The Last Unicorn
Ratings168
Average rating3.9
One of my perennial favorites. It's wrapped in the clichés and archetypes of fairy tales, but it's much more than it seems. It's about transformation, about love, about the way happiness can make you sad and getting what you want can be bittersweet. It's about becoming who you are, and what you might lose when you do. It's about mortality and our yearning for the timeless. It's a story about stories and how real life doesn't work that way, except when it does. I never tire of it, and every time I read it, it is different.
I just found my copy of this beautiful book after unpacking from my move and I look forward to rereading this. Like most people I think, I discovered this tale through the beautifully animated movie and it hasn't let me go since. Now that I'm an adult, revisiting this book brings new meanings that i never really understood as a child and it gets better every time.
3.5 stars, thinking of rounding down. Beautifully written fairytale about a unicorn who thinks they're the last and leaves their forest to find out why. I did enjoy it, especially the ending, but I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't absolutely love this, between the writing and story it feels like it should fit the recipe of an all time favorite. I can see why from the fantasy classics this is still beloved and recced as a must-read, and I'm glad I did. Readers of classics and fairytales will likely love this.
This is a fairy tale of the most wondrous, ambiguous prose! Here we have immortal beings, but the tale as much as it is about the lifespan is also about being different and an outcast. Meet whimsical characters, a plot that goes somewhere and it gets there. Tons of dialog which somehow encompasses way more than what it should.
I watched the movie first and knew I had to seek out stories just like it, luckily the movie was based on a book and the author has other tales too. This is such a massive improvement from any other fairytale-like story I have read so far. There are still horses and there's horse riding which I do not like for ethics, but I will excuse it here for being desperate for a story like this.
Whatever visuals were in the movie they were perfectly described here and way better. This needs a modern adaptation and also I want to read two hearts already, so I will probably do so right now. I've seen that there was an earlier draft of the story about following a devil? I wonder how that would play out, seems kinda relevant with all the devil media I keep collecting.
I wanna imagine and fill my head with animals and the forest so that when people look at me they wouldn't see themselves :) The unicorn is an icon of GRACE and I need to channel her. This is the archetypes we want to emulate and not some greek warrior weirdos cough, cough.
If anyone ever has recommendations of stories like these please let me know, I need this mysterious, ethereal, magical, avant garde high art.
A very unexpected read. I had the impression this book was going to be deeply philosophical and somber in tone. Actually, it's an absurdist comedy! It's still got plenty of whimsy, and I adore that it doesn't take itself too seriously.
4.5
This book had everything I love about classic fantasy novels. Definitely not an epic but a soft tale filled with riddles & rhymes, talking cats, witty dialogue, a whimsical quest, a prince and of course, a unicorn!! The writing was so beautiful too and had a satisfying end :')
It's written just as you would expect any fairy tale to be written but never felt silly or childish. In a way it reminded me of the Little Prince. Nothing makes logical “sense” but I really like that. Peter Beagle essentially creates this world and plops us in it without explaining anything LOL.
We just start off with this unicorn who lives in a lilac wood. There's no world building, backstory or established rules. Even the magician doesn't understand his own magic The mythology is mixed up with all sorts of other fables and at one point Robin Hood even appears. Honestly anyone who likes The Princess Bride would enjoy this. I would read it again.
Not 5 stars but don't get me wrong! I really did enjoy this. I'm not sure why but something is stopping me from giving it a 5 so it's gonna sit here.
Final note: Also can I just say, I love when characters know they're in a fairy tale and give us great dialogue like this:
“They deserve their fate, they deserve worse. To leave a child out in the snow-“ “Well if they hadn't, he couldn't have grown up to be a prince. Haven't you been in a fairy tale before?”
“We are in a fairy tale, and must go where it goes.”
“Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.”
I watched The Last Unicorn a million times as a child in the 1980s but for some reason only now that I'm 40 did I pick up the book. I think I was afraid the magic would have faded, and I wanted to hold onto the memory of the film helping me survive those horrific, trauma-filled years. The book is beautiful and holds up well, though I found myself saddened when I got to the last page. Something about revisiting childhood gems makes them a little less ethereal, a little more flawed. But I love the story all the same, cracks and all. My rating is biased because my inner child would never forgive me for giving it 4 stars instead of 5.
