“After farmer Flint of the Middle Valley died, his widow stayed on at the farmhouse.” — First sentence
Synopsis from back cover: 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 pleasure 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.
Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin is the fourth book in the Earthsea Cycle series.
The first book, A Wizard of Earthsea, is about Ged. The second book, The Tombs of Atuan, is about Tenar and the third one, The Farthest Shore, introduces us to Prince Arren, who embarks on a journey with Ged to restore good to the evil that has befallen Earthsea.
In Tehanu, however, magic does not work. The story reunites Ged and Tenar. And a young girl named Therru. The widow Tenar rescues a badly burned girl after a group of people, including the girl’s abusive parents, have abandoned her for dead. She named the little girl Therru.
One day, Tenar receives news from the gravely ill Mage Ogion; together with Therru, she departs from her village to see him. Therru will apparently be an important power in Earthsea’s future. At Mage Ogion’s home, Tenar’s path crosses with Ged again. Ged, the archmage, arrives in a dramatic way—on the back of a dragon—but unconscious. He is now broken and has lost his power. He has to deal with it, and it took him a while to overcome his powerlessness and shame.
In this instalment, Tenar struggles with her loneliness after the death of her husband and her heartbreak over what happened to Therru. She nurtures her and protects her from the thugs that still come after her after all these years. Ged has to deal with what he has lost and snap out of it. In their ageing years, Ged and Tenar found and cared for each other.
You can read the first three books as standalones, but to truly appreciate the fourth, you need to have read the first three. I loved all four books, but my favourite is Tehanu because of Tenar and Ged’s relationship.
I would love to get the other two books in the series: Tales from Earthsea (Book 5) and The Other Wind (Book 6). I’ll reread this series, and I highly recommend it.
Related Posts:
A Wizard of Earthsea (Book 1 of the Earthsea Cycle series)
The Tombs of Atuan (Book 2 of the Earthsea Cycle series)
The Farthest Shore (Book 3 of the Earthsea Cycle series)
