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The first book-length treatment of Le Guin's feminism, this text offers a career-spanning look at her engagement with modern gender theory and practice. During the 1970s, Le Guin experienced a paradigm shift to feminism, a change which had profound effects on her work. This critical examination explores the masculinist nature of her early writing and how her work changed both thematically and aesthetically as a result of her newfound feminism. Of particular interest is her later phase, wherein Le Guin transitions to a more inclusive post-feminism, privileging unity and balance over separatism. A vital addition to Le Guin criticism. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Before //Avatar// came ...
The seminal human-exploiters-against-subtle-and-seductive-natives work, //The Word for World is Forest//showcases LeGuin's poetic and evocative language in one of the classical works of science fiction. Obviously contributing to a plethora of emulation, from the heavy-handed political exaggerations of //Full Metal Jacket// to the lovable fruit bat and faeries of //Fern Gully//, this is still, 38 years after its first publication, an elegance ranking with//Animal Farm// for significance of message.

In this one of LeGuin's universes, mankind is a genus, not just a species, not just from Earth. Indeed, Earth humans have been determined, as have all the other hominid occurrences throughout space, to have originated with the hairy and vaguely apelike Hainish, now economically, technologically, and socially far ahead of our world, which is become a devastated desert from lack of forethought.

On this forest world, sapients with silky green fur live a quietude of alternating mental states. Closely enough related to us to be subject to rape, they must violate their peaceful ways to meet potential species destruction with death and overwhelming resistance.

This volume belongs in any serious adult's library and in young minds.

Reviewed by David Sutton

Sci-fi as it should be - thought provoking and meaningful
In all honesty, the basic premise of this novella is the one I've read/seen many times before both in fiction (the latest version is James Cameron's "Avatar") and reality.

A group of evil and greedy Terrans is in a process of colonizing a new planet - Athshe. What it means, as you can guess, is that Terrans destroy Athshe's ecosystem by cutting down the planet's forests and sending wood to their mother planet Earth (which by this time is nothing but a barren desert) and enslave and abuse the native people who they consider to be imbecilic animals but choose to rape their females anyway. What's more is that through their heinous actions, Terrans affect the psyche of the whole planet's population, forcing the people to react to the invaders' atrocities in a way that is foreign to their inherently non-violent nature.

But of course, Ursula K. Le Guin, a great writer that she is, creates a completely unique and meaningful tale using this age-old story. As always, her world-building is impeccable. I am always amazed at how imaginative Le Guin is - there is no stone unturned, she creates an entirely original system of culture, social order, ecology, physiology, language, and thought process. The result is a remarkable work of science fiction firmly grounded in brutal reality of our past and present.

Impressive. A sci-fi must-read.
At times charming and at other times quite disturbing, Le Guin's tale of a planet being razed for wood to be shipped back to earth and the revolt of the native inhabitants is completely compelling. The Anthsheans are short, green, humanoid creatures who have mastered the art of dreaming and live in peacefulness with each other. By contrast, Captain Davidson, a Terran human, is a total ass. It takes a lot of talent for someone as evolved as Le Guin to write from the point of view of such a disgusting character. I never thought I'd find myself rooting against humans and for aliens, but in this book, one has to. It takes just as much imagination to write from the point of view of Selver, the Anthshean who leads the revolt and saves his world. I am incredibly impressed by this book and enjoyed reading it very much, as I have all of Le Guin's work I've read so far.

Excellent, classic SF
Tor recently re-released the Hugo winner The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guinin a lovely paperback edition, so I thought it finally was time to check out this famous short novel, originally published in the seventies.

The novel is part of Le Guin's famous HAINISH CYCLE (see also, among others, The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed) but can be read completely separately, although being familiar with the larger story will give you a better understanding of the broader context and some of the technologies, such as NAFAL and the famous ansible. Earth-based humans have established a logging colony on the world of New Tahiti and are actively exploiting the pristine world and the indigenous humanoid population, called "creechies" by their human slave-masters but originally called Athsheans. They are a mystical and peaceful-seeming species that lives in harmony with its forest-covered world and practices lucid dreaming, but when the vastly outnumbered humans push them too far, a surprisingly strong and occasionally brutal resistance begins...

Ursula K. Le Guin packs a lot of depth into this short, elegant novel. The contrast between the two opposing world views couldn't be more clear, but there are also nuances within each culture, most noticeably on the human side with some characters that are more aware of the Athsheans' cultural identity, and others who treat them as little more than animals or slaves. Selver, the Athshean protagonist, is a complex, fascinating character who I'd love to have seen in a longer novel. By contrast, the human Davidson is so predictable and flat that he barely rises above the level of a caricature; other human characters luckily show more complexity.

Much has been made of the parallels that can be drawn between the James Cameron movie Avatar and this novel, and it's true that there are some notable plot similarities -- which may also explain the timing of this re-release. It's probably no coincidence that humans are on New Tahiti to gather wood (now Unobtain-, sorry, unavailable on Earth). On the other hand, the whole Noble Savage theme and stories of cruelty by colonizers to indigenous people were really nothing new even in the Seventies. Still, The Word for World is Forest is maybe the most famous example of this type of Romantic Primitivism in science fiction, so it's easy to see why there were comparisons with Avatar.

Thematically, The World for World is Forest is a child of its time. Just compare the treatment and place of women in the Athshean and human cultures for Ursula K. Le Guin's subtle feminist message. The colonization/oppressor theme was also highly relevant for the period. In case you're not familiar with the HAINISH CYCLE, there are layers upon layers of colonization in The Word for World is Forest, because in the overall history of this SF universe, the inhabitants of the planet Hain originally colonized many planets hundreds of thousands of years ago, including the planet Earth, and it's indicated that the Athsheans themselves may be derived from this original stock, too. Who is a colonizer, who is an oppressor, and who has the right to tell whom what to do, are all questions that come up again and again, but have no easy answers in this novel. These are themes that have been done many times, but rarely so succinctly and elegantly.

If you're not familiar with Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction yet, The Word for World is Forest is probably not the ideal place to start, but on the other hand, its relatively short length makes it a good opportunity to get your feet wet and try one of the genre's most talented authors. This subtle, short novel is deceptively simple, but sure to keep you pondering it long after you've turned the final page

Still relevant
In the far future on the pristine world of New Tahiti is a wilderness Eden that Captain Davidson and other earthlings want to exploit for profit.He has already begun cutting down the trees.If it means the primitives die so be it as collateral damage often occurs when yumans conquer Mother Nature.

The native Athsheans are horrified over being massacred and enslaved.However, the vilest crime by the off-worlders is destroying the forest as their Word for World is Forest.Fearful of this new powerful God who is brutal on their former forest deity and on them, the Athsheans know there is little they can do but obey as violence is not in their make-up although Selver tries to lead an insurgency, which only further threatens his people's way of life.

This book was published over thirty years ago; long before Avatar.The story line is fast-paced while using a science fiction base to make a case that the "White Man's Burden" left Africa ruined and places like Tahiti devastated.Still relevant after all these decades, readers will appreciate Ursula Le Guin's classic novella of bloodthirsty avaricious outsiders destroying a peaceful Eden for profit.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I searched a long time before I found writing about Le Guin
This is a wonderful book to read if you enjoy Le Guin's fiction.It's useful to readers and academics alike because Cummins has split the book into four sections that study the settings for Le Guin's stories.There is a section for the Hainish Universe, another for her works set on the future-West Coast of America, one for the Earthsea books and so on and so forth.

