The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
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Book Reviews of The Last Unicorn
Book Review: O! Unattempted Lovliness!
Summary: 5 Stars
Very few books combine grace, thought, and metaphor so beautifully as Peter Beagle's classic novel, "The Last Unicorn." His use of language is supurb, his plot line delicate and deep, his characterization poignant and humorous all at once. Certainly, one should class "The Last Unicorn" among those works, such as "The Prophet," that brush spirituality and show the merest achingly beautiful glimpse of the shrouded divine. While rereading this tale, laughing over remembered lines and shuddering at the phantastical scenes, I was frequently caught up with surprise at his light strokes of humanity - the reactions to lovliness personified in the Unicorn, the question of reality and legend, the true nature of joy and suffering - which I had missed when I had read the "pretty tale" years ago as a child.
Is it too euphorically hyperbolic to declare that "The Last Unicorn" can only be appreciated by those who long for the beauty, purity and grace the unicorn represents to be once more present in the world? Is it too ridiculous to declare that those who wallow in the dreariness of the seeming day-to-day may not appreciate this novel, while those who have read this book, and the "Chronicals of Narnia," and all those tales that proclaim the True the Good and the Beautiful as more real than what we see about us will marvel at Beagle's tale?
I hope not - for I should like to think that the divine spark Beagle has given us in "The Last Unicorn" is as vital to those who prefer Hemmingway as to those who dwell with hobbits.
Book Review: True Magic
Summary: 5 Stars
Forget the myriad B-fantasy novels with bodice-ripping elf maidens on the covers. This is book is where the real magic is.
Others have covered the plot admirably, so I'll be brief. The Last Unicorn is (oddly enough!) a book about one of the fabled beasts who discovers one day that she is the last of her kind. (A truly distressing thought). Determined to find the rest of her kin, she sets off on a quest (I hate using that phrase; sounds so cliche). Along the way, she is accompanied by two amusingly atypical friends. The journey ends at the castle of bitter King Haggard, where the unicorn discovers more than she could have ever imagined about herself and her people.
Interesting plot aside, this novel is simply gorgeous. It is lyrical, lush, hilarious, heartbreaking, sometimes all at the same time. For those who like their novels with some morality, there are themes of friendship and self-knowledge. But perhaps most important, it makes you remember unicorns once again.
What do I mean by this? There is a scene in the early pages of the book in which a farmer attempts to catch the roving unicorn, believing her to be nothing more than a common white mare. An exceptionally pretty one, but a horse nonetheless. And therein lies the real tragedy of this novel: People have forgotten magic to such a degree that they no longer recognize it, even when it gallops right before their eyes in all its glory.
The world would be better off with a few more unicorns. Read this novel, and it just may restore your faith that maybe there are some, still dwelling somewhere in a lilac wood. . . .
Book Review: Enchanting novel-length fairy tale
Summary: 5 Stars
Not too many writers try to take on the task of bringing a fairy tale to life in a novel. Of those who do try, very few succeed.
Peter Beagle is one of the few who have succeeded.
The Last Unicorn successfully preserves the magic of a fairy tale over the course of about 250 pages, which is immensely difficult. The lyrical language and the unforgettable characters, who are both romantic and realistic, strike a chord that have made this book one of those converting accounts that each reader urges a friend to read.
The basic story is about a unicorn who lives in a wood with only a very vague sense of time, or the world beyond. When she becomes aware that she may be the last unicorn left in the world, she must venture forth from her safe haven and try to find out what has happened to her kind. On the way to an exciting climax with the mythic and forbidding Red Bull, she encounters danger in the form of harpies and witches. She also meets friends, most notably Schmendrick the sometimes-hapless magician, and the good-hearted Molly Grue, who has seen too much of the world.
I really liked the cartoon when it was first released, and would recommend it to anyone who has read the book. However, it hasn't aged particularly well, and shouldn't be viewed by anyone who hasn't read the book first.
Don't confuse this book with other "fantasy novels" that have become a formulaic genre of often-bad writing. This novel is a notch higher than other novels in the genre; indeed, it is one of the reasons that the genre began.
Book Review: Great book
Summary: 5 Stars
I liked this book sooooo much. It is about a unicorn, who lives alone. One day she wonders what happened to the rest of the unicorns, because she has not seen any in a long, long time, and neither have men. She is disturbed by the question, afraid to leave her home, but she finally decides to leave the forest and go on a quest, just to make sure the others are okay. Along the way, she meets a butterfly who tells her that the unicorns went down all the roads long ago, and a Red Bull drove them to the ends of the earth. She doesn't understand this though, and continues her journey. After being captured by an evil woman, a magician named Schmendrick sets her free. As a reward, she allows him to come with her, to find the Red Bull and his master, King Haggard, and to see if finding them gives her a clue to where the otehrs might be. After journeying far, they meet up with a woman named Molly, who evidently wished to see a unicorn in youth but never had the chance. She too travels with them to find the unicorns. But when they meet up with the Red Bull, a disaster occurs. The bull is trying to drive the unicorn to King Haggard's castle, but why? To save her, Schmendrick finds magic in him and tranforms the unicorn into a human girl. What of the quest now? Will the unicorn, inside the body of a human, still be able to save her people? Time is running out, as she beging to lose memory and become more and more human.This book was so good, it is worth what I paid for it. I plan to read it again and again. It is exciting and fantastic, and it will appeal to unicorn lovers everywhere.
Book Review: One of My Favorite Fantasies
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Last Unicorn" is the quest of a nameless unicorn for others of her own kind who have mysteriously vanished from existence, apparently driven into the ocean by the Red Bull and kept by Kind Haggard.Shortly after leaving her forest, the unicorn is captured by Mommy Fortuna, a sorceress who claims such imaginary animals for her midnight carnival. The unicorn is soon released, however, by Schmendrick the Magician, Mommy Fortuna's hapless assistant. Together they continue the journey until they meet their third companion, Molly Grue.
The threesome then approach Hagsgate, the pitiful town owned by King Haggard--who lives a short distance farther in his cliff-side castle with his adopted son, Prince Lir. But before they have a chance to enter the castle, they're attacked by the Red Bull, who has come to collect the last unicorn. In an unexpected turn of events, Schmendrick transforms the trapped unicorn into a beautiful young woman (Lady Amalthea). The sudden change fools the Red Bull and protects her for the time being--just until they can search the castle for the other missing unicorns.
"The Last Unicorn" is one of my all-time favorite books. I saw the animated movie first when I was very young--shortly after it was released in 1982-- and later decided to read the book when I was about 9 or 10. Although the book is fantastic, I though the movie's ending was much better than the book's. There are a few other things I prefer in the movie, but I still really love the book. I highly recommend both to anyone who loves unicorns.