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The Farthest Shore
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
The National Book Awardwinning third novel in the renowned Earthsea series from Ursula K. LeGuin.In this third book in the Earthsea series, darkness threatens to overtake Earthsea: The world and its wizards are losing their magic. But Ged SparrohawkArchmage, wizard, and dragonlordis determined to discover the source of this devastating loss.Aided by Enlads young Prince Arren, Ged embarks on a treacherous journey that will test their strength and will. Because to restore magic, the two warriors must venture to the farthest reaches of their worldand even beyond the realm of death. With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Le Guins Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
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Leftcoastzen
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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#BookBinge #InvolvesDragon Yes indeed a 🐉

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Great cover 🐉 8mo
Eggs Well done 👍🏼 8mo
51 likes2 comments
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HeyT
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this and think it will stay with me but I feel like Tombs of Atuan is still my favorite. Arren was a solid POV character but after a while boy coming of age quests aren‘t fave material.

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bookishbitch
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

Book 3 finished in my 6 book illustrated edition. I really loved the ending to this one. It had so many feels. It really kept me guessing right to the end as well. I can't believe it has taken me this long to find this author. She is simply amazing.

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JennO1
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Haven‘t historically been into fantasy, but I‘m really enjoying the Earthsea series

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Pedrocamacho
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

What a wrap to the story of Ged. I loved the journey and the menace.

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hissingpotatoes
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Evil, in this book, has an immediate, ugly, human shape, because I saw evil not as some horde of foreign demons with bad teeth and superweapons but as an insidious and ever-present enemy in my own daily life in my own country: the ruinous irresponsibility of greed.

#QuotsyOCT21 day 16: demonic

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tenar
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

I found this novel‘s portrayal of fear, depression, and loneliness moving, but I feel this was slightly the weakest of the beautiful Earthsea trilogy. I wonder if Le Guin felt she needed to balance her unconventional themes with a very conventional young prince protagonist.

Yet it was a sound and fitting end to an arc, and meaningful in its journey to explore death as both key to the balance of life and as a reality personally, inevitably faced.

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wideeyedreader
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

Another bingo! #bookspinbingo

I‘m so glad I added this book to my bookspin list this month; I always love reading the Earthsea novels and this was no exception!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Awesome progress!!! 4y
23 likes2 comments
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wideeyedreader
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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1. I‘m not really an accessory person, besides one ring I inherited from my grandmother that I wear daily

2. Nope!

3. I‘m almost done with the tagged; it‘s lots of fun!

Thanks for the tag @AmyK1
If you‘d like to play, consider yourself tagged! #thoughtfulthursday

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hissingpotatoes
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Evil, in this book, has an immediate, ugly, human shape, because I saw evil not as some horde of foreign demons with bad teeth and superweapons but as an insidious and ever-present enemy in my own daily life in my own country: the ruinous irresponsibility of greed.

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hissingpotatoes
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Being an irreligious puritan and a rational mystic, I think it's irresponsible to let a belief think for you or a chemical dream for you.

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BekaReid
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Friday night plans

LiteraryinLawrence What a cutie! How old is he or she? 4y
DieAReader What a gorgeous kitty! 🥰😻💖 4y
BekaReid @SquidgetsRoom @LiteraryinLititz Thanks! She's 5 months. We've had Seren for nearly 3 weeks now, and she has completely captured my heart and is working on @JReid too 😉🤣 4y
LiteraryinLawrence @BekaReid Awwwwww! I‘d love to meet her some time! 4y
BekaReid @LiteraryinLititz I'm sure that could be arranged! 4y
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AvidReader25
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Mehso-so

This is the third book in the Earthsea quartet. Even though it‘s only 200 pages, I struggled to read it. For me, it dragged and lost all momentum after the first chapter. There is a darkness is creeping through the land causing wizards to lose their sorcery. Archmage Ged travels with Arden, a young prince, to find the source of the corruption and shut the door between the worlds of life and death.

“There must be darkness to see the stars.”

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scowler1
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

Loving these tales of Earthsea!

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hissingpotatoes
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

4.5/5 ⭐. Le Guin, as usual, delivers a stunning physical and thematic journey through magic, adventure, philosophy, and the meaning of life and death. Some of the middle dragged a bit for me upon this re-read, but Ged continues to be an interesting character (he and his boat are the best pairing), the world continues to intrigue, and I look forward to continuing the series. #projectreread

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hissingpotatoes
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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When I was young, I had to choose between the life of being and the life of doing. And I leapt at the latter like a trout to a fly. But each deed you do, each act, binds you to itself and to its consequences, and makes you act again and yet again. Then very seldom do you come upon a space, a time like this, between act and act, when you may stop and simply be. Or wonder who, after all, you are.

