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The Last Unicorn (The Last Unicorn, #1)

Peter S. Beagle

Start date: February 1, 2019

Finish date: February 28, 2019

Discussion: Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Science Fiction and Fantasy

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What Members Thought

Apr 05, 2009 Meika rated it it was amazing

When I was a little girl, my sisters and I made my parents rent this video EVERY TIME we went to the video rental place. Then we watched it over and over and over until it was time to return it. At that age, it was just about the pretty unicorn and the terrifying Harpy and the tree that fell in love with Schmendrick and about the princess. The rest was background.
I read the book a few years ago, mostly to revisit the childhood fascination with the unicorn and the princess. The story took on seve When I was a little girl, my sisters and I made my parents rent this video EVERY TIME we went to the video rental place. Then we watched it over and over and over until it was time to return it. At that age, it was just about the pretty unicorn and the terrifying Harpy and the tree that fell in love with Schmendrick and about the princess. The rest was background.
I read the book a few years ago, mostly to revisit the childhood fascination with the unicorn and the princess. The story took on several layers of human complexity - realizing that Schmendrick had an important story, and that Molly Grue was also a princess, though not in any obvious way.

I don't normally re-read books, but I read it again this past week, mostly to enjoy an escape to something familiar. What I found this time was a story that resonated deeply. Each of the characters is dynamic in fugue with the others. Shcmendrick is stymied by immortality and must learn to let go of his need to control the magic before he can understand its nature - and in learning to understand it, not control it, but join it. The Unicorn must relinquish her immortality in order to understand love, but ultimately must relinquish love to find herself. Molly Grue must stop waiting for the unicorn before she can find herself, and then love. And Lir must stop being the hero in order to understand what the hero must do to save the unicorns from King Haggard. Haggard can only find satisfaction in watching the Red Bull drive the unicorns into the sea, but ultimately the ownership of the unicorns gives him no satisfaction and there is only waste and decay around him. His obsession leaves him hollow. Ultimately, each character has an obsession and each character must relinquish the obsession in order for the the story to unfold the way it needs to unfold.

And the story has the bite of true beauty - you're never sure if the ending is, in fact, happy. You're never sure if the events are unfolding benevolently. In that sense, the story captures the way that life's catalysts are blind and unstoppable once started. This is Schmendrick's unfortunate magic. Only by turning something that is immortal, flawless and incomprehensibly beautiful into something that fades, dies and decays can we understand the urgency of loving anything that actually is beautiful.

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Dec 05, 2012 Tom Britz rated it really liked it

A very nice little fantasy.

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Jun 23, 2009 Thomas rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

At first I wasn't overly fond of the book and it took me a good while to get through the first half of it but the story did grow on me a lot, especially in the last chapter. A very pretty fairy tail overall. Very bittersweet. ...more

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