Executive Summary: I found this book to be well written, but largely uninteresting.
Full Review
I've had this book on my to read pile for awhile but I never got around to it. Then Sword & Laser picked it for their June book. I came to it just off of an underwhelming book that I struggled to read for months.
I'm not sure if it was that mentality or that I just wasn't in the mood for this book I can't say. There were some parts I enjoyed. In particular I liked the ending, but the middle of the book dragged for me.
Much like my previous book I would go for days without picking it up and I could barely get through more than one or two chapters at a time.
I can understand why this book is so beloved. If I had read it at a younger age or possibly at a different time in my life I'd probably have liked it better. I'm just glad to have finally read it and to be moving on.
Going in, I expected a somewhat lackluster, run-of-the-mill fantasy story whose popularity reduced to it being a “classic”. In some sense, it was just that. But it was also a bit more, and that bit more is what made it enjoyable. The writing is very rich and poetic. While the story is simple, it is endearing and heartfelt. The book is full of irreverent humor, which I had not expected, but thoroughly enjoyed.
Not my cup of the tea. To me, this leans a lot more toward a child's fairy tale than fantasy. I got drawn in because people called it a fantasy classic. Perhaps it didn't age well for me.
The writing was fine. I liked the way it flowed and read. It's actually pretty good writing, except for the singing bits, which were kinda awkward. The Lord of the Rings had singing bits too, so I guess it's a “thing” of that era.
But the rest of it was lacklustre to me. The supposedly mystical unicorn felt all too human to me, even at the beginning. The bumbling Schmendrick was pathetic; I don't even feel sympathetic towards him. Molly... felt redundant, like a sideline player who didn't really seem to matter, except maybe as a catalyst for Lir. People will disagree with me, but like I said, not my cup of tea. These characters were rather one-dimensional to me, and not very likeable.
I enjoyed reading only the first few chapters, then I kept waiting for something to happen. The events were all of a mild sort, even the finale felt lacking. There were nice quotes scattered throughout, but it doesn't redeem the plot. Halfway through, I was somewhat bored already. So when they found their goal, I was glad it's going to be over soon. But there's actually a bit more to go... I just don't really care about the characters anymore by that point.
The follow-up story is more of the same. While Sooz is a cute and likeable character, the returning cast felt the same. Maybe they'll give better nostalgic feeling if I hadn't read them one after the other.
The Last Unicorn was on of my favorite books as a child. I bought this book at a convention from Peter S. Beagle (very nice man), but didn't read it. I think I was afraid it would interfere or tarnish the memories I have of the story. I finally decided to just to do and...
I loved the book. It turns out the movie stuck to the book pretty closely. Many of the lines that I had loved in the movie were there in the book. Like all adapted books there was more in the book than the movie, but it filled in and flushed out the story I loved without changing it.
Hard to explain why I didn't love this. The writing was very good, exactly what you'd want in a fantasy tale. It was descriptive, whimsical, very “once upon a time.” However, I couldn't quite connect to any of the characters. I found them flat for the most part. To better illustrate my point, if there was a string of dialogue with no identifiers (X said, Y said), I wouldn't be able to tell who was talking. The plot also slogged a bit. I think it's worth reading for the writing style, but there is better fantasy plot and character to be found elsewhere.
Just like the Hobbit, it seems this book was targeted at children when it was released. By today's standards, both books fit better with an older audience.
It is indeed a magical story and even with a unicorn as a character, it is never too girly or becomes a “My Little Pony” older brother.
For a small book, it somehow manages to give some depth to characters. No one is all bad or all good. Even the most evil creature has ulterior motives. For example, the Unicorn is so proud that is infuriating, becoming a character that makes it difficult for himself for me to like him. Nonetheless, in the last part of the history, it finally shows a glimpse of let's say “humanity”, that shines a completely different light over it.
It's easy to sympathize with Schmendrick burden and goal, even if the path to obtain it isn't always the most righteous.
