This is a hard book to like. Clearly stung by feminist criticism of the Earthsea series, Le Guin wrote the fourth book as a feminist novel about the abuse of women by men. In every chapter of Tehanu a female character is either insulted, neglected, abandoned, or physically abused by a male. To top it off, the great wizard Ged of the previous novels is reduced to a powerless embittered 60 year old virgin. Not exactly a feel good read, but it does show that the Fantasy genre can deal with heavy issues and is not just about escapism.