Reading a book structured like this is a delight because Cummins has tied in themes and concerns of Le Guin's work with her fictional settings.It reads like a detailed and complex unofficial Ursula Le Guin handbook, with many references to the tao te ching and other philosophical pre-occupations, but is easy to read and simply ~*fascinating*~. ... Read more

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"In The Telling...Le Guin combines the gifts of a pure storyteller at the height of her powers with a wise and passionate heart and the disciplined, ceaselessly questioning mind of a true philosopher." (Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn)

From award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a highly anticipated addition to her acclaimed Hainish cycle, "a social anthropology of the future, fascinating and utterly believable." (Peter S. Beagle) Once a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. But an official observer from Earth named Sutty has learned of a group of outcasts who live in the wilderness. They still believe in the ancient ways and still practice its lost religion-the Telling. Intrigued by their beliefs, Sutty joins them on a sacred pilgrimage into the mountains...and into the dangerous terrain of her own heart, mind, and soul.

"Spellbinding." (The Denver Post)

"Sings true in every line...simple and profound." (Los Angeles Times)

"The Telling will make you anticipate tomorrow a bit differently than you did yesterday."(Denver Rocky Mountain News)

"Powerfully moving...This is humanist SF at its best, Le Guin in top form." (Faren Miller, Locus)Amazon.com Review
Earthling Sutty has been living a solitary, well-protected life in Dovza City on the planet Aka as an official Observer for the interstellar Ekumen. Insisting on all citizens being pure "producer-consumers," the tightly controlled capitalist government of Aka--the Corporation--is systematically destroying all vestiges of the ancient ways: "The Time of Cleansing" is the chilling term used to describe this era. Books are burned, the old language and calligraphy are outlawed, and those caught trying to keep any part of the past alive are punished and then reeducated. Frustrated in her attempts to study the linguistics and literature of Aka's cultural past, Sutty is sent upriver to the backwoods town of Okzat-Ozkat. Here she is slowly charmed by the old-world mountain people, whose still waters, she gradually realizes, run very deep. But whether their ways constitute a religion, ancient traditions, philosophy, or passive, political resistance, Sutty is not sure. Delving ever deeper into her hosts' culture, Sutty finds herself on a parallel spiritual quest, as well.

With quiet linguistic humor (Dovza citizens are passionate about their hot bitter beverage, akakafi--the ubiquitous Corporation brand is called Starbrew), dark references to the dangers of restricted cultural, political, and social freedom, and beautifully visualized worlds, award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin pens her latest in the Hainish cycle, which includes The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. Le Guin explores her characters and societies with such care, such thoughtfulness, her novels call out for slow, deep attention. --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

Saying exactly as she means
This is a beautiful book.

It will reward anyone able to give it just what it exemplifies and asks: a noticing attention.

If you have gone to live among other cultures, you will find this is an exact, humanly realistic account of what it can be like.

It has so many gentle, quiet ways of inviting and respectfully conversing with your perception, that you will see wherever you are in a better way.

I think you will see as in home; that's what her books have often done for me.

Answered in gratitude. Thank you, Ursula.

Regards.

Le Guin's lyrical depiction of an "incoherent, fragmented" society
Like many of Le Guin's novels, "The Telling" begins in media res; for readers unfamiliar with the various Hainish books (or who, like me, might need a refresher course), the opening chapter is a little confusing. Sutty, a newly trained Observer for the Ekumen (a far-flung league of worlds) has fled Earth in the midst of a purge by religious fundamentalists who seek to destroy all non-scriptural texts. Her first assignment is Aka, a planet rich in culture that has been newly absorbed into the league. By the time she arrives, delayed by several decades of relativistic travel, Sutty finds herself stuck in a nightmarish mirror image of her home planet. The newly ascendant corporatist government, with its headquarters in Dovza City, has oppressively banned its "primitive" traditions--its books, its music, its poetry. The new god is technology.

With the help of her supervisor, Sutty is assigned to Okzat-Ozkat, a region known for harboring cultural throwbacks suspected of (and often apprehended for) having preserved some of the old traditions. So we've never really left planet Earth: Okzat-Ozkat plays Tibet to Dovza City's Beijing.

The story that frames "The Telling" is interesting enough. And Sutty is one of Le Guin's most soulful--if perpetually insecure--characters. The cruel irony, however, is that the inhabitants of Okzat-Ozkat, including the maz (the magi-like carriers of the old traditions) are almost indistinguishable from each other; their individuality has been mystifyingly erased by Le Guin almost as thoroughly as by the Corporation of Dovzan. And the remaining cast, including Sutty's boss and the menacing Monitor, are hardly more than cardboard props in this parable.

But the novel's biggest failing is its depiction of Aka's intriguing, lost civilization. One problem is that Le Guin leads her readers along; we expect more behind the mystery then there really is. In one scene, there's a perplexing hint of supernatural magic that is summarily discarded, and the novel's "mystery" ends up being nothing more than one would expect in a country where books have been banned. In addition, for almost a quarter of the novel, we read, omnisciently and lyrically abridged, the fieldnotes and speculations Sutty has been amassing into her portable "noter." She describes a world where "books, tellings, anything" are proscribed and what remains is a "system [that] was incoherent, fragmented." The risk in describing an "incoherent, fragmented" society, of course, is that the resulting draft might reflect all too well the structure it depicts, and--I'm afraid--the mirror Le Guin holds up to Aka (but really, to our world) is often fogged by the mumbo-jumbo of her amateur anthropologist's random ramblings.

If it all sounds like "Fahrenheit 451" retold through the prism of the Tao Te Ching--well, it is. That's part of the problem: what's interesting about "The Telling" is derivative; what's unique about it is not quite polished; what's left is just the familiar beauty of Le Guin's language. That's almost enough for her fans, but if the bulk of this book were only as finely tuned as its opening pages and the closing chapters, then I think we'd have another masterpiece on par with "The Dispossessed" and "The Left Hand of Darkness." Instead, for all its poetry and wordplay and allegory, "The Telling" remains one of the lesser of the many fictional landscapes in the Hainish cycle.

an exploration of censorship and oppression
The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin is a lovely little science fiction novel. Sutty (born in India and raised in Canada) decides to become a researcher and leave the Earth of her time, which is in tumult from terrorist attacks from religious fanatics. She is sent to the world of Aka, where the new regime has systematically been destroying all traces of its original culture, history, tradition, and literature. But Sutty gets the opportunity to travel to a backwards mountainous region of Aka, and there she encounters the Telling, an oral tradition of the past...a deep and intelligent short science fiction novel that I really enjoyed.

This is science fiction, but it is not space opera and it is not filled with action and adventure. Rather, it explores issues such as religious fantacism, oppression, and censorship through the lenses of history and the "soft' science of anthropology.

I'm Not Sure What To Think
Ursula K. LeGuin is my favorite author, but I have to admit that this book dissapointed me just a little bit. I like books whose lessons I have to work for, so in that sense I was very pleased, yet it seemed all too laborsome to read through only to arrive at a breezy conclusion that, to me, constituted no more than a giant question mark. There's so much development towards the inevitable ending, but not much matter to tie it all together with. This is not to say, however, that I do not appreciate The Telling, just that I'd call it a guide into ones own thoughts before I'd call it a novel, which is perfectly fine if you consider the value of the insights which, after reading, one can gain.

