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The Last Unicorn

by Peter S. Beagle

4.16 · rating details · 15,005 ratings · 965 reviews

The fantasy classic, now in beautiful new deluxe trade paperback edition.

From The Last Unicorn:
"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she

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Paperback, Deluxe Trade Paperback, 294 pages

Published January 1st 1991 by Roc Trade (first published 1968)

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(showing 1-30 of 26,941)

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Jul 16, 2007

Aerin rated it

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, childrens

This is an achingly beautiful and stunningly-told fable that broke my heart.

The unicorn was gray and still. "There is magic on me," she said. "Why did you not tell me?"

"I thought you knew," the magician answered gently. "After all, didn't you wonder how it could be that they recognized you?" Then he smiled, which made him look a little older. "No, of course not. You never would wonder about that."

"Th...more

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Oct 06, 2008

Jeanette rated it

Shelves: fantasy, four-star-fiction, young-adult-books, all-fiction

"It cannot be an ill fortune to have loved a unicorn," he said. "Surely it must be the dearest luck of all, though the hardest earned."

"As for her, she is a story with no ending, happy or sad. She can never belong to anything mortal enough to want her."

What a weenie am I! I actually got all misty eyed near the end of this book. Really a sweet story filled with colorfully drawn characters and writing that engages all six of your senses. ...more

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Feb 12, 2009

Tara rated it

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, most-beloved

it's a real shame that as i was giving this book five stars i could hear in my head some of the many people whose opinions i don't ask for going "oh, that tara, she's so spacey and mock-able. ha!" if they saw it, and then i think, well.. let's be sweet anyway. so last night my dad and i were watching the jimmy carter documentary and were all "oh, he is so awesome". then the dvd player started acting up. i grabbed another disc and put it in to see where the problem lay, and th...moreit's a real shame that as i was giving this book five stars i could hear in my head some of the many people whose opinions i don't ask for going "oh, that tara, she's so spacey and mock-able. ha!" if they saw it, and then i think, well.. let's be sweet anyway. so last night my dad and i were watching the jimmy carter documentary and were all "oh, he is so awesome". then the dvd player started acting up. i grabbed another disc and put it in to see where the problem lay, and the dvd was The Last Unicorn. as soon as it began my dad said "whoa, i love this movie and haven't seen it in years! let's just watch this and finish jimmy carter another time". and so we did, and high-fived when it was over and talked about what a fantastic movie it is, and how Peter Beagle is a sorta lovely writer.

so when i got home, i was thinking how i've been reading another awful book by one of a cabal (truly, a devious cabal) of writers of whom I constantly swear I will never read anything by again until someone says "no, tara, you are an idiot, they are so amazing and relevant and just because you hate everything ----- or ----- have ever written or recommended on book jackets, you are full of nonsense so read this". and then i end up wanting to wring my own neck for not listening to my own judgment yet again. so i was all, oh man how am i going to read another hundred pages of this tonight, i need a break. thus i came to pick up the last unicorn again (after many such agains). and it's just fantastic and great and written by a man who i think i would actually like if i met him. and he would have a really long droopy moustache and little glasses and give me a thumbs up and then shoot off to the moon on a rocket. yeah, the book is spacey. and it's whimsical, and probably more serious and relevant than another hundred page description of families on too many prescription drugs and psychoanalyzing themselves. it's funny how some (not all) good writers get closer to telling what life is like by taking a step in the seemingly opposite direction and telling a completely impossible story. and a story which brings real joy is worth its' weight in gold. is this really a review? i don't think so. but the book stands for itself, so i'll just stand up for the book.(less)

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May 22, 2008

Mona rated it

Recommended to Mona by: Aerin

Shelves: kids-and-ya, 20th-century-lit, fantasy

This book may fool you. It's not a once-upon-a-time tale, nor is it just for children. When I first picked up this book, all I knew about it was that a trusted friend - whose book recommendations have never led me astray - loved it. I was under the impression that it was for children, and even though I am a self-described kid at heart and stalwart defender of children's literature, I thought it would be a light read, devoid of any complexities. Well, I was wrong.

The story begins in t...moreThis book may fool you. It's not a once-upon-a-time tale, nor is it just for children. When I first picked up this book, all I knew about it was that a trusted friend - whose book recommendations have never led me astray - loved it. I was under the impression that it was for children, and even though I am a self-described kid at heart and stalwart defender of children's literature, I thought it would be a light read, devoid of any complexities. Well, I was wrong.

The story begins in the lilac wood of the unicorn. She soon discovers that she is the last of her kind when she overhears two hunters discussing how once there used to be unicorns and maybe that they never existed at all. The unicorn is old and has always lived alone, but she decides she must venture out of her forest to see if it is true that she is the last. From the moment that she leaves, the unicorn encounters adventure and trickery. She is mistaken for a simple mare, she gets caught and is displayed as a freak show act, she meets a failed magician named Schmendrick, and ultimately, has to face her enemy, The Red Bull, at the desolate castle of King Haggard. Through it all, the unicorn changes and learns to understand the basic human needs for love and friendship.

