Two Hearts

The Last Unicorn #1.5

by Peter S. Beagle

Coda to The Last Unicorn – a novelette. Available for free on the author's website.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Unicorns, Young Adult, Classics, Romance

36 pages, ebook

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

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 his other books (A Fine and Private Place and I See By My Outfit) are considered modern classics.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone could have time for that.

here is a link to the first story in last year's project,

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

which in turn links to the whole monthlong project, in case you wanna do some free short story reading of your own! links to the stories in this year's advent-ure will be at the end of each review.

enjoy, and the happiest of decembers to you all!

DECEMBER 25

The king was in there. All by himself, the king was in there.

He was sitting on an ordinary wooden chair, not a throne. It was a really small room, the same size as my mother's weaving room, so maybe that's why he looked so big. He was as tall as Schmendrick, but he seemed so much wider. I was ready for him to have a long beard, spreading out all across his chest, but he only had a short one, like my father, except white. He wore a red and gold mantle, and there was a real golden crown on his white head, not much bigger than the wreaths we put on our champion rams at the end of the year. He had a kind face, with a big old nose, and big blue eyes, like a little boy. But his eyes were so tired and heavy, I didn't know how he kept them open. Sometimes he didn't. There was nobody else in the little room, and he peered at the three of us as though he knew he knew us, but not why. He tried to smile.

Schmendrick said very gently, "Majesty, it is Schmendrick and Molly, Molly Grue." The king blinked at him.

"Molly with the cat," Molly whispered. "You remember the cat, Lir."

"Yes," the king said. It seemed to take him forever to speak that one word. "The cat, yes, of course." But he didn't say anything after that, and we stood there and stood there, and the king kept smiling at something I couldn't see.

Schmendrick said to Molly, "She used to forget herself like that." His voice had changed, the same way it changed when he was talking about the way the land used to be. He said, "And then you would always remind her that she was a unicorn."

i've owned a really nice illustrated hard copy of this book for a long time, but i never wanted to read it. or - i've ALWAYS wanted to read it, but i didn't want the moment after reading it - when it was over and there was nothing more to take its place. but i figured christmas was as good a day as any to read what i knew was going to be a sad epilogue to a childhood favorite. and it is sad, but so is The Last Unicorn. this is a realistic follow-up - checking up on some favorite characters after much time has passed and seeing what has become of them and their world. it's bittersweet but really lovely. and you don't even need to own a fancy illustrated copy (although you should get your hands on one anyway, for the long-term appreciation).

read it for yourself here:

http://www.peterbeagle.com/works/shor...

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[Algernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother Wilfrid keeps saying it's not fair that it should all have happened to me. Me being a girl, and a baby, and too stupid to lace up my own sandals properly. But I think it's fair. I think everything happened exactly the way it should have done. Except for the sad parts, and maybe those too.

Two Hearts marks the long awaited return of the author to the world of The Last Unicorn. The action takes places decades after the events in the classic book, and is told through the eyes of Sooz - a delightfully spunky 10 years old. As such, her story can hold its own remarkably well without prior knowledge of what went on in the original book, but any reader who is unfamiliar with the characters and with the beautiful prose of Peter S Beagle, should remedy the situation fast. I believe The Last Unicorn, as The Princess Bride, should not be missing from the shelves of every self-respecting fantasy aficionado.

Coming back to Sooz, she has a tranquil (if you don't count scuffles with her older brother), idyllic life in a postcard medieval village. Then a griffin comes to the neighbouring wood, animals and later children get snatched and the knights sent to fight it are slaughtered in turn. We will learn that a griffin is very hard to kill because it has two hearts : a lion and an eagle one. So here's an explanation for the title, although I prefer the more poetical interpretation of two hearts beating together in love : Sooz and Malk, Schmendrick and Molly, Lir and Amalthea.

When her best friend disappears, Sooz decides to run away from home and petition the King directly. On the road she meets Schmendrick and Molly Grue, and later King Lir. I'll stop here, in order to not spoil the coming events, but I'll say there's not a word out of place, there will be laughter and pain, and the bittersweet ending would not leave a dry eye in the house.

But the unicorn had all the world in her eyes, all the world I'm never going to see, but it doesn't matter, because now I have seen it, and it's beautiful, and I was in there too.

6 stars out of 5, without reservations.

