03. The Tombs of Atuan
Discussion with writer Paul Jessup about The Tombs of Atuan Intro 0:00 Paul’s 1st encounter with Le Guin and 1st read of THE TOMBS OF ATUAN 3:35 The place of ATUAN in the greater collection/its difference from the cycle 5:42 Anthropological influences/Ishi of Two Worlds (Yana group) 8:10 ATUAN’s compression/density/atmosphere/structure (Paul mistakes the opening scene for the one in THE FARTHEST SHORE. Oops!) 11:15 Belated, brief summary of book (spoilers!) 15:25 Bildungsromans/the book’s rituals/religious mythos 18:00 Claims of “austerity” in Le Guin’s prose/Kyle’s shock/the poetry and mis-expectation of overwriting in fantasy 28:30 Tolkien’s influence, positive and negative, on writers of Le Guin’s generation 38:05 ATUAN and folk horror (THE WICKER MAN was released 5 yrs after ATUAN in 1975!) 41:40 Relationship btw character prior to Ged’s appearing halfway thru 43:10 Reversal of agency/power in ATUAN/Le Guin’s narrative subversion 48:50 Jungian psychology in ATUAN 51:48 The leaving behind of childhood 55:35 Ring of Erreth-Akbe as MacGuffin 57:12 Maps, map confusion, and psychogeography of book 1:01:00