From the first page, I quickly realized that Beagle's writing is far from simple. I found myself reading and re-reading sentences and paragraphs, sometimes puzzling out a second, hidden meaning. In other circumstances, this could have gotten old and fast. But here, the writing was too rich to pass over quickly and with each re-reading, I was able to mine more pleasure out of the story. What interested me most about the story is the way that Beagle takes the theme of the mythical nature of unicorns and infuses the story with it. On the surface, the story is a bittersweet tale about a special creature who seeks to find her own, but underneath, there is a second story about perception and belief in the unbelievable. I really have no nitpicks with this book - five stars for both writing and enjoyment.

(less)

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Dec 01, 2010

teacup_carousel rated it

· review of another edition

This book has haunted me ever since I first finished it years, and years ago. I'll be driving down the freeway and the slant of sunlight off of a trucks rear window will suddenly remind me of a line in one of these chapters and a fever will grab hold of me all of a sudden and it won't be quelled until I get home and reread that passage, which turns into rereading that chapter which turns into rereading this book. I'm not safe anywhere, I was sick to death recently and the first thing I reached f...moreThis book has haunted me ever since I first finished it years, and years ago. I'll be driving down the freeway and the slant of sunlight off of a trucks rear window will suddenly remind me of a line in one of these chapters and a fever will grab hold of me all of a sudden and it won't be quelled until I get home and reread that passage, which turns into rereading that chapter which turns into rereading this book. I'm not safe anywhere, I was sick to death recently and the first thing I reached for was this. How do I immunize myself against it? I don't know. I find myself at even a greater loss when I ask myself if I really want to be free.

There comes a time in everyone's life, if they are so lucky, where they happen across a book that just turns their life inside out and upside down. This is one such book. To the uninterested observer it appears as a silly book about unicorns that seems like it has no interest in obtaining a demographic beyond that of tween girls and basement nerds. But to these people I express my sorrow that they will live their lives with the incredible loss that is never having read this book.

The Last Unicorn is about remembering the past and foreseeing the future and about accepting our losses and defeats when they are handed to us, and it is about learning to treasure the bright spots within them. It is about what it means to posses and to be possessed. Two characters passing through a wood early in the novel debate the existence of unicorns at first jokingly, then heatedly and then at last with a bit of trepidation, sorrow and fear at the passing of the unknown while they were not watching. "I wonder if any man before us would have thought his time a good time for unicorns?" one of the woodsmen asks and soon we see quite clearly that the answer is, and always will be, a resounding and cold hearted no as our unicorn is put in damp, dark cages both literal and figurative.

Not much happens in this book in the traditional story telling sense. The unicorns quest ends rather abruptly by the time we reach the castle and that happens less than half way through the book. After that the characters mill around in a stagnant environment and the battle of wits that any other author might have substituted here as the main course of action is instead replaced by a battle of reflection and remembrance, of memory and time. The main action in this book is not played out in gallant sword fights, daring chases, and grand acts of wizardry (although there is plenty of that, make no mistake at times this can be a very violent and bloody book), but rather the choices and changes the characters go through in their lives.

Finally, to speak of the few criticisms directed at the text - without giving too much away, for the second half of the book there is indeed a romance in the pages and some others have spoken about how it lacks a heart gripping quality and to this I'd have to agree. But you have to remember that the romance really isn't meant to be viewed as such and so people seeking a grand romantic adventure will be advised to look elsewhere. The Lady Amalthea throws herself at Liir with an unnatural devotion that quite frankly obliterates all that she is, even admitting to herself that she allows him to construct everything she is as a person and as a result their romance is very light, very lovely but it hasn't been earned at all. And because you can not claim something you haven't gained the right to earn in the end they are the only ones left with nothing to posses.(less)

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Apr 29, 2009

Fox rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Twitch, Sean,

Recommended to Fox by: Jackie

Shelves: 2009, fantasy, fiction, own

The Last Unicorn is quite possibly the most beautiful book ever written. The story it tells is of a quest undertaken by the last unicorn, Molly Grue, and Schmendrik the Magician to save the unicorns from the Red Bull of King Haggard. What appears at first glance to be a traditional fantasy tale winds up being far more. The Magician is the last of his own kind, however, he is also completely incompetent in his art and wishes nothing more than to find his magic so that he may be mortal and die....more

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Aug 30, 2009

Ambertronic rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: fantasy, peter-s-beagle

I seriously wonder if Peter S. Beagle has Synesthesia. His choice of adjectives is beautiful and downright tasty. Sounds have color and texture, it's as if he was able to show people what it would be like to walk into a Van Gogh painting and live inside it.

His plot is not as it seems, at first appearing cliche (you may find yourself thinking "This is like the start of hundreds of fairy tales I've read as a kid") but you will be delightfully proven wrong. His characters a...more

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Apr 13, 2011

Mercedes rated it

One of the most beautiful stories I have ever read in my life. I read it as a child and it has stayed with me ever since.

