The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Last Unicorn
Book Review: A penetrating, touching book, surprisingly deep for fantasy.
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw the movie "The Last Unicorn" as a little girl, and I remember being enchanted by the beauty of the unicorn and Lady Amalthea. I really wished I could be there, see her, touch her, be a part of the story. One of the most vivid memories I have as a child was watching this movie for the first time, and being utterly heartbroken at the end. But now that I have read this novel, I can pick up on the real meaning, and it's even more sad than before. One of the most endearing qualities of this book is its ability to leave you desperate to read on, yet also break your heart at the same time. It's so sad, I nearly cried. It brought back memories of how I felt as a child when watching the film. Yet unlike my childhood experience, I now felt like I understood why the story ended as it did. It's definitely a story I'll never forget.Book Review: A real fairy tale.
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone..."But when one day she overhears two hunters arguing about the existence, or not, of her kind, she starts wondering if she's indeed the last unicorn, and sets off on a quest to find others like her. Nobody believes in fairy tales anymore and everyone she meets thinks she's nothing more than a white mare. Even Mommy Fortuna, who captures her one night while she's indiscreetly sleeping on the edge of a wood, and puts her in a cage to entertain and impress customers of her Midnight Carnival, alongside other animals that the witch turns into various illusory mythical beasts. Hopefully, one of Fortuna's assistants, Schmendrick the wannabe magician, recognizes the unicorn for what she really is. He releases her, and travelling together, meeting a new companion called Molly Grue on the way, they make for King Haggard's cursed castle. There lives the terrible Red Bull, the blind, devilish creature responsible for the disappearance of the unicorns, or so they've heard.
The Last Unicorn is a real fairy tale, where everything seems to happen in a kind of ethereal, parallel reality. Beagle's style is such that every place, every character, and every action that takes place is hard to focus on, as if it were a dream that you're trying to remember. And on the other hand, it approaches very real themes, ones you can relate to, such as finding who you are and what you want to be, or making the right choices and compromises in your life... I won't say I understood it all, but I was charmed by this deep, very poetic, and sad tale of love and magic, good and evil, by this quest for seasons of candor, when we believe in fairy tales and legendary creatures.
Book Review: A story of wit and charm, immeasurable beauty and emotion.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Last Unicorn is one of most astounding books I have ever read. Not only because of the story, which is a fairytale in every sense of the word, but also because of Beagle's flawless writing, which weaves a spell of words and images that I find myself willingly ensnared in every time I open its pages. I find myself lingering over each sentence, each word, and I am astounded by the care with which he tells this tale.Once upon a time, there was a unicorn. A beautiful unicorn... who was all alone. She sets out on a journey to seek others of her kind and is joined on her travels by a bumbling magician and an old spinster, neither of who are what they first appear to be. Encountering magical monsters, outlaws and suspicious townspeople, the three travelers find themselves at the gate of a forbidding castle wherein lives a cruel king and a gentle prince. It is in the walls of this castle that the truth lies. But can they accept what the truth will bring?
Beagle tells an amazing tale, of love and loss, of heartache and hope. Each of the characters in his work has such life and depth, and I see myself in each and every one of them. From an inept magician who desperately seeks to be more than what he is to the outlaws who cry out with loss of that which they have never known, there is so much life in these few short pages that I find myself reading and rereading each page, afraid lest I miss something. When Schmendrick cries, "I'll make you into a bad poet with dreams!" I want to laugh, but at the same time I want to cry with pity, with unexplainable sorrow for something I can't quite understand and am not sure I want to.
The Last Unicorn is about more than just a quest for unicorns. It is also a story about the things that we love and what we will do - or not do - for that love. It is about what really defines a hero, and what constitutes a happy ending. But most of all, it is about magic. Joy. Sadness. Beauty. It is about all the things we are and all the things we long to be. It is a breathtakingly beautiful story by a wonderful writer, and I recommend it as one of the best books I have ever read.
Book Review: A touching story of humanity..
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie for this book has been my favorite as far back as I can remember, and when I found the book at a used book store one day, I HAD to buy it. One of the things that shocked me the most was how similar the story was to the movie. Except for a small part left out because the kids to watch the movie wouldn't probably understand it, the book and movie were almost exactly the same. As I read the book, I could hear the characters from the movie speaking. This book is great in its attention to the little details that actually put you in a world where unicorns must exist. The way the author describes everything is so vivid and exact that you can see everything clearly and you can actually believe that in a place like that, unicorns must exist. Though it is a tale of the human spirit and emotions, etc., what I find to be really wonderful is the way the story lifts your spirits. It's an absolutely beautiful book, and the movie captures that very well. I'm looking forward to the new movie, but I'm not sure if it'll work as well, though I have heard that they did get some of the original voices to play parts in the movie.
Join with me and petition to get the DVD released in Canada.
Book Review: A true fairy tale
Summary: 4 Stars
What seperates fantasy and fairy tale? It's a fine line, but this one is definitely in the latter category. It's truly literature, with a poetic type prose that breaths an otherworldly life to the characters, and the insight into the mind of the unicorn is breathtaking. There is not a paint by numbers storyline, but in fact one that is original and unlike anything I have read before or since. The animated movie was my original introduction to this story - about a unicorn's quest to discover if she's really the last unicorn left upon the earth. Touching, romantic, and emotional, there are plot twists that leave the reader wondering what will happen next, provided they have not witnessed the movie beforehand as a warmup. A sentimental must read for anyone who loves a well written story.