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91. August 2020 - Tehanu (Earthsea #4) by Ursula K. Le Guin
For August, I'll be leading a discussion of the fourth book in the Earthsea cycle: Tehanu
https://goodreads.com/book/show/13661.Tehanu
(I'm on my phone right now, so copying more than the link is tough) Twenty years after writing The Farthest Shore, Le Guin returned to the world of Earthsea with a much older perspective. We'll read this book in August and discuss in early September.
Comments
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Same with me more than 20 years, though I very much enjoyed it when I read it, and when a friend asked if I'd lend her a fantasy novel, that's the one I gave her - from there she was hooked.
I will not be with you. I just can't deal with leGuin.
> I will not be with you. I just can't deal with leGuin.
You'll be missed
Yeah, only cause you are all terrible shots!
I’m still slowly reading Always Coming Home, so I won’t be joining on on this selection, either.
Le Guin's Earthsea books are very different kettles of fish to Always Coming Home. I love Earthsea. Always Coming Home I'm pretty sure I didn't actually understand, let alone come to a decision whether I liked it or not.
> Le Guin's Earthsea books are very different kettles of fish to Always Coming Home. I love Earthsea. Always Coming Home I'm pretty sure I didn't actually understand, let alone come to a decision whether I liked it or not.
Yes, agreed. I never finished ACH past the point where we halted for discussion. In retrospect, it felt like working notes for a novel she never wrote. It has to be said that Tehanu is a very different book to the three earlier EarthSea books, and from memory is a great bridge between them and the superb _The Other Wind_
I really need to reread The Other Wind. I remember finding it wonderful, but I've mostly forgotten it. Though we're likely to have a book club read of it at some point, so I might wait until then. The book of Earthsea short stories I have yet to read, for that matter.
Just started Tehanu last night and am totally enjoying the reread. Thanks for choosing it
Thanks, @RichardAbbott I remembered it being a bit of an emotionally-draining read twenty years ago, so I was somewhat reluctant to pick it. But I am enjoying the reread, particularly Le Guin's skill with language. So, I"m glad I picked it, too!
Finished it as well. I can certainly tell that le Guin was older when she wrote this one, and that her concerns had changed. Should make for some interesting discussion!
Apologies. Work and life have been very demanding recently. I think I'll need another weekend to finish rereading and prepare for the discussion. Hope to start around the 8th or so of September.
Discussion questions have been posted here.