Rose Daughter
by Robin McKinley
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Read in January, 2002
Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter tells the story of Beauty and the Beast, which she has already told before, and in my opinion, better, in Beauty. She claims she felt she had to retell the story when she learned more about roses, after cultivating them. Never have I read a book before where I felt so much like the author was simply marking time until she got to the bit with the compost. Manure provides an important climactic moment. She certainly manages to convey what roses mean to ...more
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Read in February, 2008
So this is the second book that Robin McKinley wrote using the Beauty and the Beast plotline. It is definitely different than her first attempt -- notably because her protagonist in this book knows that she's beautiful rather than beating herself over her lack of good looks the entire book.
It felt as though this telling of the story was a bit more grown-up in some ways, and took a lot more risks with deviating from the original plot. I was left feeling as though the story was more surreal...more
It felt as though this telling of the story was a bit more grown-up in some ways, and took a lot more risks with deviating from the original plot. I was left feeling as though the story was more surreal...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
fairy tale fans
Twenty years after Beauty, McKinley retells "Beauty and the Beast" once again. I liked this version better. The writing is beautiful and the story drew me in right away.
Beauty has few memories of her mother, who died when Beauty was very young. When her father's business fails, Beauty's family loses everything. One day, Beauty finds a will that leaves a home called Rose Cottage to her family. They leave the city, not knowing what they will find in their new home.
Beauty a...more
Beauty has few memories of her mother, who died when Beauty was very young. When her father's business fails, Beauty's family loses everything. One day, Beauty finds a will that leaves a home called Rose Cottage to her family. They leave the city, not knowing what they will find in their new home.
Beauty a...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Heather by:
Jahnelle and Holly
Well, this is another Robin McKinley book that was good, but not as good as her earlier work. I liked the general idea of the story, but I felt that there were many dull tangents that detracted from the flow of the story. Obviously the writer likes roses and gardening, but seems to assume that the details of such interests would be fascinating reading, which they are not. Her earlier version of Beauty and the Beast "Beauty" is much easier and enjoyable to read. I found a few parts ...more
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Read in May, 2008
I found myself skimming a lot of this book. It was way, way too wordy, going on and on about things that didn't have any pertinence and that I didn't care about. For the first while I just read it all, but when I realized it was far from being an isolated phenomenon, I skimmed. Even parts that were important to pay attention to were so drawn out that I couldn't stand reading through them and ended up just skimming them twice to find out what happened.
I liked the story just fine, though. If ...more
I liked the story just fine, though. If ...more
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Read in January, 2000
This is one of those books in which I feel the author got so immersed in her own world of magic that she forgot to leave a trail of crumbs to help us join her. I felt that the concept was either too abstract or too personal, perhaps too real to Ms. McKinley so that I couldn't grasp the details of what was happening. She wrote as if we all understood this reality, and forgot to help us understand the practical concepts and details of this story. Of course, perhaps I am just too daft to be sens...more
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Read in August, 2007
This is supposed to be McKinley's more considered and mature take on the Beauty and the Beast story, but I think it's clearly lacking something poignant that Beauty captured perfectly. I do like the characters of the sisters, and the way they build their new lives entirely on their own, without the help of any men. But I don't buy that the kind of love this story requires can be built in a week (even an enchanted week), most of which Beauty spends gardening; I think the story of exactly w...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Fans of Fairy Tales and Fables
I was hoping to read a good fairy tale when I picked this one off the shelf, and I wasn't disappointed. The good fairy tales leave you with a sense of wonder and the added encouragement that good will persevere over evil and romance will bloom. It helps that Beauty and the Beast seems to be McKinley's favorite tale. This is a story told from Beauty's viewpoint; so the muzzy confusion that I would normally find distracting in the enchanted manor works very well in making the reader experience an ...more
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Mckinley's 2nd attempt at beauty and the beast, and I think she should have stopped with Beauty. It was very unmemorable to me. I read it twice not realizing that I had read it before until I came to the end. I hated it the first time and obviously had blocked the memory. I really disliked it the second time. I felt very jipped at the end since I had spent so much time enjoying the novel. Unfortunately endings do have a big effect on how I view a book. although the writing and story were very go...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
only die-hard robin fans who read fast
The end sucked. Actually, it was so incredibly against-the-rules, I burst into annoyed laughter. Inconceivable! No, no, no, Robin, no. She should have stuck with her first retelling of Beauty & the Beast. Supposedly this was supposed to be more mature. It could have been good, but instead it was sloppy. VERY SLOPPY. I suppose her editor felt they couldn't say much since Robin is such a veteran, and it shows. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Like this review. The one redeeming quality is the fun way s...more
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Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales, but Robin McKinley already told this story in Beauty, and in my opinion she did an incredible job with that book. Revisiting the story again is a rather odd idea, and I couldn't help comparing this book to the previous version McKinley had written. Of course, since McKinley is a gifted writer, this book is written well, but I couldn't help thinking she should have tackled another fairy tale retelling instead.
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Read in July, 2008
This book was okay. Some of the language didn't flow well. I found myself having to reread many passages to understand what was going on and even then there seemed to be bits of information missing. I originally wanted to read this because I thought it'd be a sequel to Beauty. It's not. It has some great imagery (if you can figure out what's being described). All in all, the first telling of Beauty was WAY better than this one.
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Read in January, 2006
I love everything I've read by Robin McKinley and this book in no exception. It's her re-telling of the story of sleeping beauty. I love how she can recreate a beautiful world and make it totally believable. I also love how she fills in a lot of the details that most fairy tales just don't have. The story makes sense after she's done. And her female characters are always strong and inspiring, but still feminine and soft.
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At first I thought ok, I've heard the story, I've even read this author's take on the story. Do I really want to keep reading? But yes, I soon got so into it that I just had to finish because her characters are so interesting. I liked the interaction between them. It bespoke love without being maudlin. It almost made me want to re-write this fairy tale, to see who I thought Beauty and the Beast (and her sisters) were.
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Read in November, 2007
A little bit Disney, a little bit Cocteau, and every bit a dream. There is no build and little pacing. Events happen as they happen. Characters rise and fall and at the center of it is Beauty and her two fascinating sisters. When the Beast arrives you are frustrated because he is never ever as interesting as Beauty's sisters. The two principle characters are remarkably static and it borders on annoying.
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Read in January, 2008
This one started out slowly for me--the narration, befitting what I've read of most retellings of fairy and folk tales, is dreamy and vague, and the dialogue, when it occurs, tends to occur in paragraph form. But the retelling itself is very good, and sexy, if subtly falling in love with a Beast only through companionship and careful gardening can be sexy.
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Read in August, 2006
Haven't read this nearly so many times as I've read Beauty, but really interesting to trace the divergence and convergence of the two stories... This one takes such a completely different tack, and yet there are one or two places where the moment seems to have such a life and truth of its own that nearly the same words are used in both books...
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This book was great! I loved the way she described all of the roses. I could smell them while I was reading it. It was a fresh new take on her old retelling, and I loved it. I liked the magical elements in it and the difference between the Beauty in this book and the other book.
Fantastic. This is my favorite fairy tale/folk tale.
Fantastic. This is my favorite fairy tale/folk tale.
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Robin McKinley returns to the story of “Beauty and the Beast” in this book, almost twenty years after her book Beauty. Rose Daughter is well-done, as McKinley’s work tends to be, but I liked Beauty better. I found this retelling to be a little slow at the beginning; it does really pick up towards the end, though.
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