Tehanu cover art

Tehanu

The Earthsea Cycle, Book Four

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Tehanu

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
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About this listen

Years before, they had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan - she an isolated young priestess, he a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him not by choice.

A lifetime ago they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Now they must join forces again to help another - the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny remains to be revealed.

©1990 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2016 Recorded Books Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Fiction
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Ursula Le Guin sings the song of my quite long life... Softly: living with men who feel they have lost everything when they lose their power. How they need women then, more than before and differently. It is lucky for these men that some can love through thick and thin. That is love sourced through the red dragon energy. Our sons and also, perhaps, daughters, in their full power, having not been initiated, are willing to do anything to get what is "theirs". Yes, until shadows are owned they seek to control a being.

Brilliantly captures woman living in her own skin

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As a lot of people have no doubt remarked, this installment does not fit the 'hero's journey' structure of the first three books. The journey is more subtle, and gentle.
I loved the stories of Tenar, Tehanu and Ged. These are the ones that aren't explosions and magic battles but the power of a woman, the love of a mother, the trust of a partner and the determination...
Beautiful story, and well read.

an unexpected pleasure!

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Loved the pace and focus of this book. Le Guin at her most thoughtful and kind. Learning about how to be human.

Best Earthsea yet!

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In a fantastical world of Dragons and magic this story spends much of its time washing dishes and tending onions and making clothes. Which is not what I expected. Yet the themes it deals with are nuanced and raw. I appreciate the underdog story.

Not what I expected

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I first read Tehanu when I was a teenager, and it was one of the first books I bought with my own money. Back then, I found it such a change from the heroic adventure of the earlier novels - now as an adult with children, the misogyny of the protagonists hits a lot harder. This is one if the classics, the healing of Tehanu is the necessary work for the healing of Earthsea. I think we should all hold that close when we're caring for the sick or injured.

The narrator has a perfect voice for this story - practical and kindly.

One of the classics

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