#projectreread

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hissingpotatoes
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Ged's utter joy and liveliness when on his boat, Lookfar, is the purest part of this entire series. 💙💙💙

#projectreread

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hissingpotatoes
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Fortune-telling and love-potions are not of much account, but old women are worth listening to.

#projectreread

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rwmg
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
Pickpick

Perhaps the weakest of the original trilogy, with heavy handed explicit exposition of rhe author's Taoist views. Hesitating between a pick and a so-so.

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rwmg
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin

But his heart went out utterly to his companion, not now with that first romantic ardor and adoration, but painfully, as if a link were drawn forth from the very inmost of it and forged into an unbreaking bond. For in this love he now felt there was compassion: with-out which love is untempered, and is not whole, and does not last.

Excerpt From: "The Farthest Shore" by Ursula K. Le Guin.

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rwmg
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin

"This is not a righting of the Balance, but an upsetting of it. There is only one creature who can do that.”

“A man?” Arren said, tentative.

“We men.”

“How?”

“By an unmeasured desire for life.”

“For life? But it isn‘t wrong to want to live?”

“No. But when we crave power over life—endless wealth, unassailable safety, immortality—then desire becomes greed. And if knowledge allies itself to that greed, then comes evil.”

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BooksMcD
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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“Do you see how an act is not ... like a rock that one picks up and throws, and it hits or misses, and that's the end of it. When that rock is lifted, the earth is lighter; the hand that bears it heavier. When it is thrown, the circuits of the stars respond, and where it strikes or falls, the universe is changed ...

Having intelligence, we must not act in ignorance. Having choice, we must not act without responsibility.” ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

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Leniverse
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin

"For only that is ours which we are willing to lose. That selfhood, our torment and glory, our humanity, does not endure. It changes and it goes, a wave on the sea. Would you have the sea grow still and all the tides cease to save one wave, to save yourself? Would you give up the craft of your hands, and the passion of your heart, and the hunger of your mind, to buy safety?"

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Leniverse
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin

"But his heart went out utterly to his companion, not now with that first romantic ardour and adoration, but painfully as if a link were drawn forth from the very inmost of it and forged into an unbreaking bond. For in this love he now felt there was compassion: without which love is untempered, and is not whole, and does not last."

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UrsulaMonarch
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

What an interesting addition to the Earthsea world. On the one hand, 🐉. On the other hand, in this volume, the world is broken and the descriptions of the desolation, bleakness and barrenness of the collapse are as effective as anything I've read. Le Guin's writing is outstanding, if depressing, here.
#earthseachapteraday

GatheringBooks i have this in my shelves waiting to be read.... at some point in my life 😭🤣😂 6y
UrsulaMonarch @GatheringBooks I hear you! It's also a sturdy classic Bildungsroman ( had to look up that spelling) if I made it sound like too much of a downer! 😂 6y
batsy Great review and you're so right about the details of the collapse. But I don't know why, Tombs of Atuan felt bleaker. Your words are making me consider this in a different light 👍🏽 6y
UrsulaMonarch @batsy I've been thinking about your comment a lot, thanks! For me the *story* of Atuan was sadder, but the words of this one were devastating. So much writing about the silence and desolation in the world - which was so fitting with the plot! Anyway thanks for making me think more, too! 😊💚 6y
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BarbaraJean
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

It‘s interesting comparing the three books—I was most intrigued with the ideas in Tombs of Atuan & found its ending the most compelling of the three. But I most enjoyed the stories in the first & third. In this one, a quest to put the world right, a coming of age for Arren, and the two standing together against the darkness. I‘ve grown to love Ged as a character—a long way from being really annoyed at him in the first book! #earthseachapteraday