I am SHOCKED at the bad reviews.
This is an outstanding book, and it brings up very real and very important issues. I think that this is one of Ursula K. LeGuin's best books and the Sutty/Pao love story is very touching...I cried.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Some good stories
Some really good stories and some rather confusing stories.If you're a James Tiptree, Jr. fan, of course, you must read.

Solid collection -- with 1 all-time CLASSIC!
This is as solid as NE Tiptree collection, but worth it all 4 "A Momentary Taste of Being," 1 of THE most devastating SF stories U'll ever read. Impossible 2 Dscribe, it takes 70 pages, but U'll B knocked out. Should've won an award, Cms 2 B completely overlooked, even by Tiptree's fans -- would make a great movie: the enormity & the Dspair, as U discover what Man's Ultimate Goal really is. Vivid, riveting, totally involving. A tough read, but what an impact! "Her Smoke Rose Up Forever" is pretty powerful, 2. Tiptree's suicide was a big loss 2 the SF field. I also recommend her novel BRIGHTNESS FALLS FROM THE AIR, & many of the stories in her earlier collection, WARM WORLDS AND OTHERWISE. ... Read more

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With the aid of her magic wooden horse, a brave girl travels to the High House in the mountains to rescue her kidnapped brother from the trolls. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Truly Delightful Story of Family Love
I bought this book, knowing nothing about it, but was intrigued by the red wooden horse on the cover.The illustrations in this book are a smorgasbord to the eyes. The loving faces of the family members mirror tender love and concern for one another. The little sister has knit a scarf for her brother, but he has been taken by the trolls. Her father was injured by the trolls and returned home unable to save he son.
She realizes that there is no one else, other than herself, who can attempt to save her brother. Her mother has a new baby and must stay to take care of it, and her father has been too traumatized and injured to search for the boy.
She takes her knitting needles (carved by her father), and a ball of yarn, some bread (made by her mother), and her red toy horse (also carved by her father) and she goes out to the dark forest to search for her brother. She is afraid, but with these gifts from her family she feels strong and the little horse makes her brave.
Just when she needs help the most (the troll on the bridge), her toy horse magically becomes a real horse, full sized, bright red, with a bridle and saddle of flowers and bright, fiery eyes! She negotiates with the troll for information about her brother and gives the troll her mother's bread.
Her wonderful red horse carries her to the place where her brother is being kept and lays out a plan that involves the horse being a diversion so she can slip into the High House to retrieve her little brother.Everything has to take place before dawn, as the horse only has this one night to help her, and if the trolls are caught outside when the sun rises they will turn to stone.
When she is inside she finds complete disaster and filth and naughty little troll children, and her brother who is acting just as naughty as the little trolls.She ends up giving her knitting needles and yarn to the babysitter troll so that she can get by and get to her brother.He doesn't want to leave because he has come to enjoy being naughty.But, she pulls the scarf that she has lovingly knit for him out of her pocket, and he realizes he is cold.As she wraps it around his shoulders he says, "I want to go home". They make it outside just as dawn is arriving, the trolls are terrorizing her beautiful red horse, and just then the sun's first ray shines bright across the land, striking full on the mare and the trolls.
The trolls have all been turned to stone, and in their midst is her little red horse. It had fought a good fight, the paint is chipped, and one shoulder is battered, but it is not broken. She and her brother are able to walk a long way home, and when they come to the bridge where even though the troll had injured her father, they were able to pass because she had made friends with the troll by giving it her mother's bread.
When they got home, both parents were awake, worrying by the fire.Mother and father kissed them both and listened to their tale of what had happened.Father had been so worried that he had whittled another horse, but tiny as if it were the colt to the red mare.
This was a beautiful tale of family love and how that love can help one overcome obstacles and be brave in spite of situations. Love of family and love of her red mare trumps all.

Very memorable and inspiring!
I read this book to my daughters, ages 6 and 4. Several weeks later when we were visiting my in-laws, my oldest daughter ran up to me holding a "red mare", a small wooden horse that her grandparents had purchased in Sweden. She retold the entire story and then offered to rescue her brother if ever he should be abducted by trolls.

One of the best children's books ever
When I think of "good children's books," this is the first one I think of.I gave it to my five-year-old daughter years ago, and I read it to her first-grade class as a parent helper.I've never seen children so entranced, so silent, hanging on every word.Now I'm buying another copy to read to my own classes after I get my teaching credential.

Superb!
This is a fantastic story with beautiful illustrations.

I bought it for my daughter when she was five. At the age of twelve it is still a favorite of hers, and for me as well. Since Le Guin has used techniques from oral traditions, it is simply wonderful to read aloud.

I think this is an example of a perfectly written short story. Everything in the story has a purpose. Not a word can be taken away without detracting from the story, and any additions would be superfluous.

This is one of the fewbooks that will not be traded in or given to a library.

Magic! Trolls! A Wonderous Horse! and family love...
I purchased this book for my son, just because it was written by my favorite author.Although I immediately fell in love with it, I wasn't so sure what my 6 year old son would think of it, but, perhaps for different reasons than me, he insists on having it read to him frequently.Like any classic folktale, it uses a simple style and classic images to present timeless and complicated truths.The illustrations are gorgeous and evoke just the right feelings for the story. ... Read more

Product Description
When Jane, a cat with wings, leaves the safety of her farm to explore the world, she falls into the hands of a man who keeps her prisoner and exploits her for money. Full-color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

I would like to read the others
A cute little story about a cat with wings that wants to spread those wings and explore the world. The illustrations are pleasant and enhance the book nicely. This is book four in a series of books all devoted to a group of cats with wings. Having read this book I would like to read the others.

Catwings series are excellent!
This is such a beautiful series. My children love these stories. It is too bad they are not more widely known. They would make a great movie!

Wonderful
The Catwings books are great, so they make fantastic gifts.My 8YO godson agrees!

Good stuff.
Ursula K. LeGuin, Jane on Her Own (Orchard, 1999)

And so we come to the fourth, and to date last, book in Ursula K. LeGuin's Catwings series. This one focuses on Jane, the young half-sister to the other catwings, and best friend of Alexander, the wingless cat. Bored and seeking adventure, Jane decides to go back to the city. When she gets there, however, she gets friendly with a human, and soon finds herself in a dilemma.

Again, as with Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings, LeGuin has come up with a take that seems more self-contained than the first two books in the series, and as such is stronger. The characters are quite lovable (how can you not like cats with wings, assuming you're not a bird?), the situations are straightforward. Very good for beginning-to-intermediate readers, I should think. *** ½

Jane On Her Own
It's about Jane Tabby who is tired and bored being cooped up in the barn and never getting to go out in the world and have adventures and be free.So she goes out into the city and finds out the hard way that being fancy isn't what she wants. What she really wants is to be happy, free, AND live in a cozy home.She was cooped up in the city too. In the end, she finds all three. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the most highly regarded of contemporary science fiction writers, and she has won wide acclaim and accolades for her work - including the National Book Award as well as the Newbula and Hugo Awards. Original in invention and brilliant in execution, her fiction is characterized by richness of imagery and of language.

