false 2 0 false false Sun Aug 30 09:51:44 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 18:57:18 -0700 2009
Right away, I was disappointed. The writing style is very simplistic, something you would expect from a book targeted towards older kids, but not a young adult novel.

The author attempts to add Middle Eastern culture into this story. The Beast of this retelling is a Persian Prince, leading the author to feel the need to throw in numerous foreign terms and cultural explanations. It was overdone, and completely took away from the plot.


The Beast in this retelling is a lion, something I felt rather odd but acceptable if done correctly. It was done well until half way through the book, when it was obvious that a majority of this tale describes Beast roaming around as a lion, doing lion-ly activities such as attempting to mate and establishing a pride. Sometimes I couldn’t tell if this was a fantasy or a documentary.

The focus of Beast seemed to be searching for a mate rather than love. The lion mating scenes were much overdone, especially for a young adult novel, and the focus of mating and sexual desire seemed prevalent throughout the book. Beauty, when she finally appears, is often referred to as a lioness. Both in her eyes, and when she bends over to pick flowers in the garden Beast is reminded of mounting a lioness.

The basic folk tale is the backbone of the plot, though a few liberties are taken. Rather than a fairy bringing on the curse due to vain, the prince is punished by the Gods for having performed a sacrifice incorrectly. Beast in this rendition cannot speak and does not stand or dress as a man, though he does occasionally write to humans in the sand using a nail.

The author obviously attempted to recreate this folk tale with some originality, but I thought this story was definitely one of the more bizarre renditions I’ve read. I did enjoy reading it once Beauty finally appeared, otherwise I wouldn’t have finished, but bottom line — this is a weird book, it is not written well, and I wouldn’t read it again.]]>