I have seen (and read) three types of fairytale fantasy published in the last century. The first is like Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles: it is clever at the expense of fairy tales, mocking (usually gently) the tropes of the genre, often through metafictional techniques. This type does little for me. The second is like most of Patricia McKillip's work: it takes those same tropes completely seriously and (if done well, as in McKillip's case) reminds us why the tropes exist in the first place, because they have width and depth and resonance. This is one of my favorite branches of fantasy. The third is the rarest, because it's the most difficult: it goes beyond the form of the fairytale and into archetypal territory, quite literally writing myth.
The Last Unicorn is all three of these.
That is probably fitting, given that it is one of the classics in the genre. Being three things at once, it left me with a sense of. . . unevenness, though to be fair that sense came only in retrospect; Beagle's prose is gorgeous and sure, and I devoured the book in two large gulps then wished there was more. Reading a random sampling of reviews online just highlighted the unevenness, though, because so many people seemed to be reading entirely different books.
The first thread, the metafictional, humorous side of the novel, predictably worked least well for me, though it worked better than any of the other books of that type that I have read. All of the characters know they are in a fairytale, and they either accede to the needs of the tale or try to shape it to their own ends depending on their personalities. There is also a sprinkling of anachronisms, which I read as another metafictional device, but may just be a leftover from Beagle's original vision of the story, which was set in modern times. What made this thread work better for me than those books who rely solely on the metafictional device is that Beagle used those moments when the characters broke the fourth wall to feed into his thematic concerns, something I will get to in a bit.
The second thread, the straight-forward fairy tale, is exquisitely, heartbreakingly beautiful. Had Beagle written just this story I probably would have out-and-out loved it more, though it likely would not have lingered in my consciousness as long as I suspect this reading will. It has all sorts of fairytale tropes: the quest, the unlikely band of fellows, the evil crone and the evil king, the curse, a tragic romance. . . there's even a talking cat. This section is about finding one's true nature; it is also very much about love, and the way it makes heroes of anyone it touches. It also features the loveliest passages, like this one:
"Under the moon, the road that ran from the edge of her forest gleamed like water, but when she stepped out onto it, away from the trees, she felt how hard it was, and how long. She almost turned back then; but instead she took a deep breath of the woods air that still drifted to her, and held it in her mouth like a flower, as long as she could."
The third thread, the allegory, is why this book has so much weight, the reason so many people can read totally different books in it and love them all. There are actually two related allegories here: one, running through the first half of the book, is about perception, and the way we see only what we expect to see; the other, coming to the fore in the second half of the book, is about the unicorn as a sort of Platonic Form of beauty. The presence of these allegories makes the book fail in a lot of ways as a straight fantasy novel -- as some reviewers have noticed, there are no people in the world but those absolutely necessary to the story/message, and the world-building is nothing like internally consistent. But ultimately the allegory is the reason The Last Unicorn is deservedly a classic, in any genre.
This lovely fantasy story is a familiar memory of many people's childhoods: it was first published in 1968, and was adapted into an animated movie in 1982. The movie is a refreshingly faithful adaptation of the book, as the author, Peter S. Beagle, also wrote the screenplay, which is a simplified version of the book. This capable modern fairy tale recounts the story of a shy, immortal unicorn, as white as new snow, who lives in a lilac wood where it is always spring. One day, she overhears two hunters talking about how there are no unicorns left in the world, and decides to learn herself whether this is true. She starts out on an epic adventure, leaving the safety of her woods, where she encounters one danger after another: she is captured and held by a witch who displays her at a carnival, but she is aided in escape by a bumbling magician, who joins her in her quest, along with a grizzled female outlaw, the lover of Captain Cully, the leader of a band of merry miscreants ala Robin Hood and his merry men.
The Unicorn has heard that a King Haggard, who lives in a crumbling castle by the sea, keeps another immortal creature, The Red Bull, who has done something with all the other unicorns in the world, so the trio set out in search of answers. Upon hearing a disturbing tale of a curse from villagers who live near the castle, the team set out to find the truth. However, when the Red Bull attacks, the magician uses magic he didn't know he had to transform the Unicorn into a human, to escape the bull and to enter into the realm of King Haggard and his bewitched castle to find out what has happened to the others.
