The Last Unicorn - Peter S Beagle

Read for: Challenge with Rhinoa

Although considered by many to be one of the greatest classic children's fantasy novels of the last few decades, The Last Unicorn is largely unknown this side of the Atlantic. Now I will confess to having seen the animated film adaptation only once, as an adult, and really was not particularly impressed. But then, with many films, it is hard to appreciate them as an adult, when you didn't grow up with them, so I gave the book a chance.

The Last Unicorn is exactly that. A unicorn quite happily living her sheltered existence in her forest, until she overhears two hunters talking, and realises that she may indeed be the last living unicorn. She leaves the wood in search of her kin, only to be caught by Mommy Fortuna, and caged as part of her travelling menagerie. She is rescued by the mysterious Schmendrick the Magician who joins her on her journey. The two companions seek King Haggard and his Red Bull, en route encountering many hazardous situations and a new friend, Molly Grue.

Although based in fairy tale, with poetic prose and characters from myth and legend, The Last Unicorn feels somewhat conflicted. In places far more mature than a simple children's fairy tale, much of the story feels far too adult to be understood or appreciated by younger readers. At its heart, it is a tale of seeking what was lost, and accepting what can never be. A beautiful yet sad and bittersweet tale, and altogether a very pleasant surprise for this reader. And as with so many books I have recently read, it was the writing that I loved the most, here is a little taste.

"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless colour of sea foam but rather the colour of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea."

Thoroughly recommended for lovers of fairy tale and fantasy alike. And hopefully the first of many Beagle novels for me.

Moon Called - Patricia Briggs

Read for: Challenge with Rhinoa

Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson is a Native American mechanic with her own auto repair shop in the Tri-Cities of Washington State. A pretty damn good mechanic, Mercy also has a secret...she is a walker, a shapeshifter who can take the form of a coyote. In this world, many of the lesser fae have revealed themselves to the wider public, although werewolves and shapeshifters still keep themselves hidden. Mercy lives next door to the Alpha of the Tri-Cities werewolf pack, Adam, and is fast friends with his daughter, Jesse. Another friend is a local vampire, who manages to blend into the community but drives around in a replica of the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine!

Moon Called is the first in the Mercy Thompson series, in which Mercy becomes embroiled in deadly werewolf business when she gives a teenage runaway werewolf a job as her assistant. She soon discovers a deeper plot, and when Adam is gravelly wounded and his daughter kidnapped, must resort to returning to the clan of werewolves who raised her in Montana. Mercy is forced to confront her feelings for her lost love and work alongside the werewolves and vampires in order to find Jesse and save the day.

The story itself didn't particularly inspire me, but Briggs' characterisation was excellent, with really enjoyable characters. I became completely involved in Mercy's plight and found the book very difficult to put down. Mercy herself was an interesting character, although the heroine, she is forced to concede to the Alphas decisions though she may not like it. However, as she is not part of the pack, she can often go against werewolf tradition and make her own choices.

I found the werewolves particularly enjoyable to read about, and was very taken with Adam and his relationship with the feisty mechanic. I will certainly be reading more of the series and hope that Stefan the vampire makes another appearance! A really enjoyable book.

Other blog reviews:
Medieval Bookworm

The Happy Prince & other stories - Oscar Wilde

Read for: Challenge with Rhinoa

Sadly I was never given this delightful little book to read as a child, and it was not until Rhinoa bought me a copy that I finally had the chance to experience the fairy tales of the infamous Oscar Wilde. Tales in this collection include The Devoted Friend, The Remarkable Rocket and The Selfish Giant, but I will briefly mention my two favourite stories.

The Happy Prince is the heartbreakingly beautiful tale of a golden and jewelled statue of a prince overlooking a city, where he mourns the injustice and poverty he sees before him. He is befriended by a swallow who has delayed his migration (because he fell in love with a reed!) and persuades the bird to distribute his jewels and gold to the poor and needy. The swallow grows to love the Prince but realises that he must leave before the winter grows too cold. I cannot describe how much I loved this story. I won't reveal the ending to those who do not already know it, but needless to say, I shed more than one tear (while reading the book in the bath!).

The Nightingale and the Rose is the story of a nightingale who overhears a student saddened because he is unable to give a red rose to his beloved, to win a dance with her. The nightingale searches for such a red rose, but discovers that the only way to produce one is if she is prepared to sing the sweetest song all night and impale herself on the rose-tree's thorn staining it with her heart's blood.

Wilde's fairy tales are far darker than I imagined, but I have seldom read such beautiful writing. I highly recommend this collection for anyone who enjoys fairy tales, and will definitely be reading it to my baby cousin in a few years. Thanks Rhinoa!

Challenge with Rhinoa

So my plan to do very few challenges this year is off to flying start as I have succumbed to yet another...This is different however. After getting back from a short holiday in Malta, I spent New Year with my best friend and fellow book/stationery nut, Rhinoa, mostly chilling out, playing with the kitties and talking about books. We are always recommending and buying books for each other, and this year she suggested doing a similar challenge that she partakes with Nymeth, choosing 5 books for the other to read. This turned out to be harder than either of us thought. My list for Rhinoa was well over 20 and I had to be quite ruthless to cut it down to only 5...and they are:

The Gift -Alison Croggon (my favourite fantasy book and I've been harping on about it for months!)
Lamb - Christopher Moore (if a book ever gets you close to wetting yourself with laughter, its this one!)
The Hours - Michael Cunningham (great book, great film, you made need a hankie..)
The Secret History - Donna Tartt (stunningly original debut)
Cry of the Icemark - Stuart Hill (fabulous kids fantasy romp with vampires, giant snow leopards and werewolves, and one of the books I inflicted on Rhinoa for her birthday this year!)

Rhinoa has selected the following 5 for me:

The Happy Prince - Oscar Wilde
Moon Called - Patricia Briggs
Piece by Piece - Tori Amos
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
The Last Unicorn - Peter S Beagle

I'm really looking forward to this challenge as we know each others tastes scarily well and Rhinoa is very well read. I'm especially looking forward to Lolita. Watch this space...