The essays in this volume focus on the moral, psychological, political, and mythological themes in Le Guin's novels and short stories. N. B. Hayles considers the historical context of adogyny and show how Le Guin has used adrogyny to brilliant effect in The Left Hand of Darkness. Thomas J. Remington discusses LeGuin's use of the Tao concept of "touching opposites" in her work. And Philip E. Smith II's stimulating chapter will considerably broaden the reader's understanding of the political sources and influences behind The Dispossessed. These and other expert contributors offer perspectives on Le Guin's work that allow for a greater appreciation of her achievement and contributions to science fiction and fantasy.
--- from book's back cover ... Read more

Product Description

The opening story, "The Finder," occupies a third of the volume and hasthe strength and insight of a novel. This novella describes the youth ofOtter, a powerful but half-trained sorcerer, and reveals how Otter came toan isle that cannot be found, and played a role in the founding of thegreat Roke School. "Darkrose and Diamond" tells of two lovers who wouldturn their backs on magic. In "The Bones of the Earth," an aging wizard andhis distant pupil must somehow join forces to oppose an earthquake. Ged,the Archmage of Earthsea, appears in "On the High Marsh" to find the mad anddangerous mage he had driven from Roke Island. And in "Dragonfly," theclosing story, a mysterious woman comes to the Roke School to challenge therule that only men may be mages. "Dragonfly" takes place a few years afterTehanu and is the bridge between that novel and the next novel, The Other Wind (fall 2001). --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

A must-read for the Earthsea fan!
I've read all the Earthsea books to date except for Tehanu and The Other Wind, both of which are on my reading list.The Earthsea world, created in the mind of Ursula Le Guin, grows on you as you grow with it.They include:

- A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
- The Tombs of Atuan (1971)
- The Farthest Shore (1972)
- Tehanu (1990)
- Tales of Earthsea (2001)
- The Other Wind (2001)

In Tales From Earthsea, the novellas and short stories include:

- The Finder
- Darkrose and Diamond
- The Bones of the Earth
- On the High Marsh
- Dragonfly

Of these, I especially enjoyed "On the High Marsh" and "Dragonfly."Ged appears in "On the High Marsh" in a minor yet significant role, and "Dragonfly" gives the reader a taste of the past and the future of Earthsea, Roke, and dragons.

All the stories allow Le Guin to develop the role and function of women in Earthsea much more than in the previous books.In addition, there is an initial "Foreword" and a concluding "Description of Earthsea" that provide the reader with greater detail about the land, the people, and the culture.In a note about dragons, Le Guin writes "The only use a dragon has for the ground is some kind of rocky place where it can lay its eggs and rear the drakelets" (p. 285).This is not that different from sea turtles, who can live their entire lives at sea but need to lay their air-needing eggs above the high water line.Inspiration?

Enjoy these stories.

Worth it for one
If there is a book I wish I could have written, it is A Wizard of Earthsea.Though the two "sequels"--the Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore--were both special in their own right, nothing quite captures the magic, loneliness, wisdom, and heartache of that first novel.

It is always risky to return to a work after a long stretch of time, and Le Guin here proves why.An author changes over time, both in terms of interests and also skill.The first three books (and two short stories) are heavily influenced by the period in which they were written--the dread of a dark, almost incomprehensible, nuclear annihilation, a sense that big social changes were occurring, and maybe even a bit of a yearning for lost purity and innocence.

So, while the more recent novels and short stories, are all "set" in the Earthsea universe, it is a different Earthsea than the original one.

This is not to say that Tehanu, the Other Wind, and this collection of short stories aren't good stories--because anything Le Guin writes is well worth reading.But they feel different that the first.Different enough that for some...for me...I had a difficult time with them.

This wasn't the Earthsea I loved; these aren't the characters I knew.

With one exception: the short story "Bones of the Earth", found in this collection, *feels* like it belongs with the first group.

It is beautiful.
Read it.

perfect
This book arrived well before the expected date and was a great buy. I will be buying from them again.

Excellent short story/novella collection
"Tales from Earthsea" verifies why Ursula K. LeGuin is one of the best writers around -- of fantasy, science fiction, or any genre.

Simply put, it has wonderful stories that ring true, yet have mythical elements -- the people are fully real, with faults, and make mistakes, yet do remarkable, visionary things in various ways -- from the quotidian to the sublime.

This book has three new stories and two reprints; the reprints ("Darkrose and Diamond" and "Dragonfly") are very good stories, and I enjoyed re-reading them very much.The first is a romance; even people who've never read an Earthsea novel will understand it.The second is about gifts denied, and powers lost -- along with love, redeemed in a rather unusual way.(Love in Ms. LeGuin's books or stories is almost always understated.The overt romance of "Darkrose and Diamond" is rare, but very welcome.)I'm not sure the latter story will be much understood without reading the first three books of the Earthsea trilogy, but you don't necessarily need to read "Tehanu" (the fourth book of Earthsea, inaccurately titled "The Last Book of Earthsea," as Ms. LeGuin wryly points out in her preface to this book), although you will enjoy that book as well if you enjoyed either of these two stories.

The remaining three stories ("The Finder," "The Bones of the Earth," "On the High Marsh") are all about the redeeming power of the human spirit.Finding friendship when it's not expected -- Otter, the hero of "The Finder," finds a true friend while he's temporarily enslaved (she helps get him out and away), Dulse, the wizard of Re Albi, finds a friend in his apprentice-wizard, Ogion (the later first teacher of Ged/Sparrowhawk, Archmage of Roke during the latter two books of the Earthsea trilogy) when wizards rarely get along (especially in such close proximity), and Irioth the wizard finds love and healing with the cheesemaker Gift (wizards also rarely, if ever, love women and don't seem to ever profess physical love for men, either; they believe being celibate helps their powers, which is something Irian in "Dragonfly" is challenging; wizards, for the most part, do not believe that women's magic is a strong as men's, which is of course ridiculous) after he'd left Roke due to extreme mental and physical torment (some brought on by his own doing, some not).

Ms. LeGuin's work is a triumph because of how human these people are.They have to make powerful, difficult choices; Diamond has to leave his father (who wants him to be a mage, rather than a musician) and only see his mother rarely because he must follow his heart and love Darkrose (while performing his music).Irian is hot-tempered, irritable, difficult, and extremely talented; her question, "Why can't women be mages?" goes to the heart of the hypocrisy of Roke, something the mages there for the most part would rather not confront.(The status quo is always easier to defend than the unknown, even when the status quo is wrong.)Dulse's dilemma is more poignant; save himself, or save his island with his friend Ogion's help?(Many would choose to save themselves and later rationalize it.Dulse isn't made that way.)Irioth's problem is more fundamental; he believes he's harmed himself by the use of magic, and that he's harmed others, and that he must make amends.(Finding love along the way with an extraordinary woman was never in his plans.And Gift doesn't think herself remarkable; that, too, is one of Ms. LeGuin's strengths, how she shows that "ordinary" people are anything but.)And Otter, in "The Finder," finds a friend at his time of greatest need, but can't keep her as she's dying; how he memorializes her through living his life is extraordinarily powerful, yet quietly drawn.

To put it bluntly, there isn't a better writer on the planet when she's on than Ms. LeGuin.There just isn't.

Everyone should read this book.Every single last one.

Five-stars plus, with the highest recommendation possible.

