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The Last Unicorn was my first experience with how a writer can make characters, actions and even the colors of description come vividly alive for the reader. Beagle tells the tale of a Unicorn who comes to realize that she may be the last of her kind. Her search for other unicorns is the frame of the story. Along the way she meets and travels with a bumbling wizard, Schmendrick, and an earthy scullery maid, Molly Grue. She encounters silly butterflies, a tragic king (Haggard) and his romantic son, Prince Lyr. Perhaps the Unicorn's most vivid and frightening encounter is with Mommy Fortuna and her Midnight Carnival. This lesson in illusion and how humans see what they wish to believe, is strangely terrifying. That Mommy Fortuna ultimately meets her demise at the claws of the only mythical creature who is truly real, is deliciously fitting. The climax of the story lies in the Unicorn's struggle to turn back from the love she has found in human form, and to complete her journey by facing her fears in the form of the Red Bull. Beagle's prose is deceptively simple but is also musical and poetic as he literally paints the world of unicorns, talking butterflies and wizards. A lovely read!Read full review
The title of Beagle’s fantasy story is somewhat misleading, in that his protagonist, the Unicorn, while perhaps his central character, is not the most intriguing. Certainly, the story revolves around her search for others of her kind, but it is Schmendrick the Magician who caught my attention in the tale. Schmendrick’s many bungled attempts at performing magic offer comedic relief to the story, and Beagle’s fascination with this character shows. As an emerging poet, the prose and poetry throughout the story caught my eye, and Beagle’s rhyming skills are great. Even the Unicorn, while under the spell casting her as Lady Amalthea, sings a song near the end of the book. These poems and songs serve to cast a spell of their own over the reader, lulling them into the fantasy world Beagle has created. I find satisfaction in the story’s ending, as it didn’t have the “happily ever after” theme that is typically found in such fairy tale settings. Instead, the Unicorn is unable to return to her former way of life (since she has experienced mortality,) but she frees the other unicorns, who destroy King Haggard’s castle, and the man who loved her, Prince Lir, inherits the kingdom. While there is “happiness” in the ending of the story, it wasn’t as predictable as most prince and princess fairy tales. The Unicorn returns to her forest, as do the other unicorns she has freed, but they don’t all live happily together, and mankind cannot communicate with them again. Nor can the “Last Unicorn” go back to her formerly carefree way of living, because she now understands loss, sorrow, aging, and death. Clumsy Schmendrick finally comes into his own, receives and learns to channel the magic that formerly alluded him. With wisdom, comes success. This, then, is a story of coming of age, of maturing, or growing, and of learning to live a life that offers help and service to others, even if it means letting go of our own happiness for a little while. There is reality in this fantasy: humor, sadness, joy, longing, suffering, frustration, and success. It’s a story to which even the most unimaginative adult can relate.Read full review
always loved this movie as a kid, bought it in the mid 90's, but never read the book, so bought it recently. though the book portrayed with the 40th anniversary cover, wasn't the one i received, mine has the yellow cover with the red writing on the front, was looking forward to getting the 40th anniversary book, but am still happy with the one i received, its in great condition, and easy to read.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This is a charming story about a Unicorn. First read it many years ago. Lost my copy. But had to order it as my great=granddaughter was familiar with it and wanted to read it. So this purchase is for her. This is a Classic, must read.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is one of my favorite books of all time! Peter Beagle's writing is full of wonder. It touches your soul. The Last Unicorn is a classic that everyone should read. I could talk about the unicorn and her journey, or the other great characters that I fell in love with, but the book is more than the sum of its parts; saying "it touches your soul" is the closest I can come to describing the essence of the book in its entirety.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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