The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn

By Peter S. Beagle

Penguin Books 1968 (2022). 212 pages. Science Fiction

This book, whimsical, evocative, tantalizing, darts from low comedy to high fantasy quicker than a hummingbird's tongue and is about as original as they come. It's the story of The Last Unicorn's search for her lost fellows, a quest that takes her through a wondrous land as imaginatively conceived as Tolkien's Shire. The unicorn passes generally unrecognized since most have lost the power to see her as she really is until she is captured by a wicked gypsy and placed in "The Midnight Carnival" where people pay to watch their blackest dreams. Here she is found and freed by Schmendrick, the bumbling magician who accompanies her on her journey. He, too, is searching for an elusive magic. Later they are joined by Molly Grue, Everywoman, who wants more than anything to bring the unicorns back into the world. Finally they arrive in the kingdom of the evil King Haggard where they must meet the challenge of the Red Bull and where the unicorn becomes, just a little bit, mortal.

We recently got a new copy of this book in the library, and I thought I'd give it a try. From the first page I was hooked. Beagle has a way of writing simply, and yet with descriptions of great beauty and truth throughout. It is an amalgam of an old-fashioned world mashed up with modern things (a prince, for example, having a picnic and reading a magazine). The characters are all introduced as flawed (except the unicorn), and the ways in which they grow and evolve throughout the story is a beautiful journey of its own. Whether for the fun of the story or for any deeper meanings that can be gleaned from this beautiful tale, I highly recommend this modern-day classic. 

If you like The Last Unicorn, you might also like: 

The Princess Bride

By William Goldman

Ballantine Books 1998. 399 pages. Young Adult Fiction

A classic swashbuckling romance retells the tale of a drunken swordsman and a gentle giant who come to the aid of Westley, a handsome farm boy, and Buttercup, a princess in dire need of rescue from the evil schemers surrounding her.

Stardust

By Neil Gaiman

Tristran Thorn promised to bring back a fallen star. So he sets out on a journey to fulfill the request of his beloved, the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester--and stumbles into the enchanted realm that lies beyond the wall of his English country town. Rich with adventure and magic, Stardust is one of master storyteller Neil Gaiman's most beloved tales, and the inspiration for the hit movie.

MGB