There's a certain melancholy sweetness about it that touches your soul, its lyrical prose just floats off the page like the softest down, it's like having a dream about a poem you once heard many years ago.

I'm such a fan of this book that I even have a signed deluxe copy (including the coda, Two Hearts) by the man himself!

Soppy, I know, but it's one of the rare few books that...more

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May 24, 2011

Diane Gallant rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy

I picked up this book after reading the Nebula award-winning novelette "Two Hearts," which is really a sequel to The Last Unicorn. Had I not read "Two Hearts," I would have passed on this book, based on the title alone. Unicorns - along with rainbows and ponies - are for little girls. Right? If not for "Two Hearts," I would have never purchased The Last Unicorn, and I would have missed out on one of the most enchanting and beautifully written books I have ever read....more

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Mar 26, 2009

Raja99 rated it

· review of another edition

Why I read this book: It's probably been on my to-read pile for decades. Our family often spends Christmastime in Florida for a week, and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd taken this at least once before, but hadn't gotten around to it. This time, I got around to it ;-).

An amazing book. I'd heard that this was one of the classics of fantasy, and was a little afraid of getting burned (as I was by Tea with the Black Dragon, though my friends at the SFDG helped me appreciate that...moreWhy I read this book: It's probably been on my to-read pile for decades. Our family often spends Christmastime in Florida for a week, and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd taken this at least once before, but hadn't gotten around to it. This time, I got around to it ;-).

An amazing book. I'd heard that this was one of the classics of fantasy, and was a little afraid of getting burned (as I was by Tea with the Black Dragon, though my friends at the SFDG helped me appreciate that more), but this not only met my expectations (admittedly low for Fantasy) but greatly exceeded them. It was very different from what I expected, which is all to the good; no typical mass-market Tolkein ripoff here. It's a very dense book; there are plenty of jokes (in- and otherwise) and puns, but it's also a deeply felt book, and a book overflowing with magic. There's a big section that reminds me of Ray Bradbury (via Charles G. Finney), and in some ways, it does a better job of achieving what Stephen King's Dark Tower seven-book series tried to do--but in a single, 250-page volume. (And the shorter length is a major weapon in its arsenal; King's series is practically drenched in the author's burnout by book seven).

I definitely need to get the SFDG to try this book ;-)

(Finished 2008-12-28 09:33 EST)

I got the SFDG to agree to discuss this book on 2009-03-26, and I just finished rereading it.

This time, I listened to the author's unabridged reading (available from Conlan Press's website; see http://www.conlanpress.com/Merchant2/mer... for free samples). Beagle isn't a professional voice actor, but he did a very good job. I enjoyed the reading, and as with a Ray Bradbury reading, I got new insights from Beagle's performance. Alas, I ran short of time and had to "fall back" on the dead tree edition to skim some of the last chapters ;-).

The unabridged audiobook includes original music by Jeff Slingluff ; each chapter begins with an instrumental piece under a minute (or so). The music is lovely, but it does interfere with the momentum of the narrative, in my humble opinion.

The two nicest things about the audiobook as contrasted with the dead-tree book: The author does a very good reading, and I picked up a number of little gems that I'd missed because the narrative had made me rush eagerly to the end ;-). Also, the songs embedded in the narrative worked much better as songs than as embedded verse; maybe it's just me, but I find it difficult to read poetry and work out the scan and stresses, and I much prefer having the author present his preferred interpretation. The song at the end of the book gets a particularly nice treatment; the author sings it with a guitar accompaniment. The ending song had puzzled me in dead tree, but it seems perfect now.

(Finished rereading 2009-03-26 < 08:00 EDT)(less)

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May 13, 2008

Amanda rated it

Recommends it for: Fantasy lovers/fairy tale lovers

Shelves: fantasy

"The Last Unicorn" was one of my favorite childhood movies. My sister and I watched it so many times that to this day, we can still quote over half the movie if not all of it.

The story is a unicorn who lives with no cares, existing in her own vain world with no fear of death and no regrets. When she happens to hear a couple of hunters speak of there being no more unicorns left in the world, she leaves the safety of her wood to find out where they've all gone.

A...more

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Apr 17, 2009

Richard rated it

Recommends it for: Those who love a sweet fantasy

Recommended to Richard by: SFinSF.org

Shelves: classic, fantasy, fantasy-magic, bookclub

A short, sweet and bittersweet fantasy about unicorns and wizards, enchantments, monsters and heroes.

Beagle has gentle fun with this fairy-tale quest, winking and teasing his readers with soft ironies intermixed with a lullaby of a story.

It doesn't take long to read this classic, and I can strongly recommend it to anyone susceptible to an innocent archetypal myth.

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Jul 20, 2011

Jan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: speculative, fantasy, z-2011

Stones will probably be thrown at my head, but I only liked this. So many people seem to love this, that I feel a bit weird about that.