Barb Caffrey

A wonderful collection
A lovely collection of stories from around the archipelago. While not quite as good as the best Earthsea stories, you'll definitely want this to complete your collection. ... Read more

Product Description
Young Adults Authors SeriesSeries Editor, Patricia J. Campbell, winner of the ALAs Grolier Award for distinguished achievement with young people and books.She is a columnist for Wilson Library Bulletin and Horn Book.This popular series responds to the growing stature of adolescent literature and fills a critical gap in evaluating the new genre.This unique series provides:-young readers with the means to get to know their favorite authors as real people-teachers and librarians with insights and background material for promoting and teaching mid-grade and young adult novels.This gracefully written and perceptive book opens up the writers world to the reader, telling of the author's childhood and family, and how events have shaped Le Guin's writing.We learn of her parents' work with Native Americans and its influence on Le Guin's views on human nature and the natural world as expressed through her science fiction and fantasy fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Usually clear, insightful criticism of a major author
Writing literary criticism of the work of living authors presents numerous challenges to a scholar.Theories of interpretation abound, and readers may dismiss valid criticism simply because they dislike its approach or technique.In addition, authors vary widely in their accessibility and helpfulness to scholars, and while no authors should automatically be granted the last word on their own work, it is easy for a critic to take a wrong turn on the basis of biographical misinformation and bias.Further, the full range and hence significance of an author's work may not yet be apparent, and a future book can often render criticism outdated or laughable in its newly visible short-sightedness after the fact.Reid almost always succeeds in steering clear of these failings, while providing insightful readings of Le Guin's work, biographical details which illuminate characters, settings, themes and authorial obsessions.Fortunately, too, Le Guin herself has much to say about her work, and about fantasy and fiction generally, and Reid makes good use of the author's own criticism.The Twayne series in general consists of readable, accessible works of criticism, without a marked bias toward a particular pet theory.This book achieves what all worthwhile criticism should ultimately aspire to accomplish:to send its readers back to the primary text with renewed perspective, insight and appreciation. ... Read more

Product Description

Though science fiction has existed as a literary genre for well over a century, a working definition of the term has yet to be determined.Ursula K. Le Guin, who emerged as a popular science fiction and fantasy writer in the 1960s, has not only witnessed, but also experienced first-hand the shifts and transformations of this increasingly popular genre.Delve into her fantastical worlds and investigate several of her famous works in this study ideal for high school and undergraduate students.Learn about the author's life and decade-spanning career, as well as her numerous literary achievements. This comprehensive analysis of Le Guin's work will leave readers anxious for her future endeavors.

Product Description

The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her lyrical writing, rich characters, and diverse worlds. The Wind's Twelve Quarters collects seventeen powerful stories, each with an introduction by the author, ranging from fantasy to intriguing scientific concepts, from medieval settings to the future.

Customer Reviews (12)

Another wonderful book from Ursala LeGuin
The Mind's Twelve Quarters is a must read for fans of LeGuin.If you liked Earthsea, you will enjoy these wonderful short stories.

Another excellent collection from a master storyteller
First of all, I must confess that I am a huge Le Guin fan; I think she writes science fiction (and fantasy) stories like no other.Her sense of 'place', that is, her description of an alien world is so compelling, she makes it not only believable, but alluring, so much so that I can imagine living there, and even desiring that such a world would exist.

This is a somewhat early work, with stories written from 1962 to 1974.

As others have mentioned, the two master works in the volume are "Semley's Necklace" and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas".The first is an unintentional time travel story, the other a variation of the old story concerning what would you tolerate for a good and peaceful life.

Other stories in the collection are perhaps less powerful, but no less interesting."Winter's King" is the story of a king, who is a woman (sort of), with a particularly hard road to take to find her place in the world.This is another of the author's stories set in the Hainish universe, with Earth being only one of many societies set to travel the known worlds.

Highly recommended.Not all of the stories are as pleasurable, but all are interesting and well-written.The book is a keeper.

Excellent collection of short stories
I bought this book for the first story "Semley's Necklace" however; all of them will surpass your expectations. Ursula has a unique way with words that rival her tales.
The Winds Twelve Quarters Ursula K. Le Guin (Harper & Row, 1975, hc)
Foreword
Semley's Necklace ["The Dowry of Angyar"] - ss Amazing Sep '64
April in Paris - ss Fantastic Sep '62
The Masters - ss Fantastic Feb '63
Darkness Box - ss Fantastic Nov '63
The Word of Unbinding - ss Fantastic Jan '64
The Rule of Names - ss Fantastic Apr '64
Winter's King - nv Orbit 5, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam's, 1969
The Good Trip - ss Fantastic Aug '70
Nine Lives - nv Playboy Nov '69
Things ["The End"] - ss Orbit 6, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam's, 1970
A Trip to the Head - ss Quark #1, ed. Samuel R. Delany & Marilyn Hacker, Paperback Library, 1970
Vaster Than Empires and More Slow - nv New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971
The Stars Below - ss Orbit 14, ed. Damon Knight, Harper & Row, 1974
The Field of Vision - ss Galaxy Oct '73
Direction of the Road - ss Orbit 12, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam's, 1973
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - ss New Dimensions 3, ed. Robert Silverberg, Nelson Doubleday, 1973
The Day Before the Revolution - ss Galaxy Aug '74
A little about Ursula:
Legal Name: Le Guin, Ursula Kroeber
Birthplace: Berkeley, California, USA
Birthdate: 21 October 1929

Received Nebula Awards for the novels "The Left Hand of Darkness," "The Dispossessed," and "Tehanu"; for the novella "Solitude"; and for the short story "The Day Before the Revolution."

The Lathe Of Heaven: A Novel

The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin
An excellent collection of short stories from this master (mistress?) of Science Fiction and Fantasy literature.

Ursula is a cut above the rest in terms of intellectual involvement, poses moral and spiritual questions, always tells a ripping good yarn.

Fans of The Dispossessed will be entranced by the story of Odo - founder of the Odonian movement which led to settling of the moon Anarres by the anarchists.

Simply fascinating !
Ursula Le Guin is one of my favorite authors (SF or otherwise) - "The Dispossesed" being my personal choice as the best book she wrote. But this story collection is definitely a tie for the second place along with "The Left Hand of Darkness". No doubt the inclusion of the story "The Day before the Revolution" affects my choice - but that's not the only great story this book has. In fact, I liked almost all the stories that are included - and a book which contains even 3 or 4 stories as good as "The Day before..", "The Masters", "Things", "The ones who walked away from Omelas", etc. deserves to be considered as a classic. Personally I am fascinated by Laia Asieo Odo, the anarchist philosopher who is alluded to in "The Dispossesed" (part of the reason I like it so much is its almost believable portraiture of a functioning anarchist society) - and is only explored as a person in the story "The Day before..". I wish Le Guin had given a novel-length treatment of Odo as a person and her development of the syndicalist philosophy.