[Princessjay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter S Beagle has been very reluctant to write a sequel to his best novel, THE LAST UNICORN, and with very good reason. The original story was a fable, with phrases and images so lyrical as to be near-poetry. The characters were "real" in that we could easily identify with them, yes, but they were archetypes. They exist in a timeless, mythical world that is only faintly attached to ours.

This novella makes them into real people, Schmendrick and Molly and Lir and the unicorn, and drew them down to the real world.

I understand it's been nominated and won all sorts of awards, and some people would prefer it because it is more realistic and perhaps could be held closer to the heart. For me, however, this is a let-down. It's like puncturing a perfect snow globe tableau to let in the destruction of time and death and age. Why could not Schmendrick and Molly wander forever into the lands of once-up-a-time? Why could not Lir remain a hero and king, forever?

It is well written (though a little maudlin in parts). But I wish I never read it.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy 5 stars for this award-winning novelette, a coda to "The Last Unicorn." If you missed it, you have a treat in store. Free copy at the author's website: http://www.peterbeagle.com/works/shor...
On the re-read list. As fine a story as anything he's written, I think.

[Atalántē · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardziej mi się podobało niż Ostatni Jednorożec 🙈 4⭐

[Katarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyway, Schmendrick and I aren't married. We're together, that's all. We've been together quite a long while.

This was nice. Just like The Last Unicorn. So pure and beautiful and very melancholic.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Beagle wrote this sequel decades after The Last Unicorn.
Those who loved the last unicorn will like this as well - we meet Shmendrick, Molly, Lir and the unicorn (this time in a less exposed role) again and find out that Lir is now old and senile.

The story is told from the POV of a nine year old girl whose village is devastated by a griffin. That's why the girl asks King Lir to help and he has to set out for his last heroic deed. Of course, he knows that griffins have two hearts which is the obvious explanation of the novelette's title. A different interpretation would be that Molly and Shmendrick are meant or Lir and the unicorn.

You see, it is a story involving sad emotions. Beagle didn't manage to bring over the distant feeling of the last unicorn. The novelette is more down-to-earth, anchored in the reality. It is similarly touching but doesn't transport the magic of the older novel.

[YouKneeK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Hearts is a 36-page story that follows up on the novel The Last Unicorn. I had just finished reading The Last Unicorn last night and I liked it ok but wasn’t really wowed by it and I had trouble getting into the story at first. This short story, on the other hand, drew me in right away and I really enjoyed it.

The story takes places many years after the events of The Last Unicorn and is told from the perspective of a nine-year-old girl named Sooz whose village is being terrorized by a griffin. After the griffin takes her best friend, Sooz takes matters into her own hands and sets off to go ask the king of their lands for help.

It’s kind of a sad story in many ways, but it has some humor too. It probably won’t stick with me for a long time, simply because short stories rarely do. The time I spend focused on a short story is so short that it’s just hard for them to make a lasting impression no matter how much I like them. But I really enjoyed it while I was reading it and I’m glad I took the time to read it.

The story is available for free on the author’s web site here: http://www.peterbeagle.com/works/shor...

[M— · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, god. Read in privacy and with tissues handy. It's a beautiful, perfect story, but it will break your heart.

The full text of the story is freely available here.

Related Reviews:
The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version by Peter S. Beagle

The Last Unicorn: The Graphic Novel adapted by Peter Gillis from the original text by Peter S. Beagle, art by Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full-length sequel when

[Martha andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opinión impopular, pero me gusta más este relato que la novela jajajaa. Difiero con que no tiene razón de ser, es un final bastante lindo a mi parecer de la novela original, aunque no del todo feliz, se me hizo heroico.
Creo que es un cierre muy bonito a mi opinión. Y a diferencia de la primera novela, la protagonista me cae mejor, es demasiado adorable.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a nice companion/sequel to the last unicorn although this one ends sadly as opposed to the bittersweet way the last book ended.

We have a new main character here, her name is Sooz a young girl who ventures out to get the king so he can save her village under the thrall of a griffin.

Poor Lir, I really liked him as a character.
Molly and Schmendrick are in this one too and they still play a big role in this story.

It's not really clear how much time has passed but Molly and Schmendrick feel a lot more youthful than the king does. In fact the king seems to have been over taken by the greatest enemy of all, old age.