There's lovely writing in this, some genius touches of meta-fiction and genre savvyness, a truly non-human unicorn, and and abundance of lovely metaphors.

The writing was truly delicious, but I've always been more a a lover of a good and gripping story than of purely the magic of the written word.

And neither the characters nor...more

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Jun 17, 2007

Jeffrey rated it

Recommends it for: All you Harry Potters

This is one of my favorite books from childhood. I will note that the animated movie is actually pretty goood as a surreal interpretation of this book, it does a good job of holding onto the strangeness of the story and the classic fantasy elements.

Pearl S. Beagle takes the cliches of classic fantasy and twists them to create a unique world that is still very familiar. Underlying the entire story is a powerful sense of longing and nostalgia. It is sad (in a good way) and fantastic. T...more

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Mar 29, 2009

Corinne rated it

I am ashamed that I haven't read this before. I was a great devotee of the movie when I was young and it wasn't until I was a teen that I even realized there WAS a book. But even then, I remember checking it out once and trying it, but just preferring the movie. Silly girl. The book is just as good and definitely more profound. Or, maybe, I have just lived enough now to see that it IS profound.

The last unicorn doesn't know she is the last until she hears a hunter speak the words. Her...more

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Jan 14, 2012

Kim (magicsandwiches) Lawyer rated it

Shelves: must-own-to-read-over-and-over, mudhole-bookgroup-selection

I was introduced to this story by my sophomore english teacher. It was her last year before moving on to a college position and she wanted to go out with a bang by studying her favorite book. At the time, I enjoyed it as an exciting fantasy story with loads of humor, but it wasn't until my many rereadings as an adult that I really came to appreciate all the wonderful elements in it.

It tells the story of a unicorn who lives contentedly in a lush, deep wood without a thought for the outs...more

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Jan 09, 2012

Paul Darcy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

by Peter S. Beagle, published in 1968.

The Last Unicorn is truly a fantastic novel. And not only is it fantastic because it is a fantasy, but rather it has so much to offer and so many riddles to unravel along the way.

On the surface it is the journey of one unicorn to find the rest of her race which appears to be missing or totally gone. She wants to find out if she truly is the last unicorn in the world. She meets an eternally young wizard named Schmendrick, a scullery maid n...moreby Peter S. Beagle, published in 1968.

The Last Unicorn is truly a fantastic novel. And not only is it fantastic because it is a fantasy, but rather it has so much to offer and so many riddles to unravel along the way.

On the surface it is the journey of one unicorn to find the rest of her race which appears to be missing or totally gone. She wants to find out if she truly is the last unicorn in the world. She meets an eternally young wizard named Schmendrick, a scullery maid named Molly Grue and many other colourful characters, including a butterfly that travels the lands learning poems and songs (Child Harold anyone?). It is a big deal for her to leave her forest and seek the others, but what wondrous adventures she has.

On the underneath it is a social commentary, a book of wisdom, an allegorical journey through our own lives perhaps with so many hidden gems you could possibly never uncover them all - but why muck up this review by digging that deep. I’ll just say there is a lot there to mine and leave it to you to unearth and discover as you read it.

Overall the story is great fun but can waffle between gray to extremely dark at times, and to that end there are a couple of scary characters to be sure. One is the harpy - who gets her revenge bloody for being caged - and the other is the Red Bull. The Red Bull is huge, unbeatable and devilish - oppression taken on animal form.

Through an act of love (well I think so anyhow) Schmendrick changes the last unicorn into a woman (by using true magic his one quest to break his eternal youth) just at the point when she is to be captured like all the others of her race by the Red Bull. From there the rest of the story unfolds in a land where time forgot.

I know I wasn’t going to dig to deep but it is so cool to read a story with so many layers and images that are this cool. For instance the poetic imagery in ‘The Last Unicorn’ is not quite right (“the sea slid” or “crossing their depths like a flaming fish”), but it is the perfect tonal device for the novel at large.

The Last Unicorn is a novel of appearances which never are what they appear to be or rather never what the viewers are really looking at but what the viewers want to believe they are looking at - if you follow me. Let me just say that very few people recognize the last unicorn as a unicorn - most see her as a horse and nothing more.

I fear if I try to analyze this work too much more my head may explode, so I’ll just leave off and say it is worth your read whatever the age - it offers levels of enjoyment for all. Peter S. Beagle is a master at wordplay and image building and fun to read.

If you want a fantasy novel that is not like so many traditional fantasy novels then ‘The Last Unicorn’ is for you. Get it, read it, enjoy it.(less)

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Jan 04, 2012

James rated it

Shelves: fantasy

"The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle had been on my to-read list for years before I finally stumbled upon a used copy and decided that it was about time I read that book about the unicorn. The novel focuses on the quest of what is, quite probably, the last living unicorn in a world similar to, but not quite the same as our world. On her epic journey to find out what happened to her kind, she is joined the bumbling magician Schmendrick and the blunt and loyal Molly Grue. As is typical ...more

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Jan 03, 2012

Stephanie rated it

· review of another edition

Uploading a review of an Oldie...and a Goodie.