MayJasper Love the covers 6y
BarbaraJean @MayJasper My childhood library only had Wizard of Earthsea, and I didn‘t realize there were more until I saw Tombs of Atuan in a used bookstore when I was in grad school! 6y
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GarthRanzz These are my favourite of all the cover versions. I only have the first and third in this edition though. Still looking for a copy of Tombs. 6y
batsy I love your description. That's how I felt too. The ideas in Tombs were most intriguing, but story-wise I really enjoyed the 1st and 3rd. 6y
UrsulaMonarch @batsy @BarbaraJean I love this discussion. The second book was my least favorite so far but I agree the ideas in it are really interesting! Thanks for helping me reflect on it more! 6y
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BarbaraJean
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Arren saw the world now with his companion‘s eyes and saw the living splendor that was revealed about them in the silent, desolate land...So when one stands in a cherished place for the last time before a voyage without return, he sees it all whole, and real, and dear, as he has never seen it before and never will see it again. #Earthseachapteraday

UrsulaMonarch This quote really struck me too! 6y
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batsy
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

I admit that this came as a relief after Tombs of Atuan. I was happy to travel with Arren & Ged & appreciated how cohesive the book was in terms of language, structure, & plot. Though ostensibly about geopolitics, it was less political, in terms of social relations & power, than the previous two. You can tell Le Guin enjoyed thinking & writing about dragons. It was a pleasure to read about them; it was my favourite part. 🐉 #EarthseaChapterADay

2BR02B My biggest criticism of this one is that there were even fewer women than in A Wizard of Earthsea. 6y
batsy @2BR02B Yes. And the one book so far with women in it was a difficult read, for me. I'm still not sure what the gender commentary is, if any. It's interesting that the books are fantasy but the depiction of gender relations was not reimagined; that it remained very much like real life. (Especially during the time she was writing it, leading up to the 60s—the grim, dreary claustrophobia of women being relegated to the "domestic" space.) 6y
RealLifeReading I remember reading somewhere (an interview or an essay?) where she talked about how her early fiction was male-centric because that's how she knew fantasy to be at the time. And I was thinking maybe if she had written it with more female characters, that it might not have been published at the time? 6y
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batsy @RealLifeReading Oh yes, thanks! Great point and I'm sure it would have been a huge thing at the time in terms of getting a book deal. I think I read somewhere that even making Ged a non-white character had to be handled very subtly and not in your face. Illuminating, depressing, and rage-inducing all at once! 6y
RealLifeReading Exactly! Which was why that tv series they did was so infuriating! 6y
chapter_fifty2017 Absolutely luved the earthsea trilogy but agree tombs of atua least favorite but i was young at the time😉 😍😍😍😍 6y
UrsulaMonarch @batsy - love your review & totally agree, especially about the 💚🐉 💚 - I'll write my review soon, but I found this book to be so bleak! Really well written but so stark!! 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B Were you satisfied with the ending? Why or why not? Do you have any hopes or predictions for the next book? 6y
ghosthost @2BR02B Mostly, but I found Ged and Arren‘s return from death confusing. Since the end of the book made it clear that there is an unknown narrator telling us a story, I hope the next book tells us something about Earthsea in that narrator‘s time. What has changed? 6y
InLibrisVeritas @2BR02B For the most part I am. I do feel like this whole series has been so quick in terms of plot, at times it feels a bit glossed over. I hope we get to see how the kingship changes Earthsea. 6y
JazzFeathers Mostly l am, though l think the ending was a bit too 'pergect'. I have no idea what the next book will be about. The last chapter really sounds like the last chapter 😆 So l'm quite curious. 6y
UrsulaMonarch I liked how the last chapter sort of had it both ways with Ged and if he's around or not. I'll miss him if he's not! Arren was a little dull to me but if we are following him hopefully he'll get more interesting... 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B In this chapter we saw that souls on Earthsea experience a form of reincarnation- an explicit nod to Eastern theology. The influence of Taoism on the series has led some to dub it "The Anti-Narnia." Do you agree? In what other ways does Earthsea subvert stereotypes found in more traditionally Western fantasies, like Narnia and Lord of the Rings? 6y
ghosthost @2BR02B I don‘t know enough about Narnia to answer that question, but the idea of death as a requirement for life and immortality being unnatural is one example. Many Western fantasies have immortal races, items that grant immortality or a quest for immortality. Although I‘m sure someone will have counterexamples. 6y
UrsulaMonarch @2BR02B interesting- I guess I can see the idea, but I don't think of Earthsea as the anti-Narnia any more than I personally see Taoism as the opposite of Christianity! I don't know a lot about fantasy but it often has a similar dualism as we see in Earthsea... 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B Why do you think the dragons of the West Reach were unable to defeat Cob without Ged's help? 6y
UrsulaMonarch @2BR02B not sure! I love the descriptions of the dragons - the yawn was especially good, I thought - but they remain enigmatic to me!! Did you have thoughts on this? 6y
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Phlamboyant
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Something's not quite right here . . .

