Taran Wanderer

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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The one question that's plagued Taran all his life is just who is he? Who is his family? Is there any chance at all that his family is some sort of nobility? This last question has taken on a new level of importance to him as he has realized that he's in love with a princess and can't do anything about it without that nobility.

Dallben can't answer the question for him – but he allows Taran leave to go try to find the answer himself. I've never understood just how Taran can pull this off – there's practically no birth records in Prydain (I can't imagine), it's not like he can get blood tests done – and he doesn't really interview anyone, just meanders around.

Still, he visits various corners of the kingdom – visiting friends old and new, dipping his toe in all sorts of trades and vocations. He renders aid, and gets aid. Fflewddur Fflam shows up and spends a good portion of the novel traveling with him (Gurgi remains a constant companion). There's a confrontation with a wizard, a regional armed conflict to try to settle, a mercenary band to deal with – as well as other woes.

He learns a lot, he matures a lot, and maybe even gets a dose of wisdom. It's not your traditional fantasy novel by any sense, but it's a good one.

As for the audiobook? Everything I've said about the other books in the series – Alexander's introduction and Langton's performance – holds true for this one.

The most emotionally rich of the books, the most thoughtful – particularly for those of the target age. Good, good stuff.

Summary: A coming-of-age novel set in a fantasy world.

I do not know when I first picked up the Chronicles of Prydain series. I do not remember why I picked it up or who may have recommended it. It was not my first fantasy series, I would have read the Chronicles of Narnia before this. But it was very early in my reading career, probably around the 4th or 5th grade. I have revisited the series many times, probably reading each book in the series six to ten times over the past forty years or so. One of the advantages of chronicling nearly all of my reading is that I can look back and see what I thought and when it was that I read the book. It has been 12 years. And I did not look at the previous post until drafting this, and I am not sure I can do better. So I am going to link to my post 12 years ago and say “Ditto.”

Yesterday, one of my favorite Twitter people had a thread that was really a subtweet. I won't get to the background, but the main point of her thread is that many people, especially white male theologians, like to argue about abstractions. But it is in the particulars that those discussions matter. One of the reasons that I love Taran Wander is that it is a book about gaining wisdom, not theory. Taran expresses the wisdom he gains in particular examples of his life and situation. I responded to the thread, maybe because I had recently read this book, asserting that Christianity is a wisdom tradition more than a tradition of principles and abstractions. To be a follower of Christ is to take what we have internalized about Christ and work out what that means to our situation daily.

As proof of the book's point about wisdom, here is the only line I have highlighted in my kindle edition, “I'd rather see a wise pig-keeper on my throne than a blood prince who's a fool!”

I am definitely over-promoting the series, but I do think that the series traces Taran being mentored or acting as an apprentice to Dalton and Coll, and the other characters of the book so that he could serve those around him as a mature human. This is what I want for young adult and middle-grade books more than anything else.

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Short review (2011) This is my favorite book of the series. While the whole series is about growing up, this is the book that is really about moving from teen to adult. Taran learns joy in work and about this own weaknesses. I wish more YA books talked about the fact that we are just not good at everything. Taran, like must YA protaganists, can get a bit whiney at times, but he is actually better in this book that the previous ones.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/taran-wanderer/

Despite the fact that Taran was irritating at times, with his “woe is me” attitude, I suppose it wouldn't have been a very good “coming of age” story without a little youthful stupidity.

SpoilerI have two quibbles with this book: One, I find it rather convenient that Morda's spells dissipate with his death. For all Taran knew, when Morda was slain, the spells might have remained in place forever. Two, I also take issue with the fact that the ladies of the Marshes of Morva never collect on their bargain with Taran - in this book or the next. (Sidebar: is there some significance of the similarity in names, “Morva” and “Morda”? I thought it odd.)

The redeeming factor of this book was the Craddoc storyline. SpoilerIt was truly Taran's comeuppance, and his turning point, I thought.

Ultimately, though, this was just a stepping stone to the final battle in the fifth and last book.

4.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

With his friend Eilonwy off learning about princessing, Assistant Pig Keeper Taran begins to worry about his parentage. With faithful companion Gurgi, he sets off to learn about himself.

There's little in this book that will surprise an experienced adult reader of fantasy. For younger readers, though, Taran Wanderer is a pretty fine book It's a solid discovery adventure that never loses track of the fun, while still being packed full of solid, serious morals about values. Even without Eilonwy, this is a much stronger and less formulaic offering than the previous entry, The Castle of Llyr. It's the quintessential ‘finding what you weren't looking for' story.

Despite the strong story and the easily swallowed morals, it's not perfect. In particular, Alexander continues to completely bypass Gurgi, the most interesting character in the series. He continues to play loyal, devoted servant, and to be broadly unacknowledged. For example, Taran spends a good portion of the book making things - always for himself. Not once does he think, ‘Hey, Gurgi stands by me and keeps saving my life. Maybe I should do something for him.' It's a disappointment, and a missed opportunity that actually undercuts the book's moral messages.

Regardless of that flaw, Taran Wanderer is a fine continuation of the series, and well worth picking up.