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A review by lastbraincell
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
2.0
You probably know of The Dress that almost caused the Great Divide. Confession: First time, I saw white and gold. ("FOOL!" cries half of the world. "RIGHT??" says the other.) But when someone taught me the trick of squinting and looking at it through the pinhole of my curled palm, it turned into blue and black before my very eyes, and at that moment I was convinced I was magic.
But what does that have to do with this anything?
I wanted to like this book, because I read it was similar to The Princess Bride, Nevermending StoryBridge of Birds. The elements of a Quest were there: wizard, sidekick, prince, maiden, the powerful entity to be defeated. But somehow they did not gel together quite completely, and that is odd, considering some of the characters have expressed awareness that they are part of a story. Was it because the pacing was uneven? Maybe, because the writing seemed to aim for a magical, mythical atmosphere by being cryptic and elusive, like poetry instead of prose, it was lost on someone as simple-minded as myself. Maybe if I'd read this a decade ago, maybe if I were patient with a story that reads like a riddle.
It's like the narrator said, "Now see here missy, this is how it works. I won't explain everything because that would be no fun. But you know the drill, how the usual Quest story goes, so I'll make a rough sketch of things, throw in a few nice details in some parts, and you just fill in the blanks." And I am like, "But I don't have enough to work with. Isn't that your job? Why do I have to work for it. Aren't I just supposed to sit here and be entertained?" And Narrator says, "Tut, tut. What fun you must have been at magic shows, trying to break the trick down into how it must have worked, instead of just enjoying the show. Don't ruin it for the rest, okay? Just use your i-maaaaa-gination. Now, Behold, your belief is being suspended!" Me: "No it's not. It's on a platform connected to a rod from behind the curtain--"
This book is a probably a beautiful, luminous Unicorn for some people, but unless I do a mental squint, I only see an oddly-shaped white mare. Sorry, book, it's not you, it's unmagical me.
But what does that have to do with this anything?
I wanted to like this book, because I read it was similar to The Princess Bride, Nevermending StoryBridge of Birds. The elements of a Quest were there: wizard, sidekick, prince, maiden, the powerful entity to be defeated. But somehow they did not gel together quite completely, and that is odd, considering some of the characters have expressed awareness that they are part of a story. Was it because the pacing was uneven? Maybe, because the writing seemed to aim for a magical, mythical atmosphere by being cryptic and elusive, like poetry instead of prose, it was lost on someone as simple-minded as myself. Maybe if I'd read this a decade ago, maybe if I were patient with a story that reads like a riddle.
It's like the narrator said, "Now see here missy, this is how it works. I won't explain everything because that would be no fun. But you know the drill, how the usual Quest story goes, so I'll make a rough sketch of things, throw in a few nice details in some parts, and you just fill in the blanks." And I am like, "But I don't have enough to work with. Isn't that your job? Why do I have to work for it. Aren't I just supposed to sit here and be entertained?" And Narrator says, "Tut, tut. What fun you must have been at magic shows, trying to break the trick down into how it must have worked, instead of just enjoying the show. Don't ruin it for the rest, okay? Just use your i-maaaaa-gination. Now, Behold, your belief is being suspended!" Me: "No it's not. It's on a platform connected to a rod from behind the curtain--"
This book is a probably a beautiful, luminous Unicorn for some people, but unless I do a mental squint, I only see an oddly-shaped white mare. Sorry, book, it's not you, it's unmagical me.