The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Last Unicorn
Book Review: A Beautiful Tale
Summary: 5 Stars
The Last Unicorn is a magically beautiful tale. I love the way Beagle writes...smooth flowing narration in a calm tone, dotted with poetic and beautiful descriptions throughout. It's just pure fantasy. The ending is a bit sad though.Book Review: A Beautiful and Bittersweet Fantasy
Summary: 4 Stars
THREE QUICK POINTS:
* Point 1: Nature plays a large role. The textures, the aromas, and the sounds all revolve around the things that grow and thrive in nature; shifting from air to sea to fire to earth to metal, and sometimes intermingling.
* Point 2: The unicorn is rather vain, but in such a way that her vanity seems justified. Throughout the text we're reminded that the unicorn is the most beautiful creature, much of which is her own musing, and when she's turned human, she's incredibly distraught because she's mortal and dying, and therefore no longer beautiful.
* Point 3: This book is a musical without the sheet music. If anyone had any doubts that Mr. Beagle enjoys writing lyrics, hand them this book. Just about everyone sings something at some point, ranging from the silly and nonsensical to the melancholy.
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
A unicorn residing in a lilac wood overhears two huntsmen discussing the existence of unicorns. When the unicorn learns that she's the last of her kind, she embarks on a journey to find her kin. On this adventure, she learns about the Red Bull who drove the unicorns away, gets captured in a traveling sideshow, meets a kind and loyal magician named Schmendrick and a woman named Molly Grue who join her journey, is turned into a human, and ultimately learns the truth about the unicorns.
MY THOUGHTS:
If you have no patience for florid language and abstract descriptions, then this is not the book for you. Nearly every sentence is rife with similes and adjectives and adverbs. In any other story, I'd probably admonish the author, but for The Last Unicorn, it works. It brightened up the narration, even in the dreariest of passages.
From the very first page, I was sucked into the fantasy, into a completely different world possibly long ago or existing parallel to this one. Who truly knows? What I do know is that I felt as though I were standing right next to the unicorn throughout her entire journey and meeting the same creatures and people that she did and escaping from the same dangers. In other words, the story felt real. Intellectually I knew the story was fiction, but deep inside, in a place that's usually lost to age, it was completely believable.
Each character was built with a perfect balance of strength and weakness. For instance, the unicorn is vain. In the beginning, the vanity seems justified to an extent, but when she's transformed into the Lady Amalthea who now has human emotions and desires, that justifiable vanity becomes arrogance, mainly to disguise her fear. Schmendrick was a good-natured bungling wizard who occasionally had an off day. It was the off days that made him so relatable. And the indomitable Molly Grue, the voice of cool reason and support. Together the characters all complemented each other well.
The story had a nice flow, though I will admit some parts tended to slow down, but it wasn't so bad that I could put the book down and never want to pick it up again. The opposite, actually. Those sections gave me a moment to breathe so I could put the book down for the night get some rest and come back to it another day. Frankly, I was glad that the book took a little longer than usual to read because I wanted to prolong the story. Even when it ended I felt a little sad because I wanted to continue on with each character on their journeys.
I also need to mention that this is not a typical happily-ever-after fairytale either. A difficult decision needed to be made at the end and it left me a bit heartbroken, but satisfied.