To go back to the stories in "The Wind's Twelve Quarters" - what I find so fascinating is the wide range of stories that are included: from the delightful dargon-and-sorcery fantasy of "The Word of Unbinding" and "The Rule of Names" (the only comparably charming dragons I can think of appear in some of the fables of Orson Scott Card) to the melancholic, existential "Things" and "The stars below" (where an astronomer whose observatory has been burnt down by a mob, ends up living in a mine where the sparkle of the minerals become "the stars below" for him). Many of the stories really make you think about deep social and ethical issues. And then there are the stories which can be just enjoyed for the sheer joy of reading them, like the dragon stories and the time-travel romance, "April in Paris". All in all, a must-read for any thinking person! ... Read more

Product Description
A private gift to Ursula K. Le Guin becomes a gift to all readers, an exciting chance to enjoy someone else's birthday present. In 2009, for the momentous occasion of Ursula K. Le Guin's 80th birthday, Karen Joy Fowler and Debbie Notkin put together a volume of tributes and appreciations, as a birthday present. The project, known in academic circles as a ''festschrift,'' or ''celebration book,'' resulted in a single copy, handbound in green leather, which Karen presented to Ursula a few days after her birthday in October. The original idea came from Kim Stanley Robinson, who also contributed an essay to the book. With Ms. Le Guin's kind agreement, Aqueduct Press is delighted to share this unique celebration with Le Guin's readers and fans. The book contains poetry, personal essays, academic essays, biographical information about Le Guin, as well as fiction, including previously unpublished fiction by Andrea Hairston and John Kessel. Publication will coincide with Le Guin's 81st birthday. Contributors include Eleanor Arnason, Brian Attebery, Richard Chwedyk, Karen Joy Fowler, Molly Gloss, Eileen Gunn, Andrea Hairston, Jed Hartman, Gwyneth Jones, John Kessel, Ellen Kushner, Nancy Kress, Sarah LeFanu, Vonda N. McIntyre, Pat Murphy, Julie Phillips, Paul Preuss, Kim Stanley Robinson, Nisi Shawl, Lisa Tuttle, Élisabeth Vonarburg, and Jo Walton, among others. ... Read more

Product Description
This new, fifth, Earthsea novel pits Ged, Tenar, and Tehanu against the dead. A dragon shows the hard way to salvation. Le Guin shows us the politics of the Archipelago, the crisis caused by the dragons who have come in great flights setting fire to the forests and islands in the west, and the richness of the city: painted bridges, towers topped with sword blades, ships with sails like swan wings. The narrative style is poetic and possesses the simple dignity and compelling rhythm of both fairy tale and epic.Amazon.com Review
The greatest fantasies of the 20th century are J.R.R.Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle. Regrettably, the Earthsea Cycle has not received the fame and sales of Tolkien's trilogy. Fortunately, new Earthsea books have appeared in the21st century, and they are as powerful, beautiful, and imaginative as the first four novels. The fifth novel and sixth book of the Earthsea Cycle is The Other Wind.

The sorcerer Alder has the power of mending, but it may have become the power of destruction: every night he dreams of the wall between the land of the living and the land of the dead, and the wall is being dismantled. If the wall is breached, the dead will invade Earthsea. Ged, once Archmage of Earthsea, sends Alder to King Lebannen. Now Alder and the king must join with a burned woman, a wizard of forbidden lore, and a being who is woman and dragon both, in an impossible quest to save Earthsea.

Ursula K. Le Guin has received the National Book Award, five Nebula and five Hugo Awards, and the Newbery Award, among many other honors. The Other Wind lives up to expectations for one of the greatest fantasy cycles. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (65)

Deep and Profound!
It's been a few years since I read all the books in the Wizard of Earthsea series to my son, but I remember the depth of the characters as though yesterday. Deep, heavy stuff that leaves you enriched and changed for having read it.

These books are labeled 'young adult' but deep and profound enough to be appreciated by adults.

Another reviewer compared them to The Lord of the Rings. I disagree. While Tolkien deserved all the credit he got for being the first to create a lush, intricate universe and bring it to life, it is ultimately an action story. Le Guin's ability to develop strong, complex characters far surpasses any mere action story. Her characters and their experiences reach deep into your soul and do not let go.

The Other Wind - Ursula K. Le Guin
Writing Style - 3/5
Characters - 3
Storyline - 3
Resonance - 1

The Not-Too-Revealing Synopsis:
The divide between life and death is not as it should be.A minor magic artisan - a layman really - finds that he has some inexplicable connection to the portents and sets off in search of aid from the skilled and learned of Earthsea.

The Review
Note - I did not realize this book was part of a series until after I had finished it and was looking at online reviews. So take my views with that in mind.

This was a very pleasant, curious read.Characters, newly introduced seemed like old friends and the land, despite the detailed map in the beginning did not seem all too foreign.The mystery, the plot itself, unraveled slowly and cast a foreboding aura on all that transpired, putting the reader in the same mind set as the characters themselves.This was a quick read, an easy read, an enjoyable read and an entirely forgettable read.I would not recommend this book (particularly not without having read the previous works).

Fascinating
For many years I didn't pick up LeGuin's Earthsea cycle.What a mistake!The entire series is first rate, a cut above the usual fantasy novels.

Absolutely one of my most favorite book sieries.
I'm just putting in a good word for one of my most respected authors. I've read most of her books, and this is one is the one that sucked me in the most out of all of them.

Not my cup of tea
While I really loved the original Earthsea trilogy, both as a kid and as an adult, this book (and "Tehanu") were a bit disappointing. I had a hard time deciding on whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars and in the end went with 3. I can't pick out anything technically wrong with the book, but it failed to draw me in. Despite being relatively short, it took me months to finish this book.Nothing much was really happening, so I didn't feel at all compelled to see what happened (or rather, didn't happen) next.
This novel didn't have a plot so much as a theme, and LeGuin used some familiar and some new characters to explore that theme.If that's the kind of book you like, then you'll probably love "The Other Wind". However, I read fiction (and fantasy in particular) for engaging and thrilling stories.That type of story was lacking here.
I still think LeGuin is very talented, but as she has matured as a writer she now seems to prefer writing a type of book that I do not prefer to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Conversations with Ursula K. Le Guin assembles interviews with the renowned science-fiction and fantasy author of The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, The Lathe of Heaven, and the Earthsea sequence of novels and stories. For nearly five decades, Le Guin (b. 1929) has enjoyed immense success--both critical and popular--in science fiction and fantasy. But she has also published well-received works in such genres as realistic fiction, poetry, children's literature, criticism, and translation. In the pieces collected here, Le Guin takes every interview not as an opportunity to recapitulate long-held views but as an occasion for in-depth intellectual discourse.

In interviews spanning over twenty-five years of her literary career, including a previously unpublished piece conducted by the volume's editor, Le Guin talks about such diverse subjects as U.S. foreign policy, the history of architecture, the place of women and feminist consciousness in American literature, and the differences between science fiction and fantasy.

Carl Freedman is professor of English at Louisiana State University and is the author of Critical Theory and Science Fiction; The Incomplete Projects: Marxism, Modernity, and the Politics of Culture; and George Orwell: A Study in Ideology and Literary Form. ... Read more

Product Description
Owen is seventeen and smart. He knows what he wants to do with his life. But then he meets Natalie and he realizes he doesn't know anything much at all.

A slender, realistic story of a young man's coming of age, Very Far Away from Anywhere Else is one of the most inspiring novels Ursula K. Le Guin has ever published.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

A short read that will stick with you for a long time
When I read this book I was taken back to my own high school experience, which shows how good this book was because it is set in a very different time period, but still speaks to me.The thing that jumps out at me is the uncertainty of the main character.He is trying very hard to figure life out and that's a journey we all go on.Love, family, and friendship all seem to redefine themselves in our formative teen years, and it is during this time of confusion and change that we are expected to make some of our most important life decisions.I think this topic is something all readers can relate to, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a teenager or has ever been a teenager.