Eyelit 🤣🤣🤣 6y
Sace Um.... I don't know where to put this but I think you might have the best profile pic of all time. 6y
Phlamboyant @RestlessFickleBookHoarder Thanks! I wish I were that unicorn. 🤣 6y
Sace @Phlamboyant me too! 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B Are you surprised that Arren is destined to be King of Havnor? Knowing his fate, why do you think Ged chose him as companion for such a dangerous journey? 6y
GarthRanzz I‘m not surprised actually. I think Ged saw something at the fountain and knew what his course needed to be. I even think Ged went as far as to charm Arren so that he would follow him. I just think he “fell in love” with Ged too quickly and easily to not have been placed under a spell. 6y
AmandaL I wasn't surprised either. As soon as the prophesy about the next king was mentioned, I knew Arren had to follow Ged to make it happen. 6y
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batsy Like the others said, I wasn't surprised. I think it's because in going through that rite of passage, as it were, Arren proved himself. There was something Ged said at the beginning about the kind of people who become kings, or something along those lines. Sorry, I don't have my book with me at the moment and I finished this awhile ago—it was really a pleasure to read this one! 6y
BarbaraJean I wasn‘t surprised, but I also wasn‘t expecting it until he took his sword with him on Selidor. Then it kind of clicked! I also wondered whether Ged knew Arren‘s fate definitively when he chose him...or if the journey was part of Arren being chosen, if that makes sense. I kind of feel like Ged chose him so that he could grow into who he needed to be. 6y
Sisasuku No surprise here. But I think without the journey, he wouldn't become king. And without Arren, Ged would have died on the journey. I guess Ged saw that Arren had the potential to become king, and took him along because of it. 6y
ghosthost @2BR02B I wasn‘t surprised. I think Ged took Arren for many reasons, one of which being that he wisely knew he needed someone with different skills and a different perspective. 6y
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InLibrisVeritas
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Really didn't want to stop listening to this today. I'm almost done, but alas I had to actually move around at work today.

I just got a raise and new job which is more clerical instead and requires a bit more attention as I get use to everything.

#Earthseachapteraday

DivineDiana Congratulations!!! 6y
LiteraryinLawrence Congrats on the new job! 6y
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DGRachel Congrats on the new job!! 6y
Louise Congratulations! Enjoy your new job! 🥂🍾🎉 6y
2BR02B Woohoo! Congrats! 🎉 6y
Eyelit Congrats! 🎊🎉 6y
42 likes8 comments
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InLibrisVeritas
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Really didn't want to stop listening to this today. I'm almost done, but alas I had to actually move around at work today.

I just got a raise and new job which is more clerical instead and requires a bit more attention as I get use to everything.

#Earthseachapteraday

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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B Do you have any predictions about who (or what) the "Anti-King" is? 6y
Sisasuku By now I finished the book, but I remember having no idea who they were up against. None at all. 6y
JazzFeathers No. No club at the moment. You mean it is someone we already know? 6y
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2BR02B @JazzFeathers I've been waiting for Jasper to make a reappearance, so I'm wondering if it might be him. 6y
InLibrisVeritas No clue, but the idea of Jasper coming back is interesting! 6y
JazzFeathers @2BR02B Goodness. I had to think for a moment who the hell Jasper was. Now l remember 😃 6y
batsy Oh, the idea of the return of Jasper is very intriguing! 6y
UrsulaMonarch I'd been thinking the Anti-King would be an abstract force (darkness) rather than a person! 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B In AWOE, a shipwrecked Ged was rescued by two Kargish siblings. In this chapter, he once again owes his life to the kindness of strangers when he and Arren are saved by the raft people. Why do you think Le Guin has returned to this motif? What message might she be trying to impart to the reader? 6y
Sisasuku I love this motif because it shows that it doesn't matter how strong or accomplished you are, sometimes you need the help of someone else. And in both cases, the people able to give that help did so freely and without ulterior motifs. They didn't want anything in return. Maybe UKL wants us to be a bit more like those people. 6y
AmandaL I think it is like the story of the Good Samaritan. The Kargish were barbarians that attacked Ged's village as a child. Yet the brother and sister helped him. The Children of the Open Sea were near neighbors to the islanders that attacked Ged and Arren with spears. I think she's showing that what makes people good is universal. 6y
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llwheeler I am so behind right now, sorry! 🙈 i will catch up as quickly as i can! 6y
ghosthost @Sisasuku @AmandaL Great points! I think it‘s an illustration of the importance of community and having a broad definition of who‘s part of our community. We‘re all human. We all need help sometimes. Even the strongest are sometimes vulnerable. We need each other. 6y
JazzFeathers Honestly, it reminded me of real history. The Children of the Open Seas sound a lot like Native Americans of the Prairies. The way they lead their life it's very similar to how people like the Lakota used to. Separate for months, they came together for the Long Dance (Lakota also came together for a secret dance). To me, LeGuin was drawing from history in that episode. 6y
BarbaraJean @AmandaL I like that parallel to the Good Samaritan—both the brother & sister and the Children of the Open Sea were outsiders (like the Samaritans were), not from the same culture as Ged & Arren, and they demonstrate a positive encounter with the “other.” I feel like this theme is also shown with Tenar in Tombs. She was definitely outside Ged‘s culture, but he saw the good that was there rather than assuming that Kargish = bad. 6y
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BarbaraJean
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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I, who am old, who have done what I must do, who stand in the daylight facing my own death, the end of all possibility, I know that there is only one power that is real and worth the having. And that is the power, not to take, but to accept.
#earthseachapteraday

