The Beast

by Jonathan Fast

Lovely and moody movie star Rebecca Weiss takes the place of her agent as a captive in the mysterious mansion of H. W. Beeze III and develops a deep compassion and intense physical attraction for her disfigured, tormented captor

Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1981

Reviews

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Hollywood starlet encounters reclusive millionaire 'beast' in his desert estate. It follows the ususal conventions of the fairy tale with contemporary twists and some insights into 'the biz'. Not as truly romantic as some but still a good one.

[J Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast as some of the others note. I'm not sure if it's original text from the fairy tale or not, but it's set up so that the original tale parallels that of Fast's protagonist, Hollywood starlet, Rebecca Weiss.

It's an enjoyable, fast read. It grew on me as I continued. There were a few points where I almost stopped reading because the opening moved slowly and there were some points that seemed to not age well or didn't feel true to how a woman would react in a situation (maybe it was truer in the 1980s).

However, as the novel wore on, it became more of a page-turner and I became more invested in the characters. I was slightly disappointed in the ending, but I can see how it fits with what Fast set up and it makes sense with the overall themes.

[BAGNULO MARCELLO · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una riedizione de "La bella e la Bestia" riportata ai giorni nostri in un contesto cinematografico.