morgan_haybook's review against another edition
3.0
Very close to the Fairy Tale of Beauty and the Beast in that the characters are learning what real beauty is. The other elements are not alike at all, but so far I'm loving it.
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderful book. I suppose one could technically classify it as a romance, but it is so much more than that. Its idea taken from the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty brings the story into the modern world and gives it a twist.
Alix Miller is an artist and has taken a job painting the portrait of reclusive Lee Crompton. For centuries, Miller's have been painting portraits of the Cromptons and this time it will be no different, except it will be Alix instead of her father. She arrives at the secluded home and doesn't get to meet her subject right away. Instead, there is a partially cold housekeeper/cook and a simple-minded caretaker. She doesn't meet Lee for a couple days and when she does, has a mild shock. Lee suffers from Acromegaly and has been hideously disfigured. This is the reason he has become a recluse and mainly hides himself from the world. He only invited Alix because it was a tradition in his family.
Alix grows fond of Lee but before she can finish the portrait, she has to go home as her father is failing fast from cancer. During this poignant time in her life she finds herself growing closer to Lee, and further from Mark, her handsome but career driven boyfriend. Lee is there for her as only the best of friends can be while Mark seems to have trouble making any time for Alix and her feelings. To make matters more complicated, Lee is afraid of allowing anyone too close as he can't believe anyone would truly love him with his deformity. To add even more into this, his housekeeper wants to protect him and circumstances seem to take him further and further away from Alix, despite what they both want.
The characters in this book are wonderful. Alix is bright and engaging and you can really feel her relish in her work and her happiness with creating art. Lee is aloof but really a gentle wonderful person and you can't help but like him. To further that, Wilson paints Mark as an unlikable character so it really is quite easy to cheer for Lee instead of him. The other characters, although their parts are small, also add quite a bit to the novel.
The writing is easy to read, although Wilson does tend to make it a bit flowery at times. There really isn't too much offensive in it aside from that fact that it is hard to read how Lee is treated at times. I do have to say (without giving too much away) that despite how well the ending was written, I was largely disappointed with it. Most of the book is written from Alix's perspective although the epilogue and the last part of the book are written from Lee's. This is kind of unusual because Lee is a writer in this novel and you would think he'd be the narrator because of this.
I do enjoy this book every time I read it and will make it a plan to read some of Wilson's other works. If they are as well written as this, they're sure to please.
Beauty
Copyright 1996
200 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2010
Alix Miller is an artist and has taken a job painting the portrait of reclusive Lee Crompton. For centuries, Miller's have been painting portraits of the Cromptons and this time it will be no different, except it will be Alix instead of her father. She arrives at the secluded home and doesn't get to meet her subject right away. Instead, there is a partially cold housekeeper/cook and a simple-minded caretaker. She doesn't meet Lee for a couple days and when she does, has a mild shock. Lee suffers from Acromegaly and has been hideously disfigured. This is the reason he has become a recluse and mainly hides himself from the world. He only invited Alix because it was a tradition in his family.
Alix grows fond of Lee but before she can finish the portrait, she has to go home as her father is failing fast from cancer. During this poignant time in her life she finds herself growing closer to Lee, and further from Mark, her handsome but career driven boyfriend. Lee is there for her as only the best of friends can be while Mark seems to have trouble making any time for Alix and her feelings. To make matters more complicated, Lee is afraid of allowing anyone too close as he can't believe anyone would truly love him with his deformity. To add even more into this, his housekeeper wants to protect him and circumstances seem to take him further and further away from Alix, despite what they both want.
The characters in this book are wonderful. Alix is bright and engaging and you can really feel her relish in her work and her happiness with creating art. Lee is aloof but really a gentle wonderful person and you can't help but like him. To further that, Wilson paints Mark as an unlikable character so it really is quite easy to cheer for Lee instead of him. The other characters, although their parts are small, also add quite a bit to the novel.
The writing is easy to read, although Wilson does tend to make it a bit flowery at times. There really isn't too much offensive in it aside from that fact that it is hard to read how Lee is treated at times. I do have to say (without giving too much away) that despite how well the ending was written, I was largely disappointed with it. Most of the book is written from Alix's perspective although the epilogue and the last part of the book are written from Lee's. This is kind of unusual because Lee is a writer in this novel and you would think he'd be the narrator because of this.