This and Michael Ende's "Neverending Story" are what made me love fantasy with a devotion only surpassed by my love for...Jesus. Yeah, pretty much anything else takes second place. In fact, I probably wouldn't love Jesus if books like this hadn't awakened my sense of longing for greater meaning. Figure that one out.

After reading this book several times as a teenager, I recently dusted it off and gave it another lookover,...moreUploading a review of an Oldie...and a Goodie.

This and Michael Ende's "Neverending Story" are what made me love fantasy with a devotion only surpassed by my love for...Jesus. Yeah, pretty much anything else takes second place. In fact, I probably wouldn't love Jesus if books like this hadn't awakened my sense of longing for greater meaning. Figure that one out.

After reading this book several times as a teenager, I recently dusted it off and gave it another lookover, thinking, "Ok, when you're 14 anything whimsical seems awesome. But really..." But I was pleasantly surprised to see Unicorn stood up to a more mature reading. Though I find Peter Beagle's writing a mixed bag, I think this is one of those little tales,like The Hobbit and a few others, where lightning struck and everything somehow turned out the way it needed to be.

I don't normally have much patience for overly poetic language. In my cynical old age, I think the test of a strong idea is how simply you can say it and still have it mean something important, and that when authors lapse into high-flown language (which anyone can parrot) they're always trying to pull one over on you.

However, I really like the prose in Unicorn. None of it seems random. Every description, every simile, every cute turn of phrase, is there to explain a character, or set the stage, or convey an emotion. And it all works. A lot of authors couldn't sustain this style, but in Unicorn it really fits with the whimsical story being told and sounds natural.

As an adult reader, I find myself liking different things in the story. I like Molly more, and Schmendrick a bit less. As a teenager I found Molly whiney, but now I appreciate her levelheadedness and insight. Schmendrick is kind of like Matt Smith's doctor--he's the most loyal character and sticks with the quest till the end when everyone else flakes out--but yeah, you want to tell him to shut up sometimes.

When I was younger, the beginning fascinated me most, with the possibility of the existence of something completely beyond human. Now I really get into the story at the halfway point when the unicorn becomes human and starts having to deal with all the bizarre crap humans deal with. I'm also more sympathetic to her at the end. Sure, saving the unicorns is still more important, and the relationship would be barren if not sacrificed for the greater good. But wow--what a choice. Would you want to turn into a magic horse, when you had no memory of being anything but human?

For me this will always be a beautiful story of love, and longing, and loss, and stories, and plain being human. Recommend to anyone who likes fairy tales, or fantasy.(less)

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Dec 13, 2011

Shazza Maddog rated it

· review of another edition

The Last Unicorn has been one of my favorite novels since I was a child, and I was surprised to find a collected graphic novel based on the story. Peter S. Beagle's novel is adapted by Peter Gillis, with art by Renae de Liz. While it is a lovely retelling, and the art is absolutely gorgeous, it only serves to me as an introduction to the actual novel. I would recommend it for children to read, and admire the art, and then later get them the novel.

That doesn't mean it doesn't stand o...more

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Dec 03, 2011

Lisa.scott rated it

Another book on my books-people-have-given-me-that-it-shames-me-to-admit-I-haven't-yet-read.
I have a love/hate relationship with fantasy...few authors do it well even with extensive description of castle tapestries and ladies' gowns, etc., so to have a truly beautiful story told with very real characters and without the distraction of visual details that anyone with a decent imagination could fill in, I found "The Last Unicorn" to be a breath of fresh air. Beagle even has his ow...more

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Nov 30, 2011

Lori Strongin rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 21, 2011

Optimism rated it

Absolutely loved it. A modern fairy tale (or myth, if you prefer), it seems to sit between The Hobbit and The Phantom Tollbooth. Very tragic at times, comedic at others, and suitably epic throughout. It's hard to do an epic quest without retreading on other works, but a unicorn as the main character... worked somehow. It was a bit hard to follow at times, but that's mainly because I was flying through it so quickly. That said, I may actually start it over again now that I know what happens so I ...more

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Sep 19, 2011

SL rated it

Shelves: dearest-books-to-me

"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea..."

