TEHANU, A NOVEL BY URSULA K. LE GUIN (BOOK REVIEW)

 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! In this post, I'll review Tenahu, the fourth novel in the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin. Regular readers of my blog know how much I admire Ursula K. Le Guin and how fond I am of her writing, especially the Earthsea Cycle. Honestly, Le Guin does not get enough credit for her Earthsea Cycle. Before there was Hogwarts and Harry Potter, Le Guin wrote about a boy attending a  wizard school. Before there was Khaleesi in GOT, there was Khalessin in Tenahu. Yes, even George R.R. Martin might have been inspired by Le Guin. Did I mentioned that this novel has dragons? I already reviewed and recommended the first three novels in the Earthsea Cycle, now it is time to review the fourth one. The novel reintroduces Tenar as the novel's protagonist. If you remember my previous reviews, Tenar appeared in the second novel but she was absent from the third book. I was thrilled to read about her again. This fourth novel didn't disappoint. It connects quite nicely with the third one. Moreover, it is a more serious and ambitious,  if sometimes a sad novel. 

 Published in 1990,  twenty years after the third novel in the series, Tehanu takes of where the third novel ended.  The Farthest shore is for a variety of reasons often marketed and sold as the last book in the Earthsea Cycle. As I explained it my last post, it's mostly due to a two decades long publishing pause. However, I wonder if there's not something more to it. Isn't it perhaps the case that people were so used to fantasy trilogies that they immediately assumed that this is it? Fortunately, it wasn't! It is wonderful that Ursula K. Le Guin decided to do give us this novel that focused more on the vulnerable characters and defies  the stereotypes of fantasy genre. 

Now, for Tenahu Ursula herself chose the subtitle- The Last Book of the Earthsea, when the novel was published. So, is Tenahu the last book in the series? Well, actually it is not! Surprise, surprise! Ursula must have fallen in love with the world of Earthsea as much as her readers, for she continued writing about it. With this fourth novel, she challenged the first three. It would have been easy to just go with the flow and give readers more of what they wanted, but she kept reinventing herself as a writer. Every Earthsea book is profound in its own way. One can really feel the thought she put into her books. I will quote her exact words about his series a little later on, but first a few words about the photography in this post. 

In my last post, I've chosen some photographs from Croatian seaside to go along the review, because it seems to match the world of Earthsea (that is basically an archipelago) quite nicely. Today I'll share one new outfit featuring a yellow dress styled with a long blue scarf worn as a sort of an improvised pareo, some old photographs featuring that very same dress. Being sustainable in our fashion choices is easier than it might look! All you need to do is to love your clothing items and create stories with them. 

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PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES I HAVE REVIEWED HERE ON MY BLOG

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA, THE FIRST  NOVEL IN THE EARTHSEA CYCLE

THE TOMBS OF ATUAN, THE SECOND EARTHSEA NOVEL 

THE FARTHEST SHORE, THE THIRD EARTHSEA NOVEL

WHAT URSULA HERSELF HAD TO SAY ABOUT IT (CITED FROM https://www.ursulakleguin.com/the-books-of-earthsea) 

A Note from Ursula

The order of the books is:

• A Wizard of Earthsea

• The Tombs of Atuan

• The Farthest Shore

• Tehanu

• Tales from Earthsea

• The Other Wind

They run in chronological order both in this world (from 1968 to 2001) and in Earthsea. There is a jump of 17 Earth years and 20 or more Earthsea years between the first three and the second three. Some of the Tales take place before Ged and Tenar were born. The last one, “Dragonfly,” follows after Tehanu; and The Other Wind follows after “Dragonfly”; that story is an important bridge in the series as a whole.

When Tehanu was published I put a subtitle on it — "The Last Book of Earthsea." I was wrong! I was wrong!

I really thought the story was done; Tenar had finally got her second inning, and Ged and Tenar were obviously happy-ever-after, and if I didn't know exactly who or what Tehanu was, it didn't bother me.