Excellent novel for the high school crowd
As a long-time teacher, I was delighted in this book which is open and honest about the feelings of adolescents.It has a positive message and shows young people discovering sexuality and choosing to delay sexual activity, an important message for youth today.

Read it now.
I've read a lot of books - but hands down, this is the best books I have ever read.

Ageless Story
Though recommended for teen readers, this story touched my 45 year old heart with images and situations quite endearing and enlightening.Ursula K. Le Guin's stories unfold gently and never leave you behind.

Possibly my favorite book of all time
I first read this novella when I was in high school. I've read it several times since.It's just one I always come back to.The story speaks to everyone who has ever felt excluded or misunderstood and it speaks to the yearning in each of us to find SOMEONE who understands just a little bit.In some ways, this is a romance, but really it's a story of finding a connection in the wide world.And it always makes me cry... but in a good way.

I've read hundreds, perhaps thousands of books in my life and I'm sure I'll read thousands more, but this one has a special place in my heart. ... Read more

Product Description

In this second book of Le Guin's Earthsea series, readers will meetTenar, a priestess to the "Nameless Ones" who guard thecatacombs of the Tombs of Atuan. Only Tenar knows the passageways ofthis dark labyrinth, and only she can lead the young wizardSparrowhawk, who stumbles into its maze, to the greatest treasure ofall. Will she? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (115)

POV switch works well!
Arha is the reincarnated Priestess of The Tombs, delivered into the world by the power of the Nameless Ones and brought to the Kargish island deserts in Atuan to preside over her underground domain. She is watched over by others: eunuchs and other Priestesses more knowledgeable in the dark powers of The Nameless Ones than she. Arha, whose name means "the eaten one," spends her time dancing before the moon, thinking of punishments for the Godking's sacrificial prisoners, and paying obeisance before the Empty Throne.

She does not remember who she used to be or more than fragmented whispers of memories from a time when she was very little and lived a very different life with a mother, a father, and many brothers and sisters. She does not even remember her true name until a strange man enters the Undertomb, a place absolutely forbidden for men to enter. Arha is curious about him and the weird little light on his staff, the sorcery often scoffed and spoken ill of by the other women. She watches him in fascination, trapped as he is, until she discovers what he's really after. He is there to steal the greatest treasure of Atuan, the thing which must never be taken from the tombs, let alone out into the world, but he is determined and cannot do it alone.

In The Tombs of Atuan, Le Guin has switched entirely from writing a book about Ged's coming of age, to a series thatexplores the development of females as well. Arha is apparently outmatched by her cohort of adult priestesses who have mastered the fine arts of their profession and dole it out in pieces to Arha. Her reincarnation perpetuates a cycle of power that lays largely with the likes of Thar and Kossil, whom must always "remind" Arha of things she said in the past--in her previous lives--and of the ways of the labyrinth and tombs she now rules over. There isn't much self-exploration since the nature of Arha's destiny lays within the hands of older women. Any initiative or independent action on her part would undermine the tradition. Her interest in Ged is therefore compounded by the scale of her actions: helping him stay alive is tantamount to treason. The Nameless Ones will and do become angry, but Ahra is very brave to continue despite their displeasure.

She's very young--about as young as Ged was when we were first introduced to him in A Wizard of Earthsea. Ged, by comparison is no longer a boy, but a fully grown and competent wizard. As an aside, I found it interesting that any earlier distinction that may have been drawn between wizards, mages, or sorcerers have lost all meaning. All are one in the same profession with the terms being exchanged loosely to describe all wielders of magic trained in the ways foreign to the Priestesses of Atuan. In any event, Arha is young; Ged is not a child anymore. She is frequently referenced in in terms of her childlike nature and her naivete, especially in comparison to Ged's experience as a sea-salted wizard.

Their relationship develops sweetly. Arha is unable to overcome her curiosity, even as she attempts to assert the duties of her profession--she cannot bring herself to punish or even kill Ged, whom she knows as Sparrowhawk. Seeing Ged so much more seasoned than when he was last seen at the end of A Wizard of Earthsea, combined with Arha's wavering confidence in the face of his perseverance I began to understand that he was yet another figure of power in her life, even one whom could call the Priestess of the Tombs out from her domain by discovering her true name.

But Arha saves Ged just the same. She nurtures him in the dark womb of her tombs underground, caring for him as she listens to his stories. In the end it is both that are freed, both that escape, but only one is reborn and brought into the world renewed with the knowledge of her true name and the refreshing, frightening feeling of the light after so long being kept in the dark. While I feel Arha ultimately replaced several figures of authority for another (and this, a man), it's very telling that Ged reveals he cannot stay with her forever. What he brings Arha is true freedom. She must discover independence on her own.
Ged also brings Arha, a light-skinned young girl, into the larger ethnic world, away from the sheltered life and orchestrated beliefs of the priestesses. They would have Arha believe in the wrongness of wizards, throwing epithets to the profession as easily as they do their darker skin. Aligning the two (profession and skin tone) is quite monstrous, but Ahra comes to understand the limitations of others like Kossil, even warming to Ged's comforting darkness not for the sake of darkness, but as a part of Ged, whom she comes to trust. His example is much more powerful than any uneducated warning the priestesses may have given her before.

One last thing I want to mention, but am unsure where to best place it, is a brief discussion of the tombs as a metaphor for the female womb, and even as the female body.There is a sacredness there that Arha is warned must be untouched by a man (eunuchs, castrated, are fine). It's also presumed that anyone seeking entrance who is not permitted does so to steal or harm the great treasure hidden at the end of the labyrinth. I may be reading a bit too much into that, but I felt it was something to be noted. Ged (a male) rescues Arha (a female) not just by successfully making it to the treasure, but by having her lead him to it. They work together. And he even proves his good intentions by showing her that he only wants to make things whole again: to make as one that which has been hidden away for so long in the care of and separated by the miles between this male and that female. I think whether I make a successful case or not, it's an interesting avenue that I know I'll be thinking about even now, after the book has been closed and put away.

As the second in the series, I think The Tombs of Atuan did well. While a large part of Ged's life is still a mystery, I ultimately found myself not minding the in between. Yes, Ged's story is and probably will continue to be told in a detached manner, one befitting the oration of a man as a legend handed down through generations, but for whatever reason, that doesn't bother me. Arha's point of view was personal and welcome enough change for me.

Good
A good work, intense, well-written and meaningful. Far from the quality of Lavinia or Le Guin's Hainish Cycle stuff, but quite rewarding, and a lot better than A Wizard of Earthsea. The story concerns a girl that becomes First Priestess, which mostly involves living underground and performing human sacrifices.

Very strong exploration of what magic would actually involve, making this a lot more than just flashy effects or convenient plot motivators. Rather, it's about naming, identity, perception, spirituality--all of which connect thematically to the larger journey of the book, particularly as Tenar is renamed and redefined for ritualistic ends. More than the slow build up to escape and travel, that's what the book is explicitly about: the function of religious questions in the invented world, and the tensions that ensue. Glorification and sacrifice, sanctioned and illicit beliefs, real gods and ritualistic forms. The book incorporates a lot of angles, and it works because Tenar is so ambivalent, believably uncertain about her rights in both authorizing murder and in leaving the environment. That she's able to have this range without being a weak or indecisive character speaks to Le Guin's high skill in both characterization and plot. And, the eventual escape from the titular Tombs of Atuan is awash in gorgeous description and themes, expressing very potently the emergence from a secluded mono-environment to the wider diversity of the planet.

