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What were your thoughts on this book? Love or loathe?

Well, I liked this book, not quite loved. For the most part I thought it carried it's theme of loss and aging pretty well. Sometimes I felt the author made the story a bit too sill, like when Schmedrick uses his Judo moves. It broke me out of the story reading things like that.

One (of several) things I didn't understand: was the Red Bull supposed to symbolize something?

I remember hearing about this book in my college days. I didn't read it, thinking that something so popular couldn't possibly be that good.

On reading it, I found it very charming. A book I wished I had known to read to my children, who are alas much too old now to be tucked in and told stories.

It works on the level of the story, which meanders a bit but would still keep a child's attention. Like a true classic children's book, it's also enjoyable for an adult, with its sly references to Greek myths and folk legends, like the hat-tip to Robin Hood. I also liked its humor, which still seems very contemporary, though the book is over 40 years old. Schmendrick to the people of Hagsgate: "That's a good curse, a professional job. I always say, whatever you're having done go to an expert...it pays in the long run."

The lyrical descriptions--the unicorn's wood, Mommy Fortuna's circus wagons and their inhabitants, the sea below King Haggard's castle stood out for me--were wonderful. Beagle's unusual use of language reminded me a little of William Stieg's picture books, which use very adult language that kids will still get in context. I'm thinking of things like Prince Lir's face "cuddled the ground hard" when the Red Bull charged him, the moon "withered and fled" when the harpy was released, Molly Grue's perception of "blood creaking in ears and eyes and skin twitching like water plucked by wind" as she watches the people of Hagsgate. You can open the book to any page and find a memorable phrase such as these.

The length seemed just write to me. It's a fable, not epic fantasy. While I love the vast, complex worlds of some fiction, sometimes a simple, elegant tale that leaves a lot for me to fill in is just right...

I haven't read this since I was a kid, except the bits and pieces I've reread this month. I only half understood the vocabulary and references then, and I could tell I wasn't getting it all, but the scenes stuck with me since then. Not so much what happened, but their emotional tone.

The comparison of ending to Tolkien on the other thread is appropriate. I never thought of it before, but it feels to me just like how Tolkien explains happy endings when he calls them "eucastrophes" in "On Fairy Stories."

The other day, I read a blog about The Last Unicorn on Tor:

I found the author's analysis of the book very insightful, especially when she noted how Beagle freely played with time and convention by mentioning 'modern' things in the story--bottle caps, a magazine, a reference to 'show business.' I didn't even think about that the first or second times I read it--I'm always caught up in the imagery and the emotional development of the story.

I loved, adored this book. It's both a child's fairy tale and an adult literary novel. I will be giving it five stars, what a marvel of a novel. It is so full of metafictional references to both ancient literature, religions, folk tales and symbols of all the yearnings common to most people for 50,000 years.

The Red Bull - I suspect it's a conflation of many gods of many ancient Mediterranean cultures:

Example, one of which was the Egyptian god Apis:

The Jews also sacrificed a Red Heifer ritually:
because I suspect the Jewish religion appropriated older religious symbols the same as Christianity and Islam. It is known, for example, Christianity stole and warped many ancient symbols and gods and holidays in an effort to confuse and keep converts. The Bull was a beloved god for millennia before Christians, so they probably appropriated the bull to be the character Satan. It is the usual technique to promote your product while hopefully destroying the competition.

As far as the story behind the Unicorn's name:

One of my favourites in the genre. I haven't come across many other books with the same kind of tone and feeling. It comes across almost as a fairytale, but of the older, darker (but noble) variety.

I didn't really enjoy the first half of the book--in terms of actual story, not writing skill. The prose was very elegant, but it just didn't pull me in. But I kept at it and by the last half I was more engrossed. I enjoyed the climax and the bittersweet ending. Still, not blown away. As others have said, this was a fable, not a ... um ... epic fantasy tale or what-have-you. I respect the writer's skill, but I will probably never read it again.