But then it began to bother me.

And a lot of things about Earthsea were bothering me, like do wizards really have to be celibate, if witches don't? and how come no women at Roke? and who are the dragons? and where do Kargish people go when they die?

I found the answers to a lot of those questions in the stories that make the Tales from Earthsea.

So then I was able to find out who Tehanu is — and who the dragons are — in The Other Wind.

—Ursula K. Le Guin

IF EARTHSEA CYCLE ISN'T YOUR THING, WHY NOT CHECK OUT HER OTHER WORK? 

URSULA K. LE GUIN'S BOOK REVIEWS ON MY BLOG 

1. THE WORD FOR WORLD IS A FOREST  (A NOVELLA)

This novella is an absolute masterpiece! Poetically written, profoundly serious and wonderfully imaginative, The Word for World is a Forest is an exceptional book. The story Le Guin created is a incredibly tragic and sad one, but it rings absolutely true in its sadness and tragedy. 

2. THE TELLING (A NOVEL)

The Telling in the novel's title is actually a philosophy (or a religion if you will) based on Taoism. I loved Le Guin's take on Taoist inspired religion/philosophy know as 'The Telling' in the novel. It seems to me that Le Guin is well acquainted with Taoism and Buddhism, so well acquainted she is able to summon some of the complexity of Asian theologies, myths and philosophy in this novel, something I imagine is not easy to do. 

3. THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS (A NOVEL)

The Left Hand of Darkness is a brilliant novel set on a planet whose culture is quite different from our own. It questions gender identity in the most brilliant of ways. This is a novel way ahead of its time. One of the best novels I have ever read for sure!

4. THE DISPOSSESSED (A NOVEL)

 The Dispossessed is an Utopian (at times Dystopian) philosophical science fiction novel with a developed plot, charismatic protagonist and detailed world building. Focusing on social and philosophical themes, The Dispossessed is written in a non-chronological way. 

“By the time I wrote this book I needed to look at heroics from outside and underneath, from the point of view of the people who are not included. The ones who can’t do magic. The ones who don’t have shining staffs or swords. Women, kids, the poor, the old, the powerless. Unheroes, ordinary people—my people. I didn’t want to change Earthsea, but I needed to see what Earthsea looked like to us.” Ursula K. Le Guin, Tehanu

TEHANU, A NOVEL BY URSULA K. LE GUIN  5/5

Tenahu, this novel that took decades to write is only about one hundred and twenty pages long in the edition I read. This is not unusual, for the the novels in Earthsea Cycle are neither long nor wordy. The language is precise and descriptive, but the author never goes into great detail. The natural laws and the mythology of the Earthsea is more hinted on than explained. You could say that Ursula k. Le Guin choose a minimalist approach to these books. However, at the same time, her world seems very weird. She proves that you can do successful worldbuilding without going into detail. 

Like all the novels in the Earthsea Cycle, Tehanu is told by a third person unnamed narrator, but the point of view focuses  on the protagonist of the novel. Who is the protagonist in this novel? Tenar, who is now a middle age lady, living alone on the island. 

“As a child in Atuan, Tenar had learned how to learn. There seemed always to be a great deal to be learned, more than she would have believed when she was a prentice-priestess or the pupil of a mage.”

TENAR IS NOT A TYPICAL YOUNG FANTASY HEROINE ANYMORE!