I do enjoy this book every time I read it and will make it a plan to read some of Wilson's other works. If they are as well written as this, they're sure to please.
Beauty
Copyright 1996
200 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2010
jayse's review
4.0
I loved the story, but the ending was quiet unneeded, it ended sadly for no reason..
bibliomaineiac's review
3.0
I wanted to really like this novel. And I did like it. Until near the end. The ending felt rushed. Somewhat of a "hurry up, we need to end this book." In my opinion, it had the potential to be so much more. Something of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. An artist is hired to paint the portrait of a recluse with a deformity. I was quite enjoying it, until a certain point (no spoilers, I'm just leaving it at that). And then, as I said, it felt like the author had somewhere to be, and couldn't finish writing the novel later, so just hurried the story along to end it. This could have easily been a 4 star rating, but for that. Still, I'm not sad that I read it.
phenaia's review
3.0
I loved the story, the characters seem so real and have been handled with a lot of sensitivity. But I completely hated the book in the last few pages, when the story is about to end. That's maybe because I absolutely detest tragic endings particularly when hopes are built that everything is going to turn out to be a happy one. Leaves you feeling sad and heart broken.
eupomene's review against another edition
4.0
Very well-written and oh, so sad.
The story is indeed the "Beauty & the Beast" fairy tale in modern times, there is even a rose motif. It is the Beast - this time a man with gigantism -- who must realize his beauty and lovableness inside. His capacity to love is great, but he feels he cannot be loved. Alex, his Beauty, can scarcely teach him, but love and grief do win out in the end. Yes, grief - it's all part of the deal.
But oh, it left me SO sad - I remember reading it and then wandering about all afternoon in a gloom.
The story is indeed the "Beauty & the Beast" fairy tale in modern times, there is even a rose motif. It is the Beast - this time a man with gigantism -- who must realize his beauty and lovableness inside. His capacity to love is great, but he feels he cannot be loved. Alex, his Beauty, can scarcely teach him, but love and grief do win out in the end. Yes, grief - it's all part of the deal.
But oh, it left me SO sad - I remember reading it and then wandering about all afternoon in a gloom.
jkpiowa's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kbeddes's review
3.0
Genre: Beauty and the Beast, artistic life,
Summary: Alix is a painter. She comes from a family of painters who always paint the Cromptons. When she receives a commission to paint the reclusive last of the Crompton line, she is intrigued. She goes up to his secluded house in the country and meets Leland who has been grossly distorted by a genetic disease. Leland is kind, generous, possibly the best man that Alix has ever met. When she falls in love with him, he doesn't believe her.
Response: I am always up for a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I was intrigued by the realistic setting of this story. It's a fairy-tale in the sense that there is a Beauty and there is a Beast, but it has a little different "happily ever after" than what I was expecting. The writing was fairly beautiful, however. I wasn't my favorite retelling by any means, but it wasn't bad.
Summary: Alix is a painter. She comes from a family of painters who always paint the Cromptons. When she receives a commission to paint the reclusive last of the Crompton line, she is intrigued. She goes up to his secluded house in the country and meets Leland who has been grossly distorted by a genetic disease. Leland is kind, generous, possibly the best man that Alix has ever met. When she falls in love with him, he doesn't believe her.
Response: I am always up for a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I was intrigued by the realistic setting of this story. It's a fairy-tale in the sense that there is a Beauty and there is a Beast, but it has a little different "happily ever after" than what I was expecting. The writing was fairly beautiful, however. I wasn't my favorite retelling by any means, but it wasn't bad.
sarahconnor89757's review against another edition
5.0
I'll love any book that has a disfigured leading character, and what was good about this book was that instead of it being 'At first, I was taken aback but I can see the beauty there. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' it was 'He's ugly. No, ugly ugly.' Aside from that, the leading lady was the right amount of feminine to make her believable and not annoying. So that makes for two winning characters in my book.
Lastly, the book is a great realistic version of a re-told fairy tale and despite the mood it left me in, I appreciate the short journey.
Lastly, the book is a great realistic version of a re-told fairy tale and despite the mood it left me in, I appreciate the short journey.