Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

I finished and while I liked it I didn't love it. Looking back over the entries above, I have some thoughts:

It seems like Beagle was interested in writing about the special things that people fail to notice in their everyday lives. For example, no one notices the unicorn for what she really is, although they all agree she is beautiful. Later, Beagle says "it's a rare man who is taken for what he truly is" which echoes the same theme. But he also shows that nothing is really great as we believe it will be, for example the Robin Hood figure who's kind of a burnout, or the Schmendrick the magician who can't really do any magic.

Haggard wants to steal all the beauty and keep it to himself (sort of like "The Man" in 60s counterculture terminology) which of course doesn't make him happy, just more miserable. The Red Bull is sort of like his id, and I thought the reveal was going to be that Haggard and the Red Bull were one and the same, although their fates did seem to be tied together. The Red Bull gave up easily at the end, and so did Haggard, just accepting his fate as he plunged to his death.

The unicorn almost forgets who she is while she is human and falling in love with Lir, which is similar to Molly Grue who had forgotten who she was while she was married to ol' what's his name. She runs off but no romance materializes between her and Schmendrick, or Lir, which is counter to how most books would have ended.

Those who love this book seem to enjoy the whimsy and beauty and humor, of which there certainly is some, but I found the story to be darker, much more so than I expected. Now I'm almost ready to see the Rankin Bass animated movie, just as soon as I can get ahold of some acid to drop.

There is very much a romance between Molly and Schmendrick that develops by the end of the book. The thing is, it's a realistc romance that develops when people spend time together working toward a common goal, as happens in real life, as opposed to the usual fairy tale romance where two people look at each other once and are suddenly smitten despite having nothing in common.

RJ wrote: "Now I'm almost ready to see the Rankin Bass animated movie, just as soon as I can get ahold of some acid to drop. "

I think you might be the only person who didn't see the movie first, hence you had different expectations from the rest of us, interesting to see your point of view! All the rest of us knew Haggard didn't become the Bull, and that there was a darkness to the tale before we even started, the only real difference between book and movie are some scenes in the book are chopped out of the movie but the rest is almost perfect, even the dialog is often word for word.

I've read the book several times and have yet to see the movie.

Andrea wrote: "RJ wrote: "Now I'm almost ready to see the Rankin Bass animated movie, just as soon as I can get ahold of some acid to drop. "

I think you might be the only person who didn't see the movie first, ..."

Well, Beagle did write the script for the movie. I wonder if that film is part of the reason the story has endured for so many years. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the book won no major awards at the time of its release.

Marcia wrote: "There is very much a romance between Molly and Schmendrick that develops by the end of the book. The thing is, it's a realistc romance that develops when people spend time together working toward a..."

I guess I mean "romance" in the sense of holding hands and smooching. I wouldn't call the bond that occurs when people work towards a common goal a "romance" otherwise most of us would be having workplace romances with several people at once.

Many people do find romance in the workplace (and many people are non-monogamous.) By common goal I also include things like building a business together, having the same hobby, belonging to the same club or organization, working to support a political cause, raising a child together, etc. Romance in real life includes mutual respect and admiration and shared interests as well as physical attraction. Schmendrick sees Molly as beautiful long after they have begun their adventure together. Holding hands and smooching with a complete stranger in a bar that you have nothing in common with isn't romantic. (Well, not in real life, anyway.)

If anyone wants to follow up on Schmendrick x Molly I recommend reading the free short story Two Hearts. There isn't any smooching but the fact that its become a romantic relationship becomes clear. What we don't see is exactly when it switched from one to the other, did it happen at the end of The Last Unicorn when they chose to journey together, or did it continue to evolve and only really click somewhere before the start of Two Hearts.

Marcia wrote: "Schmendrick sees Molly as beautiful long after they have begun their adventure together...."

I don't remember that part. Are you sure you're not reading something into the story that isn't there?