At the start of the novel we get introduced to Goha, a woman who lives on Gont. Goha is actually Tenar, but she is quite different from the young lady we met in the second novel. Now only does she have a new name but also a new identity. Tenar is now a widow, her children all grown up. It seems Goha/Tenar has settled to a peaceful life, but not all is as it seems and there is a new task expecting her. Goha /Tenar lives by herself modestly as she is a widow of a simple farmer.  Her solitary life started when her husband Flint died, and her two adult children, Apple and Spark, now live on their own most of the time.  Her son is a mariner, so he is absent most of the time. We do not really get insight into Tenar's marriage and family dynamics, but it is clear that it was her decision to marry this simple farmer so there must have been some love in the picture. Still, it is probably not what any readers have expected. Afterall, Tenar was a priestess, gifted for magic, and she escaped with Ged through great hardship. Readers of fantasy would have expected her to become a queen or something of the sort, not a simple farmer. There  lies in genius of this novel. It defies expectation of fantasy genre on purpose as Ursula K. Le Guin wanted to speak for those without power- and in reality most people do not have power, especially children. Anyhow this is all an introduction, the plot really starts when Goha/Tenar is asked to helped a child that has been burned. Tenar saves her life, nursing the little girl back to health. Tenar is gentle with the child, assuring her she is beautiful and not to be blamed for what happened:

“You are beautiful," Tenar said in a different tone. "Listen to me, Therru. Come here. You have scars, ugly scars, because an ugly, evil thing was done to you. People see the scars. But they see you, too, and you aren't the scars. You aren't ugly. You aren't evil. You are Therru, and beautiful. You are Therru who can work, and walk, and run, and dance, beautifully, in a red dress.”

 As the burnt girl enters her life, and Tenar decides to adopt her, naming her Therru, meaning, a flame. The child is scared physically and emotionally and Tenar does her best to comfort Therru. The little girl's face is scarred and one of her hands is deformed: the fingers of one hand having been fused into something that resembles a claw. The psychological and emotional distress that the child endured lingers in the air. However, someone else needs Tenar's help.  An old wizard is ill and calls for Tenar, who gladly responds. The wizard in question is the mage Ogion, and he requests Tenar presence at his deathbed. Tenar travels to him with Therru (obviously she cannot leave the girl alone), and on the way the two encounter a group of troublemakers, one of whom claims to be Therru's uncle. They manage to get to the wizard, but there is a feeling of trouble in the air. 

We see that Tenar is a woman of simple means, but a big heart and a powerful mind. We can connect this with the wider topic of power. Tenar, as a poor farmer's widow has no physical,  political or economical power. However, she has the power of her hearth, her wisdom and her love. Tenar nurses the old wizard and she  stays with him in his final days. He instructs her to teach Therru everything she knows. The mage Ogion also reveals Tenar's true identity for the reader, calling her by her true name. Latter in the book, Therru's real name will be revealed as well. It is a recurring motif in the Earthsea Cycle. Someone's 'true name' is revealed only to one's they trust. 

Therru, the child that was beaten up and burned, is now in Tenar's care. Right from the start, it is clear that Therru isn't an ordinary child. There are those who still want to hurt her. Tenar finds herself in a difficult position, trying to protect the child while being just a widow of a farmer, with no power of her own besides the love she feels for this child. Will this love be enough? 

TENAR REFUSED TO LEARN MAGIC AND DECIDED TO FOLLOW HER HEART

After mage death, Tenar lingers. We learn more about Tenar and her decisions. Tenar and Therru remain at mage's cottage. They are not alone and they seem to have some help and support in other local women, mainly Moss, who is a local witch of modest power but sound advice, and Heather, who is a village girl we do not learn too much about. The witches are not nearly as powerful as mages in the Earthsea Cycle, they neither go to the school of magic nor study magic, but rather they have their own path to follow. Witches, it seems, are a mixed lot. Some are nice women trying to help with their knowledge of herbs, and some are even mean and ready to do harm with their potion. 

“The ordinary village witch, like Moss, lived on a few words of the True Speech handed down as great treasures from older witches or bought at high cost from sorcerers, and a supply of common spells of finding and mending, much meaningless ritual and mystery-making and gibberish, a solid experiential training in midwifery, bonesetting, and curing animal and human ailments, a good knowledge of herbs mixed with a mess of superstitions – all this built up on whatever native gift she might have of healing, chanting, changing, or spellcasting. Such a mixture might be a good one or a bad one. Some witches were fierce, bitter women, ready to do harm and knowing no reason not to do harm. Most were midwives and healers with a few love potions, fertility charms, and potency spells on the side, and a good deal of quiet cynicism about them. A few, having wisdom though no learning, used their gift purely for good, though they could not tell, as any prentice wizard could, the reason for what they did, and prate of the Balance and the Way of Power to justify their action or abstention. ‘I follow my heart,’ one of these women had said to Tenar when she was Ogion’s ward and pupil. ‘Lord Ogion is a great mage. He does you great honour, teaching you. But look and see, child, if all he’s taught you isn’t finally to follow your heart.

