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  • Tehanu

  • The Earthsea Cycle, Book Four
  • Written by: Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
  • Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (37 ratings)

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Tehanu

Written by: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
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Publisher's Summary

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

What listeners say about Tehanu

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

very good story

loved it; the book is a fantastic sequel to the first three. not as "epic" in terms of might and magic, but equally as good as books two and three (the first one wasn't my favorite)

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Stick to the Original Trilogy

This book is extremely well-written. Ursula K. LeGuin is a legitimate wordsmith - not a single syllable is wasted in 'Tehanu', and her prose is unsurpassed. Descriptions are mind's-eye vivid, dialogue is powerful & philosophical, and characters are complex & fascinating.

That said, I have some problems with this book:
1.  Leguin went into the project with a fixed agenda:
As outlined in the Afterword of this audiobook, the author expressly returned to an essentially completed Fantasy series after twenty years to take down the 'Fantasy Patriarchy' paradigm. The book suffers for it. Elevating female characters is fine - and it's refreshing - but Leguin decides to politicize Earthsea by portraying the male Wizards (both Good and Evil) as misogynists.
2. The book abandons any semblance of "plot":
Instead, LeGuin focusses on the reintroduction of well-known characters Ged and Tenar (in magic-free scenarios) to develop them. Don't get me wrong.. it works. We get to know those characters much better - but nothing of any real importance happens and nothing is really resolved in 'Tehanu'.
3. The introduction of adult topics into a supposed children's series is fairly shocking:
The original Earthsea series was clearly aimed at an audience accustomed to J.R.R. Tolkien's singing dwarves and C.S. Lewis's talking animals. Discussing menstruation and intercourse is straight-up incongruous.

On the good side of the ledger, the world-building is top-notch. We get a close-up look at the more mundane aspects of the Archipelago (Farmers, Shepherds, Soldiers, Sailors, and travelling Merchants play large roles in this narrative). The Earthsea setting is enriched by this book.

I must admit I miss Rob Inglis's interpretation somewhat, but Jenny Sterlin does an impressive job reading this book. There is a noticeable throat-click due to poor sound editing, but Sterlin's voice-acting is unparalleled (a disfigured Therru sounds tortured, for example), and tone/timbre/cadence are noteworthy. Furthermore, her pacing is spot-on - driving a beautifully-written (but arguably ponderous) story relentlessly to it's conclusion. I would listen to Sterlin again any day.

Despite above-average narration, this is a moderately disappointing return to a beloved Fantasy world - a world populated with kings, dragons, witches and wizards - but intentionally steered away from those aspects. LeGuin instead focusses her book on feminist objectives, personality conflict, and the day-to-day lives of the "normal" denizens of the Earthsea Archipelago. You are justified in spending a Credit on this 4.5/10 book if you are enamored with the characters and setting (or plan on continuing the series), but you might be better served if you quit after book Three. I'm quitting here.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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different but good

very different approach than the first three books, this one focuses on character growth and more about the social structures of earth sea. I'm glad there is a book about the flaws of a fantastical land, as opposed to other epic fantasy books that don't adress how flawed the land is.
also very refreshing to see a character who for the previous three books was painted in a very pure light, exposed for also being very flawed and emotionally stunted.
a vital book for anyone looking for an elaboration of characters.

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  • JA
  • 2017-08-30

Delivers on Promise of Tenar and the Tombs

Only a misogynist or someone who heard excerpts could misread this book as feminist preaching. Round characters, beautiful sentences, and a fantastic reader, to boot!

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15 people found this helpful

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  • Hilary Hontz
  • 2016-08-03

An excellent story and a brilliant telling.

Tehanu is a critical and introspective look at female intuition and the expectations society can so often impose, knowingly or unknowingly, upon the wife, mother, sister, and daughter.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Aseretk
  • 2019-09-12

Rare and gifted narrator

I do not wish to write a review of this book, because it is a favorite of mine, told in Ursula Le Guin’s spare beautiful way. The characters are more precious to me now that I, like them, are also older. What I most want to comment on is how amazing narrator, Jenny Sterlin is as she gives voice to each character and how easy her voice tells this story. It is rare for me to love a narrator from the start, in fact if the material of a book isn’t interested a poorly chosen narrator can ruin the experience. High marks for Ms Sterlin. I hope she continues to narrate many other audio books.

