The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Last Unicorn
Book Review: What insight!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first book by Peter S. Beagle that I ever read and it remains my favorite. Beagle has such a beautiful talent to deict good and evil very well but also in such a light that you end the book with a renewed hope and beautiful view of life. I rarely read a boo more than once but I have read this book about half a dozen times and am about to read it again. The world just more beautiful when I read it and colors seem to become more vibrant. Any book that helps you look at life, even when it's a fantasy, in such a way that you see the bad but you retain that ope for the good and dreams seem possible is one I want not only on my shelf but several more copies to give out to friends and family.Book Review: READ THIS BOOK!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is the greatest of it's genre and i would like it known that this review is to a fellow reviewer (Laura Beattie). The ending of this book is not bad it is called literary drama, and how dare you critisize, as if you could do any better! No one says everything has to have a SUPER HAPPY ending, that would only make things super sappy! And just to make you think, perhaps the problem is not, "why many think this book is great", it's more like, "maybe you should go and find out what the problem is with you", the majority is not usually the one with the issues. I'm sad to say that 5 is the highest star rating on here. READ THIS BOOK, despite what others say, it's wonderful!Book Review: Might as well be the movie script
Summary: 4 Stars
I only wish I could have read this book before seeing the movie as a child. The writing in the books are verbatim with most of the lines in the movie, so much so that I find it very hard to separate the two. Thus, my imagination is infinitely jaded so that I can only see the childhood film interpretations. Of course the story is beautiful and somewhat unconventional at that. If this book interests you, I would encourage you to read "The Princess Bride". It too has a movie that lifted most of its lines verbatim from the text, but there's enough extra to make it much better than the film---and SO much funnier.Book Review: Identity Crisis
Summary: 2 Stars
Beagle is a gifted writer and the story line is original with great potential. Unfortunately, the telling of the story can't decide if it is fantasy or parody. Or perhaps it is parody and I wanted it to be fantasy. Beagle builds beautiful images with his prose only to topple them with flippant dialog and pointless actions. The ending is completely unsatisfying. Throughout the story, tension builds over the Red Bull, the nemesis of the unicorn, but when a confrontation takes place, the scene dissipates benignly and the story coasts to a bittersweet end.There are many elements here to enjoy, so it is worth the read; just don't expect too much. If you're looking for good fantasy, keep looking.
Book Review: The Last Unicorn
Summary: 5 Stars
She is the last of the Unicorns. For centuries, she has lived within her forest, at one with nature and her surroundings. Immortal, she has been unconcerned with the fate of the other Unicorns, for surely, if they were all gone, she would know of it? But it is not the case. Feeling curiosity and doubt for the first time in many years, she sets off to find out what has happened to the other Unicorns, why humans don't even seem to see her, and just what the mysterious Red Bull is.Beagle writes beautifully. Metaphors and similes are used with ease, and almost without exception they evoke images of verdant forest, shimmering lakes or crashing seas. Nature is a well-used tool for poetic license, and fits the theme and setting of the book perfectly.
Along the way, she meets the bumbling magician Schmendrick after being captured by a dark, evil witch, then Molly Grue next befriends her. Together the trio explore the land, venturing deep into the mean King Haggard's domain in search of the Red Bull.
Characters are either very black or very white. The Unicorn, we are told, is the most perfect, beautiful creature of all, and this lofty description is met and matched and every opportunity. We believe that she is perfect because her actions are perfect and the words to describe her are perfect. There is a sense of great sadness when she walks through a human town and is considered to be only a white mare, she cannot understand how the villagers seem unable to even see her horn.
There are mis-steps along the way, but not many. Some of the dialogue between humans is too anachronistic for my liking, and the opening to the second part of the novel in Haggard's castle dragged a little bit. A few too-clever modern day references were made as well, but really, all of these are minor. The writing is beautiful, capable of evoking sadness and joy, and the characters are a lot of fun to be around. The ending, while tidy, was expected almost from the start and is thus satisfying.
On a last note, the butterfly near the start was probably my favourite part of the whole novel, what a great character!