Interestingly the work rarely feels claustrophobic, having enough intensity and range of description to come across as a complete environment. The main action is oddly closed in for Le Guin, though, as shown most prominently by there being only four real characters for most of the narrative. This is one of the areas where the work most benefits from being fantasy as opposed to SF--there's little need to offer an extensive worldbuilding (although the fact that this is part of a larger series also helps with that) so the description of hearing about and seeing the larger world can remain centered in the relevance to Tenar, in engaging with his past beliefs, overturning some, and connecting with basic influence of stories. This work isn't quite as meta as Lavinia in that regard, but it offers food for thought in that area as well.

Similar to and better than: Terry Pratchett's Pyramids
Similar to and worse than: Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia

Perfection
I consider the first 4 Earthsea books to be one long story despite the gap in publication years between #s three and four.

I already added my glowing sentiment about this tale on the A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA page so there's no need to do it again. I rank this story as the greatest work of fantasy fiction in the 20th century. No more. No less.

The Tombs of Atuan
Very good book. A Wizard of Earthsea is better, but this one is good too. Too short though, and lacks dialogues.

-Patrick.

Beautiful book
I haven't read a book this wonderfully written in quite some time.Some may find The Tombs of Atuan's pacing too slow, and thus the story a bit boring (as my boyfriend would complain, "Nothing HAPPENS").After all, it is a departure from the first book in the Earthsea cycle, A Wizard of Earthsea, in which we see Ged doing all kinds of things and going on quests and seeking nameless monsters.But while I enjoyed A Wizard of Earthsea, I never felt close to Ged as I did with Tenar while reading The Tombs of Atuan.And it isn't true that nothing happens.What we have here is an in-depth look at one girl's (and eventually a woman's) soul and how she comes to be who she is, from the time she is taken as a six-year-old to serve the nameless gods to her moments of revelation as an adult.Tenar is a fully developed, three-dimensional character in every way.We see the reasons for her beliefs, for her fears, and we appreciate her courage in the end so much more for them.Ged, too, seems much more human and likeable to me in this book, seen through Tenar's eyes, than in A Wizard of Eathsea.He also brings with him a lot more "action" when he arrives about halfway through the story, and readers who don't care for slow-moving books may brighten at his introduction.For those who like quiet, introspective stories with depth and strength, however, I wholeheartedly recommend this beautiful fantasy.You will also get more of a glimpse into Le Guin's world of Eathsea, and to a people whose culture and beliefs are so ancient as to be awe-inspiring. ... Read more

Product Description
Ursula Le Guin's Always Coming Home is a major work of the imagination from one of America's most respected writers of science fiction. More than five years in the making, it is a novel unlike any other. A rich and complex interweaving of story and fable, poem, artwork, and music, it totally immerses the reader in the culture of the Kesh, a peaceful people of the far future who inhabit a place called the Valley on the Northern Pacific Coast. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

A feminist utopia
This is a novel set in the Napa Valley in the far future. Assuming that the people living there then are descended from the people living there now, more time must have passed between then and now than between now and the breakup of Proto-Indo-European: in the two major languages of California, numbers 2 and 3 are tu and ri and dos and tres, both derived from the Proto-Indo-European dwo and trei; in their language they are hú and íde. Surprisingly, the California condor survives, and so does the ginkgo. It describes a small self-governing agricultural community; unlike the California Indians before the Spanish conquest, on whom they are clearly modeled, these people have cattle, goats, sheep, dogs, cats, chickens, horses, and a domesticated guinea pig-like rodent; unlike most agriculturalists, they believe in women's equality and keep their numbers low through the practice of late marriage, contraception and abortion. Also, unlike most agriculturalists, they have writing and libraries. The book is structured as a present-day anthropologist's report about this community, including her dialogue with a librarian from the future. Much of it is occupied by the mythology, songs and writings of the people from this community; the longest story concerns a woman whose mother comes from this community, and whose father is an officer in a militaristic society with the condor totem, which builds a World War II-era tank and a bomber despite not having sufficient supplies of fuel for them, not to conquer their neighbors, which they could easily have done with lower-tech weapons, but as cargo cult offerings. In addition to many human communities, there is also a self-maintaining network of robots and computers, which gives humans weather forecasts and provides a few other services. I don't understand, why these di ex machinis are necessary; I was reminded of the story I heard about 10 years ago about man-hating lesbian communes of Oregon who only contact men when they want something fixed.

Given a choice, I would rather live in the world of Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker.

The worst of Le Guin
Fair warning! This book is nothing like a novel. It is a series of short stories interspersed with descriptions of rituals, fables, and other cultural descriptions. Although this book is highly imaginative, I found the format distasteful. It was hard for me to grasp the fullness of how these people lived even with all this information simply because most of it was lacking motivation.The characters seemed trapped by cultural expectations and really fail to develop. The plot in the few stories is likewise somewhat flattened by the attempt to continue to cultural exploration.

An Amazing Piece of Work!!
I have to share this:Recently while weeding out my various collections and selling some, my Mother listed this book for me.I did not tell her it was fiction and after looking over and reading some of the book she decided to go online and get more information about the Kesh.She was convienced they had actually existed.Now, my Mom is an intellgent and informed woman -- The amazing job Ursula did in making the Kesh so REAL is astounding!This Book and Tape are definitly worth the time and money for ANYONE who appreciates Great writing.....Genre be darned!

One of her best
Ms. Le Guin is one of the foremost authors in America working across a broad spectrum of genres.This is one of her best works detailing a life in a culture that works with the land & the spirit.The rich details of this culture appear in the music, poetry, stories and art of the Kesh.These are a vibrant people who appeal on every level.

It's Hard to Know What I Think
On the one hand, I agree with all the good things other reviewers have mentioned. On the other hand, I also agree with all the bad things.

The cultures in the book struck me not so much as "simple" but as "simplistic." I think I was also really bothered by the lack of enough story to illuminate the practices of the society. The story parts were great. The poetry parts frequently drove me up the wall (true also of my reading of Tolkein). It was choppy, which made it difficult to read without the concentration one reserves for *actual* archaeological study.

I think in the end that might have been my biggest problem with it. I wanted to read about a world that never was, a world that might be, a world of people different from me. Instead, I was stuck reading fake archaeology. I was uncomfortable with the in-between-ness of it - I either wanted real archaeology, or real fiction, not a mishmash of the two. The book is incredibly self-indulgent of the author; what saves it is that LeGuin is so phenominally gifted that even her self-indulgence is interesting and well-written.

It was compelling (in places) and maddeningly dull (in places). I think I'm glad I read it - but I'm not sure - and I don't think I'll read it again - but I'm not sure.

I'm sorry this isn't a more coherent review. It's hard for me to know if the problem was mine, or the book's. A very strange, in-between book that left me in a strange, in-between place.

In sum: Very well written, very unique book, that left me very ambivalent about whether it was "worth it" as a reader. ... Read more