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AmandaL
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pickpick

I caught up on #EarthseaChapterADay and then some. This was by far my favorite of the Earthsea books. It read like this was the book all the others were working toward.

JazzFeathers I quite agree. I really enjoyed the last two chapters with the dragons. For the first time, l was tempted to read on. 6y
AmandaL @JazzFeathers I hope I like the next one as much as this. 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B Why do you think Sopli turned Arren against Ged? 6y
AmandaL I think he wants immortality and he thinks if he finds the Lord of Shadows, he may get it. Ged may take Sopli to him, but Ged is a threat. I think by turning Arren against him, Sopli sought an ally against Ged if needed. 6y
JazzFeathers @AmandaL l agree. I think Sopli is scared of Ged and looks for an ally against him. 6y
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UrsulaMonarch
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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My favorite line so far: "old women are worth listening to."
#earthseachapteraday

GarthRanzz One of my favourite lines. 6y
batsy I know! I jumped at that line. How far we have come from TWoE. Interesting in a way, when Ged was young and arrogant, the views about women and magic were similarly arrogant... Now that he's older, the perspective has changed. 6y
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AmandaL
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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Finally catching up on my #EarthseaChapterADay reading!

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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B Why do you think Arren is drawn to Ged, and vice versa? How do they complement one another? 6y
GarthRanzz I thought Arren‘s “attraction” to Ged was a little creepy. Almost seemed like he was under a geas. 6y
UrsulaMonarch I think it's a mentor/mentee relationship and they both seem to need the other for it. It feels like we have more insight into Arren and he does seem extremely devoted. I feel like Ged brings a lot to the relationship but... I'm not really sure about Arren's side! 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B TFS seems to be more political in tone than the previous two books. What do you think of the change in direction? 6y
2BR02B WHEW. Finally all caught up after a super busy weekend. Thanks for your patience, all! 💕 6y
JazzFeathers Why do you think this? I may agree that this is more political then Wizard, if we understand politic as the relationship between power and the individual. But on this ground, l'd say Atuan is more political than this. I'd rather say that the three books are exploring different ways to related one self to magic, which to me is more of a phulosophical matter. 6y
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InLibrisVeritas I am along the same lines as Jazz. Each book goes into the world/individuals relationship to magic in some way. For me Atuan explored religion more heavily, though I'm not sure if Shore is heavy on politics. The lack of a king is very much a focal point, and I am curious as to why. I understand the need for a unifying force in Earthsea, but how well would it truly work with all the established laws of each individual place. 6y
2BR02B @JazzFeathers I didn't find Atuan political at all. Although the Godking was introduced as a governmental figure, they didn't really play any role in the plot. In TFS on the other hand, students at the school on Roke have discussions like this: "People are tired of wars and raids and merchants who overprice and princes who overtax and all the confusion of unruly powers. Roke guides, but it can't rule. The Balance lies here, but the Power should... 6y
2BR02B ...lie in the king's hands." It's our first real taste of how government and economics work in Earthsea, or don't. That's why I use the term "political." 6y
JazzFeathers @2BR02B l said that Atuan was more political for me because, even if they never talked about it, the way power works (through religion and through beliefs, which are indeed connected to a more classica political power - I'm thinking the Godking) have a great influence on the story, on Tenar's life and on her ability and quality of decision. 6y
JazzFeathers This third novel, on the other way, is very much an individual story, as @InLibrisVeritas printed out. Both Ged and Arran are following their instinct, the social and political situation has very little bearing on their path (as the slave episode has shown). They are going from one personal experience to the other, society and indeed any community activity have no influence on their actions, at lest so far. 6y
