The Last Unicorn: Collecting Immortality
I have six copies of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle on my shelf. I used to collect them under the pretense of "giving them away"--and indeed, I have--everyone who knows me has a copy. However, my current six copies have become part of my being and are unlikely to be gifted.
The Last Unicorn is the story of the world's last unicorn and her journey to discover why she is the last. You may remember the old movie (soundtrack by America, voiced by Mia Farrow and Angela Landsbury, among others), both haunting and silly. However, far from being just a children's book The Last Unicorn is a story for children and adults that pushes us to explore a fantasy world--and the world inside our own dreams and hearts. What is immortality worth? Can we capture it and hold it? Does true magic exist? Are we fooling ourselves out of magic and beauty every day in our attempts to define?
From page one, we become aware that Beagle is a masterful word conjurer: "[the unicorn] possessing that oldest, wildest grace that horses have never had, that deer have only in shy, thin imitation and goats in dancing mockery." If you believe in unicorns--and even if you don't--believe that Peter S. Beagle has seen them.
A story as fresh as it was in 1968, Beagle's lyrical fantasy is still unmatched. You'll hold your breath, you'll want to cry, you'll wish you were there, and you'll never want to leave. You'll find yourself catching glimpses of silver horns in unlikely places. It will become less of a book and more of a hope, a truth. You'll buy a copy. You'll rescue copies from used bookstores. You'll give them away. You'll have six copies on your shelf. Because you know that while you cannot hold a unicorn, you've got to try.
The Last Unicorn is the story of the world's last unicorn and her journey to discover why she is the last. You may remember the old movie (soundtrack by America, voiced by Mia Farrow and Angela Landsbury, among others), both haunting and silly. However, far from being just a children's book The Last Unicorn is a story for children and adults that pushes us to explore a fantasy world--and the world inside our own dreams and hearts. What is immortality worth? Can we capture it and hold it? Does true magic exist? Are we fooling ourselves out of magic and beauty every day in our attempts to define?
From page one, we become aware that Beagle is a masterful word conjurer: "[the unicorn] possessing that oldest, wildest grace that horses have never had, that deer have only in shy, thin imitation and goats in dancing mockery." If you believe in unicorns--and even if you don't--believe that Peter S. Beagle has seen them.
A story as fresh as it was in 1968, Beagle's lyrical fantasy is still unmatched. You'll hold your breath, you'll want to cry, you'll wish you were there, and you'll never want to leave. You'll find yourself catching glimpses of silver horns in unlikely places. It will become less of a book and more of a hope, a truth. You'll buy a copy. You'll rescue copies from used bookstores. You'll give them away. You'll have six copies on your shelf. Because you know that while you cannot hold a unicorn, you've got to try.
That's exactly how I feel about the Thirteen Clocks!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about "The Princess Bride" - rescuing copies from used bookstores, and library book sales. :)
ReplyDeleteI really need to reread "The Last Unicorn."