Book Review: A Beautiful, Moving Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a junior in high school, and while I have been avidly reading all sorts of fantasy novels for years, I have never read a more deeply moving, wonderful book than this one. I first read this novel because I enjoyed the movie so much as a child. Before I began reading, I thought it would be exactly like the movie, beautiful but simple and lighthearted. However, once I started reading, I soon realized that the book is much, much more. Now, I have nothing against simple, straightforward writing, but the symbiosis between humor and poignancy is what really makes this book so priceless. It is such a deep, multi-level novel. One moment the slightly wacky unconventionalism of parts of the story have me laughing out loud, but in the next moment, I read a line of beautiful, deeply-moving prose so wonderful that it makes me cry. Call me weird, but diction stirring enough to make me cry is one of the most gorgeous things on earth. Though a theme is never expressly stated (and the novel is the richer for it), the entire story is deeply thematic. In his mesmerising, poetic style, Beagle expresses the timeless themes of love and sacrifice, and the loss of innocence in order to save the world. The characters are heroes in the truest sense of the word, though unconventional and with a fair share of faults. In the face of sadness and fear, they all struggle to save the world from corruption. However, after they have succeeded, they realize they have grown too much and lived through too much to ever completely fit into their world again. However, they realize the worth of what they have accomplished, and have hope for the furure. The novel doesn't end exactly happily, but it ends with such a feeling of beautiful poignancy, it's better than any completely happy ending ever could be. I am not nearly doing this wonderful book justice. Now that I have actually tried to express my feelings, I realize I don't have the ability to put them into words. Any book that contains lines so stirring and beautiful that they echo in my soul for weeks afterward is well worth your time to read. It is not a child's tale (though it is by NO MEANS "dirty"), for it takes an emotionally mature person to fully experience the many layers of meaning in this work. But if you like novels that cut you to the soul so deeply the impression never fades, read this book. It's an experience you'll never forget.Book Review: A Dark, Philosophical Fantasy that should certainly not be classified as young adults' fiction.
Summary: 5 Stars
I like Peter S Beagle because even though his stories are set in mythical worlds or the spirit world they deal with grave issues of human existence that unsettle the reader.
I discovered this wonderful author through the animated version of The Last Unicorn, which I had watched as a child. The cartoon was so disturbing (in a good way) that years later images from it would flash in my mind. It was only recently that I discovered that it was an adaptation and immediately purchased the novel.
While the animated version has its own hypnotic allure, the novel is a million times better. Written in a lyrical style that is almost dream-like, the novel narrates the story of a solitary unicorn who leaves her forest in search of her kind. Her journey leads her to friendship, danger, human experience and even love that is impossible.
What draws me to the novel is the almost morbid tone that pervades the greater part of the novel and the philosophic element of the prose.
The novel deals with friendship, loyalty, what it means to be immortal and the pangs of human existence. Reading the novel I was glad that I am mortal, for harbouring sorrow, loss and regret for eternity is a far greater torture than fear of death.
Though the novel does not end in the traditional fairy tale mode, it is a satisfying ending that resurges all the themes discussed in the novel. You will be haunted by this story for a very long time.
My only problem with the novel is that it is classified as young adults' fiction. This might deflect an adult readership. Don't be misguided by the classification. This is a novel that can be read at various levels and enjoyed by all.
Book Review: A Fun Read for All Ages!!
Summary: 5 Stars
For Christmas I received a book titled, "The Last Unicorn". I have never read or heard of this tale but I am a huge fan of mythical creatures and mythology and after reading the synopsis on the back, I knew this was going to be a book I would enjoy reading. Thank you to Bobby who was the kind person who gave this gift to me.
The story is about a unicorn, no surprise here as the title clearly explains that, who embarks on a quest to find others of her kind. She steps out of her forest home and steps into an adventure full of mystery and magic. She meets up with a magician named Schmendrick; he helps in rescuing her from the clutches of Mommy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival. Her other companion is a woman named Molly who is a big believer in Unicorns and legends. This threesome makes their way to King Haggard's castle to find the Red Bull, who is believed to have captured all the unicorns.
There is so much more to the story than the simple synopsis I wrote above but I don't want to give away any of the fun adventures the unicorn finds herself in. I will say that if you have children or if you would like to read a fun tale that is simply written, then this is a book you want to pick up.
The story is told in a wonderful way that will awaken your imagination. Plus the story isn't a one dimension tale but a multi directional story. Each new person the unicorn meets brings another layer to the story and enhances the main plot. And although the story was written for the young reader, adults will also become involved in the tragic tale of truth, love, and of the consequences that result in the choices we make.
Five stars for this book - The Last Unicorn!
For more reviews, check out my blog at decemberjoy.wordress.com