I absolutely LOVE the Last unicorn and it will always remain as one of my favorite books/novellas of all time. There is something absolutely magical with Peter S Beagle'...more

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Jun 13, 2011

Kyle Woodward rated it

While I was searching for some good unicorn names, I came across a website playing a song called "The Last Unicorn" in the background. When I could finally see through the tears brought on by that beautiful song, I discovered that it was actually a cover song. As it turned out, the original was the title song of a cartoon movie. I was heartbroken to find that the movie was not a "watch instantly" on Netflix, but the movie summary revealed something incredible--it was based ...more

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May 26, 2011

Erin rated it

Having seen the The Last Unicorn cartoon many times as a child, I was a bit hesitant yet intrigued with this book. As a seven-year-old, many of the deeper subtexts of the plot were lost to me. My kid brain saw a creepy old dude, a gorgeous, whiny unicorn, and a ridiculously terrifying Red Bull. (That bull chased me through many a nightmare through the years, most often around the time book reports and research papers were due.) Never mind the whole 'watery equine' thing. Years and years of livin...moreHaving seen the The Last Unicorn cartoon many times as a child, I was a bit hesitant yet intrigued with this book. As a seven-year-old, many of the deeper subtexts of the plot were lost to me. My kid brain saw a creepy old dude, a gorgeous, whiny unicorn, and a ridiculously terrifying Red Bull. (That bull chased me through many a nightmare through the years, most often around the time book reports and research papers were due.) Never mind the whole 'watery equine' thing. Years and years of living in the waves? I just couldn't figure out how they didn't drown!

I was excited when I heard that we would be reading this in book club. "How was the book different from the movie? Did it have a happier ending? Is that freaky vulture thing in the books? Will the magician come across as an elongated Hobbit, like he did in the movie?" These were deep questions that needed to be answered. I was excited to finally understand the work.

This book surprised me. As a grown woman with home and family I picked up on the themes of innocence lost, the burden of time, and the cost of potentials realized. They kept me looking inward throughout my time with this book. Of course, , I expected and understood the theme of maidenhood , often associated with unicorns, but that was as deep as I expected to go. "Ya, ya, youth lost. OK, got it, we don't look as young and all that." But, the book went deeper than that. In her quest, the unicorn gave up a blissfully ignorant life to save her people. She carried the burden of knowledge, experience, and loss. For her family. She tried to keep the bigger picture in view, though she often lost her focus. Smendrick wanted to help her and sacrificed much for her and her quest. On the other hand he had one of his own. He sought his own magic. It seemed similar to a marriage at times. She had the big picture in mind, but struggled to keep focused. He wanted to serve her and her quest to the ends of the earth, but his ambitions came along for the ride. That isn't a bad thing necessarily, but it was always something that had to be balanced.

Molly Grue brought another facet of experience to the story. She was reconciled to who she was, but found hope of more when she saw the unicorn. As a wife and mother, one who is well along on her journey, I felt Molly's pain when she yelled "How dare you come now, when I am this." Even if you love where you are (which Molly, obviously didn't) there is always that wonder of "Did I do enough? Did I try hard enough, then? Am I as far along as I really should be?" But, she gave it all to the unicorn. She knew she would be made better, just being near her and what she represented.

All in all, I enjoyed this book so much as an adult. I can understand why it is read and loved so much. It is timeless. It is a classic, in my eyes. (less)

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Mar 26, 2011

Ninja Sock Puppet rated it

My wife is one of those lucky people who looks younger than she is. In high school this can be a problem because everyone thinks you're in grade school and won't sell you smokes, but when you hit thirty or so the joke's on them and who's laughing now, Mrs. Crows Feet and Mr. Male Pattern Baldness? It's that Scandihoovian fountain of eternal youth, passed down by her father who at sixty looks at least ten or fifteen years younger. From an early age she was mature well beyond her appearance.
...moreMy wife is one of those lucky people who looks younger than she is. In high school this can be a problem because everyone thinks you're in grade school and won't sell you smokes, but when you hit thirty or so the joke's on them and who's laughing now, Mrs. Crows Feet and Mr. Male Pattern Baldness? It's that Scandihoovian fountain of eternal youth, passed down by her father who at sixty looks at least ten or fifteen years younger. From an early age she was mature well beyond her appearance.

It took me almost two decades to mature, but when I was growing up I couldn't wait to be older. I'd carry around three or four books with me up and down the street. I especially liked the little leather bound bible because it looked the most collegiate of the books I had. They were slung low against my thigh, my fingers a pendulous bookshelf as I walked the carefree swagger of somebody who almost wants to drop their books because they're too busy being old to care. I've got these books, see, and I don't need to read them because I'm old and I already know everything. What, these? Oh, I don't know, just some textbooks for this college class I'm in. No, I don't think it's a bible, it's a law book. Yeah, that one's this Judy Bloom book but it's for adults, you know. What? Why should I put it back on the shelf?

Once I found some credit card shards in the garbage can and carefully taped them back together, tucking the floppy jigsaw rectangles into the wallet I'd made of of the rest of the tape and some notebook paper. College ruled, if you must know. Oh, hey, I don't have any cash on me, do you take plastic? I'll just sign my name on that receipt there. I'll sign it again just to make sure. Do you take this kind of card? I think I'll write some numbers on it too. What? Yeah, I found them in the garbage and taped them back together. Why did you cut them up, anyway? They're not even expired yet.

