Trigger warning: child abuse and disfigurement, ableism, rape, victim shaming, intense misogyny, gendered violence and manipulation

The most heart shattering Earthsea book so far was not about dragons, the realm of the dead, religious cults and ancient curses, but instead about the horrors humans (both in Earthsea and in the real world) inflict on those deemed weaker than them. Le Guin's goal with Tehanu was to recenter the role women played in Earthsea, shifting them from mere bystanders and sidekicks to true protagonists. From the get go we are met with scenes recounting trauma, rape and abuse forced upon a a young girl, who is left scarred, maimed and silent. As the story progresses, we are met with further stories and scenes of violence, enacted on women by men. While the story delivers comfort in the finale (as previous Earthsea books have done as well), many passages are hard to stomach.

Our beloved hero Ged, who by now is an old, worn and shattered man, cannot save the day as he once would have done in the blink of an eye. He retreats to the forests to think about his identity, his self, his worth - I'm sure many readers who primarily read the series for the magic and adventure felt that "their" hero was now no more. To me, this is the book that has had the greatest emotional impact on me, that has felt the least symbolic und thus the most real. While the images of Ged running across islands and plains, fleeing from his shadow, invoked a very real sense of fear and tension in me, the knowledge that those who hurt Therru could be lurking in town, walking down the same roads, feigning good intentions, felt exponentially worse.