Molly Grue, I believe, is the character that most people will feel drawn to. She begins strong and on the defensive, later becoming a charming, intelligent, thoughtful and powerful motivator in what was Schmendrick's development. Some may argue that she started somewhat as a warrior to later become someone very skittish and relying a lot on Schmendrick. The gender roles in this story are defined to what maybe were the standards at the time. Every woman is a damsel in distress, and only the men are able to be the heroes. I don't really care about these “issues” in books, and I don't think that was any ill thought on Beagle's head when he wrote the story. It was, and in someways still is, a very captivating trope in fantasy books. It just needs to be done with respect, which I think is the case with The Last Unicorn.
I liked the book and can say that now I understand the praise it receives. It is full of clever conversations and deep meanings. I didn't resist highlighting some of them. Most of the time it portrays with great fidelity human feelings, be it love, fear, boredom, greed and sorrow.
I could not help but recommend that people read this book. After all, old-school fantasy still is the most magical, grand and dreamy.
I have to say that I was really happy that the unicorn didn't remain as Lady Amalthea and married Prince Lir. Stories that ignore the most logical path for the sake of a happy ending, are not to my taste
Another user compared this book to poetry. I remember renting the movie as a child, and my mom claims she read it to me, but I didn't remember either. I was about to read something I already knew, and yet something brand new. It was a wonderful feeling.
I cannot praise the writing enough. I could see everything. I could feel everything. I could smell and touch them all. The unicorn rose from those pages. I saw her. I was in awe. She is the most beautiful creature the world has ever known. Peter S. Beagle brought her to life.
Some parts of this seemed to drag. Those were the scenes without the unicorn. whether intentionally or not, the book came alive when she was on the pages. I'm glad I picked this up, and I understand now why it is such a classic.
A children's book, however well it is written.
After hearing he might be the last of his kind, an immortal unicorn decides to look for the other members of his species, only to find out that the world has changed since last he left his groove. People no longer believe in magic, making him look like a regular horse in their eyes and significantly hindering his quest.
This is told in the first few pages, and I was liking it enough. This story about the lost of magic in the world, making magical things look like common ones, and only a few who could see them for what they truly are.
Then a wizard is introduced in the story. He is really a magician, a common men that can perform basic illusions, party tricks, but sometimes his magic is real. Again the thing about the lost of magic in the world.
However, as soon as he is captured by a pirate, the “children story” comes into play really strong, and I lost interest.
I saw this movie years ago but remembered very little other than the Red Bull. Reading the novel as an adult was a very pleasant experience. This is a delightful novel. I cannot recommend it enough. The follow up story is a perfect coda as well.
http://blog.mihaisavu.com/2012/08/10/peter-beagle-ultima-licorna/
Despre “Ultima licornă” a lui Peter Beagle am auzit prima dată acum 20 de ani, într-o tabără de arheologie. Mi-au plăcut atât de mult titlul cărții și pasiunea cu care povestea prietenul meu, încât după 20 de ani recunosc titlul în librărie, o cumpăr și încep să o lecturez.
Licorna este inorogul, animalul mitic cu un corn în frunte care se stinge de singurătate în pădurea fermecată. De sute de ani a auzit oamenii vorbind că este ultima licornă în viață și pornește singură în căutarea semenelor ei, pe teritoriul Taurului Stacojiu. Pe drum întâlnește alte personaje fantastice: vrăjitori, harpii, magicieni. Impresia inițială de basm se schimbă treptat, datorită ironiilor pe care le fac personajele, uneori sarcastice, alteori grotești.
Lectura a mers destul de greu și romanul nu m-a captivat cu adevărat. Nu mi s-a părut binevenită combinația dintre fantasticul prozei și nota ironică, acidă. Ori n-am citit-o eu în cheia potrivită. Cert este că nu am găsit susținerea ficțiunii în realitate (ce stupid!), nu m-am sincronizat cu basmul postmodern. Pe scurt: proză fantastică, simboluri, ironii, aromă de “Alice in Țara Minunilor”.
The Last Unicorn is a beautifully written fantasy story. It is the first book I've read by Peter Beagle but now I'm anxious to read more. The story was a bit slow in the beginning, but the pace picked up within a few chapters. I don't recommend this for someone looking for a light easy read because the writing deserves to be reveled in and lingered over. Highly recommended for people who appreciate good books and good writing.
An enduringly enchanting tale that offers more than the (beautiful) movie. I recommend movie, music, book and graphic novel alike. This tale is as immortal as the unicorn herself. Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/peter-s-beagle-the-last-unicorn/