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zober's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this coming-of-age fantasy story. It follows Gavir's life through various phases/settings, which I won't list in order to avoid spoilers. It's fairly slow, and thought-provoking. Definitely a departure from the plot-focused fantasy best sellers of the current era, but I welcomed it.
Quotes I enjoyed:
Quotes I enjoyed:
Sometimes, they told me, a boy, refusing his second initiation, chose to return to the women's village and live there as a woman the rest of his life.
yesss Ursula with a trans-friendly culture, somewhat implied to be indigenous in nature
I thought of her beautiful sister, and wondered if Melle too would be beautiful. I found myself thinking, "Let her be spared that!"
reminiscent of Daisy hoping her daughter will be a "beautiful little fool" in Great Gatsby, except... a different take on the fact that society only values women for their beauty
coleycole's review against another edition
1.0
Could... not... finish... too... slow... read... two... thirds... of... it... and... was... bored... really... wanted... to... enjoy... but... too... slooooooooow
moss_and_the_void's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The book took a pace from page one that made it easy to continue reading. The world building was thorough and very good. Depictions of the Marsh people felt thinly veiled in illusion to Indigenous communities and at times felt a bit condescending (this thought is colored by the knowledge that the author's father was an anthropologist who studied west coast Indigenous communities). I am also still unsure of what to make of the depiction of slavery. I actually think the ambiguity of these two depictions is part of what made this book interesting - it constantly left me thinking and wanting to be back in the story. the character and plot moved and grew and had the correct amount of tension imo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Slavery, and Sexual assault
greaydean's review
3.0
I thought this one was a bit better. I have a hard time thinking I am better for having read it, but I did think it was well written and I did lose myself a bit in it. I guess I wasn't convinced it was a story that needed to be told. Well, I am glad I read it.
libcolleen's review against another edition
3.0
Very very very slow paced book. There is a lot to think about in it so it's worth the time, but it is not an easy read if you are at all attached to dialog or action.
swarmofbees's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
teensyslews's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
justgj's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
samwreads's review against another edition
3.0
I read this a few months ago so I'll keep my thoughts short since many details are lost to memory.
Overall this is a hard book to judge. In many ways it's amazing and the best of the trilogy. But in the end it's long and wandering and a bit harder to finish than its predecessors.
All of the books in the trilogy are empathetic and heartfelt, but this one is even more so. There's a central question of "what is a family" or "where do I belong" which is explored even as the main character explores the world. There are simple and more complex cruelties, both personal and structural, which bear upon the fictional world. Often these are perpetrated by or to the families and ties that form (and often break). I might think of the tribulations as a mix between a Margaret Atwood childhood and Arendt-ian force, although that's doing a disservice to the wide panoply of different people, groups and cultures that LeGuin imagines here. Throughout, the empathy and maturity of the narrative voice are far beyond what one might normally expect from a young adult novel. A bit like Tehanu did with the Earthsea series, this book might assume some development of its younger readers since the earlier novels. Or if that's not the case, maybe it encourages them along that path through the story. That is not to say it is normative, but rather that it is emotionally challenging, and how one responds to that challenge may determine how much one appreciates the novel.
So why three stars? It's honestly probably more like 3.5. I liked it more than "Gifts" but a bit less than "Voices." The cruelties and evil can be a bit much, and there's less narrative drive to the story. For a book of its length, this did make it much more challenging to finish than the first two. But for all of that it's a powerful and rewarding read for those willing to put in the effort.
Overall this is a hard book to judge. In many ways it's amazing and the best of the trilogy. But in the end it's long and wandering and a bit harder to finish than its predecessors.
All of the books in the trilogy are empathetic and heartfelt, but this one is even more so. There's a central question of "what is a family" or "where do I belong" which is explored even as the main character explores the world. There are simple and more complex cruelties, both personal and structural, which bear upon the fictional world. Often these are perpetrated by or to the families and ties that form (and often break). I might think of the tribulations as a mix between a Margaret Atwood childhood and Arendt-ian force, although that's doing a disservice to the wide panoply of different people, groups and cultures that LeGuin imagines here. Throughout, the empathy and maturity of the narrative voice are far beyond what one might normally expect from a young adult novel. A bit like Tehanu did with the Earthsea series, this book might assume some development of its younger readers since the earlier novels. Or if that's not the case, maybe it encourages them along that path through the story. That is not to say it is normative, but rather that it is emotionally challenging, and how one responds to that challenge may determine how much one appreciates the novel.
So why three stars? It's honestly probably more like 3.5. I liked it more than "Gifts" but a bit less than "Voices." The cruelties and evil can be a bit much, and there's less narrative drive to the story. For a book of its length, this did make it much more challenging to finish than the first two. But for all of that it's a powerful and rewarding read for those willing to put in the effort.