I like this book and I would recommend it if you liked the last unicorn. Almathea even makes a surprise cameo at the end.

[Jolene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Unicorn is my favorite book. Ever. Of all time. Full stop. It started with the movie. I saw the movie a thousand times as a child and only as an adult read the book. But it was so breathtaking. It was the type of story that changed me.

Today, when I discovered that there was a coda to the story, a short follow-up written by Mr. Beagle several years ago, I was excited and nervous. Terrified, maybe. Because not every follow-up is actually any good. In fact, it often differs so wildly with the continuing story I've formed in my head that I just can't love it.

This was perfect. It was everything I wanted. It was gorgeous and heartbreaking. I am so glad I found out it existed.

[jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lovely little coda to the last unicorn.

tugs at your heartstrings, but also puts a layer of realism over the original fairytale that not everybody might want to read. RTC!

✎ 4.0 stars.

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

ahhh ... really good. I didn't love The Last Unicorn, but I loved Two Hearts!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got me right in the feels.
A beautiful sequel to The Last Unicorn, giving some closure but also leaving a door ajar for our imagination to take the story further.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. An unexpectedly good sequel, with some real heart, though not as fantastic as the original. I really liked the idea of telling the story from the perspective of a child, and I think Beagle did a great job with Sooz’s voice in particular (though I found her name distractingly dumb). I’m still digesting this and collecting my thoughts, so I’ll likely include further details on it in my review of Beagle’s collection THE LINE BETWEEN, which I’m currently (3/13/2020) reading and in which this is collected.

[Joanna Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

short and sweet followup novella to the last unicorn, liked this a lot better than the original novel. schmendrick and molly and lir feel a lot more humanized and realistic: schmendrick is now a great magician who doesn’t like using magic, lir is an old and senile king but still noble at heart, molly is warm and level headed. the new character sooz feels like a breath of fresh air who also breathes life into our beloved characters, and this provides a well crafted ending to their story.

[Darby McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect coda to a beautiful novel. Told from the perspective of a nine year old who is almost 10. It is only about 40 pages and it made me weep. It fills in some answers about what may have happened as time passed in the land where the previous events took place. It raised questions for me about characters and their actions afterward that I wouldn’t necessarily have thought to ask. I want to study this in a class and pore over analysis of it, but it’s just as good to simply take at face value and soak in the way it makes me feel.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story more than the original novel - probably because I really loved the main character, a young girl named Sooz. And the original characters of Schmendrick, Molly Grue and King Lir seemed more interesting this time.

[Roberta Decenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun little add on to The Last Unicorn that delves back into the story with some old and some new friends. A couple parts are very heartfelt so be prepared for a few tears. Definitely worth the read!

[Sam (Hissing Potatoes) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure magic. It's incredible how the author manages, in so few words, to evoke the weight of everything that happened in The Last Unicorn and continue building on those themes and relationships.

[Kaytrina Whitney]

Poor Lir. It isn't a Last Unicorn tale if he doesn't die. Overall it was great. Short, but enchanting.

[Chanel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this short story even better than the book.

[Raina H · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sheer amount of sobbing I experienced during the end of this story was quite unexpected.

[Werka · Rating 5 out of 5]

゜・．（ｉДｉ）｡：ﾟ
◌⑅⃝●♡⋆♡LOVE♡⋆♡●⑅⃝◌

[Aj · Rating 2 out of 5]

read it 'cause I was curious...and found it an odd way to end the tale of Lir and the Last Unicorn.

[Notael Elrein]

Hm idk.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short-but-sweet return to the world of "The Last Unicorn", told from the perspective of a young girl who goes off on a quest for help in defeating a griffin terrorizing her village. In doing so, she meets some people familiar to those who've read the first book, and the reader finds that the years have not been equally kind nor fair to these beloved characters. It's sad and beautiful, and ties back into the themes of the first book -- time and agelessness, harsh reality and the wonder of story.

[Lindsical · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely story following the lead characters of The Last Unicorn decades into the future. My only complaint was that it was not longer. It's definitely a short story. I found it online and printed it, it was only 36 pages. However Peter S. Beagle continues to weave and craft an achingly beautiful tale, just as he did with his original unicorn work.

If you are a fan in any way of The Last Unicorn, I would read this short story.