The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K Le Guin

This sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea delivers, but in a different way than the first book. Instead of the almost non-stop action in that earlier novel, this one starts out slow with the new main character, Tenar, growing up as high priestess of the Nameless Ones, the old gods. Raised as an orphan in the desert religious complex, Le Guin creates an interesting dynamic for Tenar: she is technically the reincarnation of the prior highest priestess, but politically she is a child and the newer gods are now more popular, so her power is actually pretty limited. Navigating this intense world of interpersonal religious politics fills the early part of the book with a different tenor than A Wizard of Earthsea, as Tenar learns the limits of her power and learns her place in this society. Eventually Ged arrives, looking for the other half of a broken magical talisman, and the action begins in earnest. But that slow opening really helps build the character of Tenar firmly. She is a proud and self-questioning young woman, often alone and in the dark, who is forced to self-reliance and starts to expect no help from others. When she meets Ged, it’s at a time in her life where her own curiosity, and the situation in the temple complex, makes an act of rebellion attractive, so she doesn’t outright kill him, and that rebellion starts her on her own path towards becoming a helpful, functioning member of a society. I think Le Guin is making a preference known for the culture of Earthsea over the superstitious culture of the Karghish lands.

And yet, though the structure of the story follows Tenar’s path, the first half, the impact of the story on the larger world is down to Ged’s hero quest to find the other half of the broken ring, the second half. This disconnection led to me questioning where the story was going in moments. Unlike Le Guin's novel, The Dispossessed, where the two stories combine into one clearly and cleanly, here it seems more like the story is a bait and switch⁠—I think the story is about Tenar, but then Ged arrives and everything focuses in on him. This is nitpicking though, because when Tenar approaches another culture as curious and open as she does, of course her life will change. So, while Le Guin’s writing improves, I think her storytelling takes a step back. In all, I would recommend this book to almost anybody though, because taking a step back from the heights Le Guin has achieved is a small thing in comparison to other writers.

That nit pick aside, this is a really enjoyable read. Delving more deeply into the psychology of the coming of age tale, aspects of Tenar stay unchanging, while she also changes drastically through her childhood. This is a really well done coming of age story, and how many examples do we have of a woman’s perspective on the same? Fantasy is usually all beautiful women with no power other than sexual or evil, and heroic men who take what they will. This alternate view is beguiling and I appreciate it immensely.

The theme of the book is again empathy and accepting the wholeness of being⁠—both the light and the dark alike. But in a way, this novel is the mirror of A Wizard of Earthsea: a woman’s coming of age tale, instead of a man’s; Ged goes from the mountains to the indoors while Tenar comes from the deserted tombs to the biggest city in Earthsea; where Ged gains power, Tenar loses it, though maybe uses is a better word to choose; where Ged accepts myths, Tenar lets some myths go; and most importantly, Tenar becomes complete too, like Ged did, but in the opposite direction through accepting her lightness. Where Ged was learning to deal with his darkness, Tenar is learning to accept her light⁠—literally and figuratively, as she was mostly raised in physical darkness. Tenar and Ged somewhat mirror each other, as do their tales. That said, the theme here also embraces taboo and is the best example I can think of for a story about overcoming superstitious taboo. Religion, superstition, and personal choice over place in society also all play important roles as themes in the novel.

It’s a strong novel that I really enjoyed. I look forward to a second read in the future, knowing now what I do about the story and being able to fit the two parts of it together, I think a second read will be better than the first. I wonder whether a sentence or two at the beginning, to give away the ending, would’ve been as helpful here as it was to Ged’s novel.