The modern and metafictional references are probably what I was reacting to when I said this didn't feel like it came from a living mythical tradition. It's a sort of fairy tale, but the perspective is at least partly from outside Faerie.

Matthew wrote: " As others have said, this was a fable, not a ... um ... epic fantasy tale or what-have-you"

Hey, it was a quest with world-shaking consequences. 0:)

What it isn't is it isn't told in the high epic style. No Aragorn son of Arathorn, the King who Is to Return and so forth. No big battles with the five armies amassing as eagles darken the sky.

Brenda wrote: "What it isn't is it isn't told in the high epic style. No Aragorn son of Arathorn, the King who Is to Return and so forth. No big battles with the five armies amassing as eagles darken the sky."

It's like The Lord of the Rings in some ways, unlike in other -- if all books had to be exactly like LOTR to be epic fantasy, it wouldn't be a genre but a lone book.

I probably wouldn't have read this book if i wouldn't have liked the movie so much as a kid. But giving it a shot because of nostalgia, I found it to be a pretty deep book. Not one of my favorites but I did enjoy it. The lose-lose scenario for both the prince and the unicorn wasn't something I gave much thought to when I was 8 or 9 watching the movie but now I see it as pretty tragic stuff. And I don't even remember catching anything about the magician's mortality being a factor in the movie. Tying it to the unicorn's quest was a nice touch.
By the way, why is this listed as "The Last Unicorn # 1" in goodreads?

John wrote: "By the way, why is this listed as "The Last Unicorn # 1" in goodreads? "

Because he wrote another short story featuring the world and some characters from it.

So I finished the book a few days ago and allowed a few days before forming my opinion and writing my review. I might be in the minority here, but I'm one of the people who liked but didn't really love the book. I'm not sure what I expected, to be honest I had no expectations, but I feel as if the perfect scores are given through nostalgia tinted spectacles. (Hey, hey, don't stone me to death, I know reviews and opinions are subjective!!) Don't get me wrong, I don't say it's bad. I just think that as a sufficiently-read fantasy reader who happened to read this one for the first time in 2014, I was left a bit indifferent and a bit disappointed. I don't want to write too much here, if you want you can read my review (which is much shorter that usual) that explains my thoughts a little better.

Mary wrote: "John wrote: "By the way, why is this listed as "The Last Unicorn # 1" in goodreads? "

Because he wrote another short story featuring the world and some characters from it."

I'm glad Mary mentioned this. The short story, Two Hearts, is amazing, beautiful, heartbreaking.

'Two Hearts' made me cry.

Some parts of this story were really nice and those are memorable but much of the booked lacked tension, at least for me, and felt meandering.

This book was a longer, harder read than I had anticipated. It's probably my own fault because I double-questioned all the characters and situations, trying to be sure I understood what the author was trying to convey.

Still enjoyed the book, and will now read something less "brain teasing" ;-)

Matthew wrote: "I didn't really enjoy the first half of the book--in terms of actual story, not writing skill. The prose was very elegant, but it just didn't pull me in. But I kept at it and by the last half I was..."

Matthew, you about perfectly captured my own reaction to the story. Here's my (short) review:

Tough for me to decide what rating I want to settle on. I wanted to love this book. I can see how maybe I might love it, if I read it again. Or if I read it as a kid. But, I didn't read it as kid, and I don't think I'll be back for a second helping in the future .... I guess three stars. Could almost have been a 2 for me, tho. Even though I *wanted* it to be a fiver.

Frank wrote: "I'm glad Mary mentioned this. The short story, Two Hearts, is amazing, beautiful, heartbreaking.

"

Thank you, John, for asking that question, Mary for posting about the novellette, and Frank for posting link! On the goodreads page, it indicates that it won a Nebula Award in 2006 :) - Two Hearts, by Peter S. Beagle


Carol. [All cynic, all the time] wrote: "The other day, I read a blog about The Last Unicorn on Tor: ..."