InLibrisVeritas I will say I wish they would delve into why the king is so important to stability, other than being a unifying symbol. Maybe I'm jaded because of the real world, but I don't really see how a figure head at the center would make the outlaying islands behave any better than they do currently. It would be nice to get some details on that point, or perhaps I have missed them? 6y
2BR02B @InLibrisVeritas Having just read The Dispossessed, Le Guin's novel about an anarchist utopia, I gotta say the glorifying of monarchy I'm seeing here is a strange departure. Maybe it'll make more sense by the end of the book. 6y
Sisasuku I'm also not sure if I'd call it political. But I do notice that while AWOE was Ged's story, and TOA was Tenar's, TFS seems to focus on a global problem of Earthsea instead of a personal one. (I think that ultimately it will be Arren's story of how he became king - but that's just my prediction) 6y
Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas I don't really see it either. But he may do some good, simply because he would try to see the whole of Earthsea instead of only one land. 6y
JazzFeathers @Sisasuku l have the same impression, that this is the story of how Arren becomes king 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B Do you think Ged should have done more to help the slaves? Why or why not? 6y
JazzFeathers In a way, l understand the thinking: He gave the slave the occasion, but they had to grasp it and do something with it. But in another way, l think this is quite a semplistic way to present how a slave trade works. 6y
Fantasyfan I don‘t think he should have helped more. He did what they could not. The rest was up to them. I often tell my kids I won‘t do for you what you can do for yourself. They needed to take their own freedom back. It would not have had the same meaning for them if it had been handed to them. Plus there was probably an element of revenge or anger that they needed to work out of their systems and GED would have stolen that from them. 6y
Sisasuku I think what he did was right. He gave them a chance to take their future into their own hands. 6y
UrsulaMonarch I thought this chapter was the most Taoism we've seen in a while, and that Ged's actions fit into that framework 6y
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InLibrisVeritas
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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I am super tired today, but I am enjoying this third installement in the Earthsea series. It has the same feeling as the first but feels more polished somehow. I am super curious as to what is happening with the magic. #earthseachapteraday

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UrsulaMonarch
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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One of my little readers helped me unpack the generous gift from @DGRachel !!! 💚📚💚📚💚 thank you so much as I continue on #earthseachapteraday - and maybe he'll be reading it himself someday! 😊

DGRachel I‘m glad they arrived safely and have a new home where they‘ll be appreciated! 6y
2BR02B Yay! Glad they found a loving home and that you'll be able to join us on the rest of our adventure! 6y
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2BR02B
The Farthest Shore | Ursula K. Le Guin
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2BR02B What might be the connection between the drug hazia and the loss of magical abilities? 6y
JazzFeathers Maybe this is too elementary (so probably it is not the case 😆) but the drug that deteches the body from the mind might have the side effect to slowly erase what deeper knowledge allows people to function inside their reality. It weakens anything mystic about reality, if you will. 6y
InLibrisVeritas It seems to have the typical side effects of drug addiction. It dulls the mind, except to the experiences provided by that drug. Suddenly all other things are unimportant, and in this case magic becomes a sham because they have found something that they feel is real. 6y
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ghosthost @JazzFeathers That makes sense. So it kills brain cells? Or maybe it blocks or interferes with how their brains function? 6y
JazzFeathers @ghosthost Yes, something like that. But l think also to a soul level. They become unable to see the subtle connections between their soul and the reality around them, which is where magic works, in my opinion. 6y
Sisasuku I feel there's still something missing. Because I don't think that Arren's father takes the drug, and he can't perform magic anymore. Maybe the drug somehow goes into the eco system in the regions it is used and changes the water so everybody is affected? 6y
UrsulaMonarch @Sisasuku @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @InLibrisVeritas I may be completely missing something but I had been interpreting that people started to take hazia to deal with losing magical abilities! Whoops!? 6y
UrsulaMonarch Regardless I really like the description of a place that is sort of falling apart in this way 6y
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