We tend to believe that kids live in this awesome world where every day is a magical summer free from responsibilities and worry, and the only thing to fear is the hand that might grab your ankles as you climb into bed which is why you have to jump on the bed from across the room even if you know you'll get yelled at for it. Even the bad memories are tinged with innocence. But the thing about innocence is that you don't really know you've got it except in retrospect, looking back through those 20/20 golden lenses. You don't feel bad about losing your innocence because you don't notice it until it's mostly gone.

The reality of innocence is that it's pretty goddamn boring. You spend most of your time dreaming you were somewhere else, someone else. Before I hit puberty I was ready to chuck my innocence out the back door with my clothes in trade for a pack of smokes and a Coors Silver Bullet. I found the cigarettes as I was walking home from school, a hot dry dusty stretch of red dirt and scrub gridded by wide streets, asphalt and curbs but no lawns or houses yet. They were Newport Menthols, pretty nasty but it was a mostly full pack just sitting there beside the road. Two weeks later I stepped in a hole while walking and accidentally inhaled. The buzz was great, totally worth a little innocence. Why? I don't know. I was bored.

Me and my friend got one of the older kids to buy us a case. We thought that meant twelve beers, but even after he'd taken six out as a last-minute 'tax' we still had more than enough to spill into the frying hamburger pan at our campsite in the fields across the road from our newly-minted suburb. More than enough to throw half-drunk beers at each other in the darkness. So what if there was vomit on my sleeping bag? I didn't feel all that different, certainly not heavier or wearier. Well, maybe a little weary but we'd stayed up all the way to midnight out there and rather than packing we just shoved everything into the tent and dragged the whole funky mess up the street to the house.

You don't lose innocence so much as gain experience. True, once you've experienced something you can't go back and unexperience it, and it's because of this that we're constantly thinking of TEH CHILDREN. But not all experience is bad, there's a lot of good too. Most of it is just plain boring, like taxes and bus schedules. What's behind it all, what people are really afraid of is growing old enough to die. They're looking back on those college years, wishing they had that body now because youth is wasted on the young, they'd do it all differently if they had it to do again. Maybe not have started smoking, or had sex with that one chick you can't even remember her name. Nobody wants to go back and eat healthier, or use less water, or advise their younger selfs to turn off the lights when they leave a room. That's where your innocence really went. A lifetime of parking tickets and hangovers. So what?

Beagle does a pretty good job of describing all that in this book, only using unicorns, a magician, and a giant flaming Red Bull.

I think that's the one where you set the vodka on fire first.(less)

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Mar 23, 2011

Mariel rated it

Recommends it for: the science of dreams

Recommended to Mariel by: red bull gives you wings

Shelves: asleepanddreaming, bestiality, high-larious, influential, rubber-ring, whichwitchbitch, wishitlastedforever

Michel Gondry has a theory that when we sleep our bodies, minds, souls, heart (whatever else there might be) are opened up and when we awake we want to be close (and also explaining why people wake up horny). Like a kind of rebirth or cleansing of the day to day crap. (He puts it better than I do because he's Michel Gondry and I'm Mariel.) I dislike to be touched. I don't wake up craving physical connections like that. I'd rather wrap myself up in a cocoon. Preferably a bubble, that way I could...moreMichel Gondry has a theory that when we sleep our bodies, minds, souls, heart (whatever else there might be) are opened up and when we awake we want to be close (and also explaining why people wake up horny). Like a kind of rebirth or cleansing of the day to day crap. (He puts it better than I do because he's Michel Gondry and I'm Mariel.) I dislike to be touched. I don't wake up craving physical connections like that. I'd rather wrap myself up in a cocoon. Preferably a bubble, that way I could still see what else was going on and then use it to make my bubble extra pretty.

Now this is the part where I'll actually start writing about Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. Beagle's book is that waking up and feeling touched story for me. Everything I love, and a (um) rebirth of why I had loved in the first place.

Beagle is a genius. Ever notice how desperately ironic kid's entertainment is today? A lot of things, actually. (Not that I'm saying that The Last Unicorn is a kids book. It's not. It's a book for people who care about shit.) There's nothing ironic about this story. The humor is tongue in cheek, and the experience an amused calm. I hate to be winked at. It stresses me out. The joke isn't on anyone. Beagle hasn't the inclination or time (ours too) to waste on pointless jabs and in need of some ritalin hijinks. Trying to be something you're not. Getting to be what you could be in your best moments. Finally, the every day carrying over, and what you use to carry you, all making the whole. That's what the time is really for. Being able to convey the pure of heart intentions goes beyond being a damned good writer (which he is). He's gotta be an awesome person to be around period.

I love this book so much that I don't even know where to begin or stop trying to describe it...