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8 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Tyler
  • 2016-09-13

SJW

Loved the first three books in this series, but this book written 18 years later is a reflection of the social justice warrior/feminism that Ursula K. Leguin picked up in that time frame. She completely ruins the story and destroys the best character for politics. I do not recommend it at all. Read the first three, and forget that this one exists.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Alan
  • 2019-10-09

Beautiful but Mundane

Very well-written, and Le Guin (as always) has a knack for making rounded and believable characters. However, unlike the previous books, Tehanu is light on plot. As the author admits in the postscript, Tehanu’s focus is on the ordinary lives of ordinary people, on finding grace in the mundane.

Unfortunately, experiencing the mundane lives of ordinary people is not why most people (myself included) read fantasy novels. The stakes weren’t high enough, the fantasy element wasn’t strong enough, and the plot plodded. I gave 3/5 stars out of respect for Le Guin’s writing, but (compared to its predecessors) Tehanu was a bit of a disappointment.

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5 people found this helpful

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  • Matthew
  • 2019-08-27

Le Guin is incredible

really interesting change in perspective after the last three. this book challenges each character fundamentally, as well as the world and culture of earthsea, as well as our own world in what it shares with earthsea. it took a more difficult but ultimately rewarding path, and i have nothing but respect and awe for the author.

some developments do seem convenient or heavy-handed, but they are still effective and don't get in the way of the engaging emotional journeys of the characters - which i see as the main exploration of the book.

the performance was also fantastic.

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Reynaldo Garcia
  • 2016-12-26

Different, in a good way.

I really enjoyed this one. A far different type of tale, but just as grand in its own way. Recommend.

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  • Peter
  • 2018-05-29

Like a hot coal

Ursula le guin takes on a new perspective, that of the “powerless”- the women, children, and laymen of earthsea. This book is like a hot coal- it burns with anger, trauma, injustice, and beauty. It deserves to be studied and to be reread over and over.


The narrator did a fabulous job of harnessing tenar’s voice.


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  • Emily
  • 2017-07-31

Very Disappointed

Just a bunch of feminist preaching. Stick with the first 3 books and don't bother with this one.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Brian
  • 2019-12-11

Not like the last 3 books in the series

Unlike the last 3 books, this one doesn't have an exciting story to tell. It starts with a graphic description of a child being burned nearly to death and then focuses on the thoughts, feelings and experiences of a normal (non magical) woman in earthsea. At the end of the book, my first reaction was, "that was it?"

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3 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2023-05-16

What a discovery ! Do not fear starting from book 4

I had watched the studio Ghibli anime film “Tales of Earthsea”, while it felt uneven, I still felt a little of Miyazaki’s magic and was mostly intrigued by the tropes of nature’s healing, the wisdom of a simple life and the power of women who, as carers, are not given the male luxury of self-indulgence or even self-pity.

But this book goes far beyond mere tropes, the questions of gender and identity run deeper and remain unanswered precisely because they are too nuanced for clear definitions. The answer matters less than the question. The same way a destination is of no consequence without the journey to it.

I might not have read this book had it not been on offer freely and what a shame! Ursula K. Le Guin is so prolific I expected her books might more equivalent to A Song of Ice and Fire than the Lord of the Rings but in was wrong !

Had I started with her supposed masterpiece (ultimately judged so by men…) « A wizard of Earthsea », I might not have connected so profoundly with her work, her world and her philosophy. But « Tehanu » is my first and as a so-called middle-aged woman myself, pondering over my position in society, this book could not strike a truer chord. I can’t wait to read the following stories and I recommend this book not just to women or men but to anyone who wishes to muse over the concepts of identity, purpose and the nature of life.

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