characters from the classic Earthsea trilogy. Tenar, now a widow facing obscurity and loneliness, rescues a badly burned girl from her abusive parents. The girl, it turns out, will be an important power in the new age dawning on Earthsea. Ged, now broken, is learning how to live with the great loss he suffered at the end of the trilogy. Tenar's struggle to protect and nurture a defenseless child and Ged's slow recovery make painful but thrilling reading. Sharply defined characterizations give rich resonance to Tehanu 's themes of aging, feminism and child abuse as well as its emotional chords of grief and loss. Tehanu is a heartbreaking farewell to a world that is passing, and is full of tantalizing hints of the new world to come. Fans of the Earthsea trilogy will be deeply moved. Ages 12-up.
Customer Reviews
All changed…
The fourth book in the Earthsea Cycle is not like the others, and will likely be a disappointing read to those expecting more of the same. It is not a tale of freewheeling magic, and while Ged is a part of the story, he is not the hero of it. Instead, it is more focused, even than The Farthest Shore, on the brutality of humanity and, more specifically, the brutality of men. It is a rather somber meditation on what it means to be a woman in a world where power is only given to men, and it can be quite a disheartening read.
All of this being said, the poetry and mysticism of Le Guin’s writing is as polished as it has ever been, and though the ending feels somewhat rushed, it is filled with interesting characters, both lovable and loathsome.
Those who expect artists to stay stagnant and who seek only the familiar in the media they consume will likely find themselves vexed by this story. Those who appreciate change and nuance will find much to appreciate here.
Great book.
Wizard of Earthsea is still my favorite but all books in this realm have been great reads. The ending seemed a bit swift but very succinct
Utterly moving
I’m finding it increasingly difficult to articulate how and why the genius writer Ursula K. Le Guin’s work pierces my soul as I read more and more of it. There is so much hard-earned, plainspoken, painful, loving wisdom in this book. It feels like she absorbed everything that she had created in the first three Earthsea books, written decades earlier, and found a way to filter them through her own accumulated life experiences and ideas, and poured everything that she was into this new tale. It feels profoundly personal to her in a way that is just magical and utterly moving.