The only part of The Last Unicorn that I didn't feel as the timeless stories (if I had been alive hundreds of years ago I'd still have loved Robin Hood) was the love story. That was foriegn to me and did not make my soul yearn to keep on living it in my mind. I feel Sharon Shinn's The Shape-changer's Wife is a kindred spirit of 'Unicorn' (Beagle endorses it on the cover. No surprise there). In this regard, Shinn did it better. The love was freedom and that made my heart soar. For once, not being torn, or suffocated. I understand the love as nature. What I don't understand is the coming together of two beautiful people to be beautiful together, the wanting to hold onto that beauty and pine for it to stay that way forever. That's not nature. That's what people say is "we're only human" when they wanna excuse something depressing. That loss I felt hollow for, and wasn't a waking up and wanting it back thing for me. Give me an image like the unicorn leaving her haven to seek the rest of her kind, or a worn down woman getting to be young once more through Maid Marian, and I'm blown away. Like an arrow straight to my heart.

The Last Unicorn is what's still there (the heart of the matter) when change, time bypasses and whatnots are stripped away. I barely remember dreams. If I had a good one I'd probably not remember it. What I dream of in the day time is stuff like this. (less)

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Jan 23, 2011

Glee rated it

I wanted to really love this book, but I didn’t - quite. I did really like it, but I got bogged down at times, often for the good reason that the writing was so amazing that I had to slow down and let it roll around in my brain for a while. I read it many years ago and had appreciated it as a sad, sweet fairy tale. It is that, but the writing is remarkable. Lyrical, funny, tender, and often heart-breaking. Some samples:

“…the tiny, dry sound of a spider weeping…”

“…but...more

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Jan 04, 2011

-k The Lady Critic rated it

Shelves: books-i-own

This was one of my absolute favourite animated movies from when I was really little. In fact, I’m surprised that I didn’t wear out of VHS copy I watched it so much – note to self; dig out said VHS and re-live childhood for a few hours.

I don’t know if it was because it was all about unicorns – my room had unicorn wallpaper and a rainbow mural – or because I thought that she was so pretty when she became human, but my eyes never strayed from the story and the red bull scared me.
...moreThis was one of my absolute favourite animated movies from when I was really little. In fact, I’m surprised that I didn’t wear out of VHS copy I watched it so much – note to self; dig out said VHS and re-live childhood for a few hours.

I don’t know if it was because it was all about unicorns – my room had unicorn wallpaper and a rainbow mural – or because I thought that she was so pretty when she became human, but my eyes never strayed from the story and the red bull scared me.

A few years ago I discovered that my beloved movie was based on a novel of the same name and I then made it my mission to unearth a copy at a used book store. I finally got around to reading it this fall (last fall as I write this now) and I wasn’t disappointed how the story was transferred from one medium to another in my mind.

I was captivated not only by the well-known story but by how the characters were written. Maybe it’s the remnant scenes left in my head, but the characters just jumped off the page. No, I take that back, it’s the fantastic writing quality of Beagle that really makes the characters pop along with the scenery and the emotions.

Molly Grue was by far my favourite character. I loved how snarky she could be but also how soft and loving she was. You knew as soon as she was introduced that she would fall into a motherly role with the unicorn (the lady Amalthea when she’s human) and you can almost hear her heart breaking at the end of the novel even though she knows that what’s done is for the better. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the unicorn too with her vast knowledge of almost nothing, and I loved reading her transformation – going from the aloof beast that she was to the almost-human girl that she becomes, and I so wanted her romance with Prince Lir to work, but she just didn’t carry the fire that Molly did.

This book is one that I’m going to forever keep on my bookshelf and buy for my younger bookworm cousins for their birthdays. It’s that quintessential part of my childhood that I’ll never outgrow, and for that it gets a 10/10.
(less)

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Fantasy Book Club: Finished -- thoughts/reactions/impressions (SPOILERS)	9	29	4 hours, 55 min ago
Fantasy Book Club: And then there's this . . .	5	44	Feb 03, 2012 11:40am
Fantasy Book Club: The movie	7	46	Feb 02, 2012 06:23pm
Off The Shelf: THE LAST UNICORN - Discussion	32	9	Jan 18, 2012 05:26pm
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Off The Shelf: December/January Selection!	1	7	Dec 15, 2011 09:30am
Fantasy Aficionados: November Discussion: The Last Unicorn Spoilers Allowed	8	48	Nov 25, 2011 01:55pm

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About Peter S. Beagle

Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, A Fine and Private Place , when he was only 19 years old. Today he is best known as the author of The Last Unicorn, which routinely polls as one of the top ten fantasy novels of all time, and at least two of ...more

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Quotes from The Last Unicorn

“Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.” — 355 people liked it

“I am no king, and I am no lord,
And I am no soldier at-arms," said he.
"I'm none but a harper, and a very poor harper,
That am come hither to wed with ye."

"If you were a lord, you should be my lord,
And the same if you were a thief," said she.
"And if you are a harper, you shall be my harper,
For it makes no matter to me, to me,
For it makes no matter to me."

"But what if it prove that I am no harper?
That I lied for your love most monstrously?"

"Why, then I'll teach you to play and sing,
For I dearly love a good harp," said she.” — 208 people liked it

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