The for blog link, Carol! I'll check it out over the weekend :)

MK wrote: "Tough for me to decide what rating I want to settle on. I wanted to love this book. I can see how maybe I might love it, if I read it again. Or if I read it as a kid. But, I didn't read it as kid, and I don't think I'll be back for a second helping in the future .... I guess three stars. Could almost have been a 2 for me, tho. Even though I *wanted* it to be a fiver."

I had a similar reaction, MK. I've heard so much about this book over the years and have known so many people who LOVED it. I wanted to love it too, but I just liked it. Undeniably beautiful writing, but I was never all that invested in the characters or the story. I did, however, like the bittersweet ending.

Unfortunately, I think this was one of those books that was so hyped up that it couldn't live up to my expectations. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't gone into it thinking it would be such an amazing classic. I hate when that happens!

Laura wrote: "Unfortunately, I think this was one of those books that was so hyped up that it couldn't live up to my expectations. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't gone into it thinking it would be such an amazing classic. I hate when that happens! "

That happens to me as well, far too often.

Laura, I think I had high expectations, too. I'm going to borrow the DVD from my library, and see if that's where alot of the high expectations come from

aPriL MEOWS often with scratching wrote: "'Two Hearts' made me cry."

Frank wrote: "I'm glad Mary mentioned this. The short story, Two Hearts, is amazing, beautiful, heartbreaking.

"


I really loved the Two Hearts novelette, too. I didn't cry ... but I almost did. It was beautiful

Last thoughts (and lasting thoughts?) on the Last Unicorn?

Melanie | 257 comments I cheated and read it at the end of last year because it came up as a monthly challenge. Usually when you read the book, you expect it to be more than the movie, but in this case, there was very little that was not in the film. I felt kind of disappointed by that.

Oh, that's actually helpful, I was trying to decide if I needed to read a book that would tear my heart open. But if it's very like the movie, I am plenty hurt enough!

Lovely story, rich and beautiful language, and plenty insightful into human nature. Its easy to see why this is an enduring classic.

I think I expected to be swept away by this book, and when I wasn't the disappointment was deeper. It was okay, but I got bored reading it and had to "work" to keep reading to the end. I found it slow-paced and the writing, though beautiful, at times superfluous.

Brenda wrote: "What it isn't is it isn't told in the high epic style. No Aragorn son of Arathorn, the King who Is to Return and so forth. No big battles with the five armies amassing as eagles darken the sky."

Thank goodness.

I just read it for the third time, and this time (a few years after enjoying the graphic novel) I finally appreciated it.

Some of the language stylings remind me of Thurber's juveniles, for example The 13 Clocks, and some of the themes and motifs do, too, ex. The White Deer.

For all the gorgeous and clever wordplay and poetry, this is very visual. I'm not surprised that the film and the graphic novel have been successful.

Wasn't the butterfly fun? And the Red Bull terrifying?

I admit I kept having to regroup & reread bits as I lost track. In fact, I have to go back and check the detail of exactly how Haggard died. I'm going to reread the graphic novel for sure, and maybe this someday, too. Maybe a big ol' annotated edition would be worth seeking out.

"One evening, they stopped in a plump, comfortable town where even the beggars had double chins and the mice waddled."

"The universe lies to our sense, and they lie to us, and how can we ourselves be anything but liars?"

"The stair coiled tighter... the tower was closing on them all like a sweaty fist. The darkness looked at them and touched them. It had a rainy, doggy smell."

(Btw, I'm not a writer, but I do notice Beagle's deliberate choices of commas vs. 'ands' vs. run-ons... they're done to very good effect.... And speaking of language, I find it interesting that, though Ray Bradbury is also noted for a poetic & metaphoric & gorgeous style, I find their styles quite different, and fans of one are not necessarily going to enjoy the other.)

Beagle's use of language really is masterful. FYI, he has another story set in the same universe as TLU in his recent collection The Line Between.

Michele wrote: "... FYI, he has another story set in the same universe as TLU in his recent collection The Line Between."

Read it - it's wonderful - on Peter's web site.