As we continue the novel, we find out that Tenar refused to learn magic from the old mage, even though she had the opportunity- and we can assume the skill. Why did she do this? Why did she refuse the knowledge? Why did she opt to be just a simple farmer's wife- she who could have commanded great respect? It is an interesting question. 

Tenar perhaps wanted to make her own choices. She did. However, what does it even mean? Tenar is aware of the fact that she still does not know herself. 

“You seemed, in your power, as free as man can be. But at what cost? What made you free? And I... I was made, moulded like clay, by the will of the women serving the Old Powers, or serving the men who made all services and ways and places, I no longer know which. Then I went free, with you, for a moment, and with Ogion. But it was not my freedom. Only it gave me a choice; and I chose. I chose to mould 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.”

From the second book in the series, we learned that Tenar's life and family was taken away from her. Maybe Tenar wanted to create her own family. What about her friendship with Ged? They escaped the darkness together, will they need to do it again?

Well, yes, both Ged and the young prince (now king) from the previous novel are a part of this story. However, to avoid spoilers, I won't tell you exactly what happens. I will tell you that they do meet again and it is on the mage's farm. 

To Tenar's great surprise, Ged flies in on the back of the dragon Kalessin. However, our Sparrowhawk isn't well. In fact, saying he is almost dead would be correct. Why is Ged in such a bad state? Well, he had something to sort out, a problem to solve. Ged spent all his wizardly powers and much of his own life energy it seems in sealing the dangerous gap between worlds created by unnatural 'black magic'. Basically, he had to close the gap between the worlds of the living and the dead. This brings Ged to the point of death. Fortunately, Tenar is there to nurse him to health and bring him back to life, just like she did with Therru. 

THE RENUNION OF GED AND TENAR IS VERY TOUCHING!

I was very happy to read about the renionun of these two friends. They saved each other lives in the second novel, and somehow I assumed they will live happily ever after, as friends or more. However, life has separated them it seems. Now, they meet again and Tenar immediately recognizes Ged, saying his use-name. 

“But I know him, Moss. It’s Sparrowhawk.” Saying the name, Ged’s use-name, released a tenderness in her, so that for the first time she thought and felt that this was he indeed, and that all the years since she had first seen him were their bond. She saw a light like a star in darkness, underground, long ago, and his face in the light.”

Something is broken in Ged, because he refuses to see the king. When the king Lebannen sends envoys to bring Ged back to Havnor for the coronation, we learn that Ged cannot meet them.  Tenar respects Ged's decision. She speaks on his behalf when she tells the king's men that she cannot tell them where Ged is, and so the king's men leave. The young king is another interesting character in this novel. 

WHEN TENAR MEETS THE YOUNG KING, SHE IS MOVED BY HIS WISDOM BECAUSE SHE KNOWS THE PRICE HE HAD TO PAY FOR IT

“He was so intense, so serious, armored in the formality of his rank and yet vulnerable in his honesty, the purity of his will. Her heart yearned to him. He thought he had learned pain, but he would learn it again and again, all his life, and forget none of it.”

WHILE NOT GRAPHIC, THIS IS NOT A NOVEL FOR CHILDREN!

There are no graphic description of violence in this novel, but there is talk of abuse, assault and so on. Brief as it is, this is not a novel for children. It's quite dark and bleak at times. While the dark is always balanced with light in Earthsea Cycle,  even without the dark parts, this novel is a bit too philosophical for an average child.