Part of the novel's overall success has to be due to the subject matter: unicorns seem to be a subject of endless fascination. Stories of them are almost as old as time itself, with the first known depictions of them probably appearing in the Indus Valley, circa 2300 BC, where one-horned creatures are depicted on clay seals, which were probably used to mark bundles of goods. Other accounts appear in ancient Greco-Roman literature, as well as possibly the Hebrew Scriptures, where an animal, a re'em, may be some type of mythical creature resembling our notions of a unicorn. There may be some merit to this: Greek naturalists were convinced that unicorns did live in India, in fact, with the earliest depiction appearing in Ctesias, in his book Indika ("On India"). Some state that the iconography also appears in ancient Persia, including in relief sculpture at the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis. There is even a Chinese version, as a one-horned mythical, hybrid-appearing creature can be seen in various ancient texts and works of art.
The creatures are a staple of European mythology, however, often described as being strangely "goat-like," rather than some species of equine. They typically feature cloven hoofs with feathered feet, a goat's beard, and a tuffed tail rather than a haired tail like a horse. The creatures' renown spread during the middle ages, where an entire mythology sprang up around them: they became associated with innocence and purity, especially concerning virgins, and notions of chaste love. Even Leonardo da Vinci weighed in, writing in one of his notebooks that unicorns so loved maidens that they would forget all wildness, and would lay sleeping in a maiden's lap, thus allowing hunters to take them. A unicorn hunt is depicted in seven late Gothic tapestries, which are world-famous, now on display at the Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (I've seen these, in fact, and they are quite magnificent, despite the rather brutal nature of many of the scenes).
Why would anyone hunt such a magnificent and magical creature? An equally elaborate lore sprung from notions of the magic properties of its horn, referred to as the element "alicorn": "unicorn horns," such as those used for the Throne Chair of Denmark, were made of narwal tusks, which were used for ceremonial cups on account of the belief that unicorn's horn neutralized all poisons and could cure most diseases. As such, they were powdered and used in folk medicine, apparently as late as the mid-eighteenth century.
The novel has become something of a modern classic; it's somewhat anachronistic, so it's difficult to determine what period it's meant to occur in: most of the fantastic elements, such as the presence of dragons, harpies and other mythological creatures, as well as kings, castles and bands out outlaws, seem to suggest a medieval setting, but the mention of potatoes, guns and even "tacos" (!) cast this in some doubt. One of the reasons for its popularity is that it's masterfully written, with beautiful, descriptive language and a strong plot with well-developed characters. It maintains something of an aura of mystery, allowing the reader's imagination to bloom in full, but it's still well-grounded in realism, which makes it all the more enjoyable. The novel has sold more than five million copies since its initial publication, and has been translated into twenty some languages, prior to the 2007 edition. It has been ranked number five of the 33 all-time-best fantasy novels by Locus, in 1987.
Beagle reported that it took two years of consistent writing to complete. He first hit upon the idea in 1962 during an artist's retreat, after reading other fantasy and mythology at length. He also recalled a painting of unicorns he had been given as a teenager, and subsequently decided to write a novel featuring them as a main character following extensive research on unicorn lore. Beagle has been compared with the likes of Lewis Carroll and Tolkien: perhaps this is light exaggeration, but this classic fairy tale will likewise remain a staple of fantasy literature for generations to come.
One of my alltime favorite stories, if not my very favorite, I was thrilled to see Peter S. Beagle's work made into a graphic novel. Although I found the artwork beautiful, I was a bit disappointed that it was so similar to the style of the movie. I was hoping for a new take and feel to the story. Flows easily and follows the book almost perfectly.
If the only thing you know about this story is the animated movie made from it you don't know the depths of this story. Please read it, for enjoyment, for thought material, to add to your list of wothwhile classics read.
This is a contemporary fantasy classic and not to be missed! Peter S. Beagle brings fantasy to a modern world, but seamlessly blends what we have always loved about the genre since it's beginnings! The story is about a unicorn who realizes she hasn't seen any of her kind in a long while and sets out on a quest to find the other unicorns. Along the way she gathers a group of friends who will have to stand with her when she finds the horrbile fate of her kind. This book will alternately make you laugh and cry, but in a good way. I can't recommend this book enough to lovers of fantasy and just plain good literature.
The Last Unicorn is about a beautiful white unicorn and her journey to find others like her. She meets a magician, a woman, a travelling side show, a band of misfits who hide in the woods, and many more along her way. She learned alot and goes through many things in search of others of her kind. I highly recommend this book!