“What is a woman's power then?" she asked.
"I don't think we know."
"When has a woman power because she's a woman? With her children, I suppose. For a while..."
"In her house, maybe."
She looked around the kitchen. "But the doors are shut," she said, "the doors are locked."
"Because you're valuable."
"Oh yes. We're precious. So long as we're powerless.”

LIKE THE OTHER NOVELS IN THE SERIES, THIS NOVEL IS WONDERFULLY PHILOSOPHICAL!

“Like most people, Tiff believed that you are what happens to you. The rich and strong must have virtue; one to whom evil has been done must be bad, and may rightly be punished.”

TENAR IS SUCH A STRONG CHARACTER! I LOVED READING HER THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WOMAN!

“Why are men afraid of women?"

"If your strength is only the other's weakness, you live in fear," Ged said.

"Yes; but women seem to fear their own strength, to be afraid of themselves."

"Are they ever taught to trust themselves?" Ged asked, and as he spoke Therru came in on her work again. His eyes and Tenar's met.

"No," she said. "Trust is not what we're taught." She watched the child stack the wood in the box. "If power were trust," she said. "I like that word. If it weren't all these arrangements - one above the other - kings and masters and mages and owners - It all seems so unnecessary. Real power, real freedom, would lie in trust, not force."

"As children trust their parents," he said.”

TENAR FINDS HERSELF IN MORTAL DANGER

The plot mostly revolves around Tenar and her attempts to fight the evil that is threatening not just the child, but also herself. As wonderfully philosophical as the novel is, there're also things happening. The Earthsea books are not the most eventful books with complex subplots to follow, but there's always a solid story adventure to follow. 

“A thief and worse', you say, but slander's cheap, and a woman's tongue worse than any thief. You come up here to make bad blood among the field hands, casting calumny and lies, the dragonseed every witch sows behind her. Did you think I did not know you for a witch? When I saw that foul imp that clings to you, do you think I did not know how it was begotten, and for what purposes? The man did well who tried to destroy that creature, but the job should be completed. You defied me once, across the body of the old wizard, and I forbore to punish you then, for his sake and in the presence of others. But now you've come too far, and I warn you, woman! I will not have you set foot on this domain. And if you cross my will or dare so much as to speak to me again, I will have you driven from Re Albi, and off the Overfell, with the dogs at your heels. Have you understood me?"

"No," Tenar said. "I have never understood men like you.”

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN

“The best I can say, it's like this. A man's in his skin, see, like a nut in its shell ... It's hard and strong, that shell, and it's all full of him. Full of grand man-meat, man-self. And that's all. That's all there is.

A woman's a different thing entirely. Who knows where a woman begins and ends? Listen mistress, I have roots, I have roots deeper than this island. Deeper than the sea, older than the raising of the lands. I go back into the dark ... I go back into the dark! Before the moon I am, what a woman is, a woman of power, a woman's power, deeper than the roots of trees, deeper than the roots of islands, older than the Making, older than the moon. Who dares ask questions of the dark? Who'll ask the dark its name?”

TEHANU, A NOVEL BY URSULA K. LE GUIN

THE POWER OF A WOMAN RUNS DEEP

“Ours is only a little power, seems like, next to theirs," Moss said. "But it goes down deep. It's all roots. It's like an old blackberry thicket. And a wizard's power's like a fir tree, maybe, great and tall and grand, but it'll blow right down in a storm. Nothing kills a blackberry bramble.”

“She thought about how it was to have been a woman in the prime of life, with children and a man, and then to lose all that, becoming old and a widow, powerless. 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.”

To conclude, this is a fantastic novel filled with deep messages. Ursula K. Le Guin chooses a middle aged lady to be the heroine protagonist, and I was all for it. I loved reading and getting to know the two protagonists: now mature woman and man, Tenar and Ged. A bit bleak at times, the novel ends on a positive note. I can't wait to read the next novel in the series!

Thank you for reading and visiting!