Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Viking Press (1978), 430 pages
Description
Lila the werewolf -- The last unicorn -- Come, lady death -- A fine and private place.
User reviews
LibraryThing member aethercowboy
Collected here are four stories by Beagle. Featured are the notable The Last Unicorn, as well as A Fine and Private Place, Lila the Werewolf, and Come Lady Death.
The Last Unicorn, arguably Beagle's most renown work, features a fantasy world in which unicorns exist. The only problem is that there
A Fine and Private place is a story about a man, a woman, a crow, and some ghosts. A early example of urban fantasy, it begs questions of the afterlife. What happens when we die? Do we stay? Do we go? Is it possible to find love in life or after death?
Come Lady Death is a short story about a ball with an unusual guest.
Lila the Werewolf is another short story about a man whose girlfriend is a werewolf, and how he deals with that.
Expertly crafted by Beagle, this fantasy book is great for all fans of fantasy. You're bound to enjoy it if the fantastic holds a special place in your heart.
The Last Unicorn, arguably Beagle's most renown work, features a fantasy world in which unicorns exist. The only problem is that there
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seems to be only one around. It's up to the struggling wizard Schmendrick and his less than charming companion Molly Grue to help Amalthea, the last unicorn, find her folk. Things get dangerous when they discover that the fearful Red Bull was involved in herding the unicorns up, but why, and for whom?A Fine and Private place is a story about a man, a woman, a crow, and some ghosts. A early example of urban fantasy, it begs questions of the afterlife. What happens when we die? Do we stay? Do we go? Is it possible to find love in life or after death?
Come Lady Death is a short story about a ball with an unusual guest.
Lila the Werewolf is another short story about a man whose girlfriend is a werewolf, and how he deals with that.
Expertly crafted by Beagle, this fantasy book is great for all fans of fantasy. You're bound to enjoy it if the fantastic holds a special place in your heart.
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LibraryThing member samlives2
I found the four stories collected in this volume quite enjoyable to read. I want to say they were simplistic, and that's what I like about them, but that's somewhat of a negative connotation. I guess I liked their base fantasy without all of the dramatic and action-packed trappings things have
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today. The stories were well-crafted and the characters thoroughly developed in my opinion. I especially enjoyed the introduction Beagle provided which talked about his creative process and the reactions he received to his stories. I could truly relate with my own writing and this is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle so much. Show Less
LibraryThing member bokai
Beagle is an interesting mix of modern sensibility and the inexplicable logic of the fairy tale that is then set to age for about 40 years and now has a quaint tinge of my grandparent in the aftertaste. Although the settings of each of the four stories range from New York City to a Medieval England
A good fairy tale to me is one where a sense of inevitability is finely balanced with a dismissal of earthly logic. You know the princess will be saved even if a man has to climb her hair to get there. Beagle finds the balance perfectly, so most fairy tale lovers should enjoy his work. His stories are not pure whimsy though. His cynicism and worldliness shines through in his characters, making them human and serious.
The Last Unicorn, which might be his most famous story for the movie that adapted it, is also his best in this collection. The movie was a staple of my childhood education. I used to watch it whenever I had the spare hour, which was often, and I found out that there was a story by the same name only when I came across this book. As anyone who finds out that there is another version of a cherished childhood memory can tell you, it can be scary to subject your memory to something that might not be as perfect as you recall, but it turns out Beagle's story is better than the movie it inspired. There's depth and contemplation in it that the movie does not have time to approach, and Beagle's flare for description is a real delight. One example: "The rind of the country cracked, and the flesh of it peeled back into gullies and ravines or shriveled into scabby hills."
Good writing always speaks for itself, so I will leave you with my favorite passage in the book. It has everything: magic, thoughtfulness, whimsy, and a sentiment that speaks clearly to a reader at a level that most literature does not.
"There has never been a spell on me before," the unicorn said. She shivered long and deep. "There has never been a world in which I was not known."
"I know exactly how you feel," Schmendrick said eagerly. The unicorn looked at him out of dark, endless eyes, and he smiled nervously and looked at his hands. "It's a rare man who is taken for what he truly is," he said. "There is much misjudgment in the world. Now I knew you for a unicorn when I first saw you, and I know that I am your friend. Yet you take me for a clown, or a clod, or a betrayer, and so I must be if you see me so. The magic on you is only magic and will vanish as soon as you are free, but the enchantment of error that you put on me I must wear forever in your eyes. We are not alway what we seem, and hardly ever what we dream. Still I have read, or heard it sung, that unicorns when time was young, could tell the difference 'twixt the two - the false shining and the true, the lips' laugh and the heart's rue."
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that never existed but is familiar to us just the same, the magic of Beagle's construction comes through for each. A good fairy tale to me is one where a sense of inevitability is finely balanced with a dismissal of earthly logic. You know the princess will be saved even if a man has to climb her hair to get there. Beagle finds the balance perfectly, so most fairy tale lovers should enjoy his work. His stories are not pure whimsy though. His cynicism and worldliness shines through in his characters, making them human and serious.
The Last Unicorn, which might be his most famous story for the movie that adapted it, is also his best in this collection. The movie was a staple of my childhood education. I used to watch it whenever I had the spare hour, which was often, and I found out that there was a story by the same name only when I came across this book. As anyone who finds out that there is another version of a cherished childhood memory can tell you, it can be scary to subject your memory to something that might not be as perfect as you recall, but it turns out Beagle's story is better than the movie it inspired. There's depth and contemplation in it that the movie does not have time to approach, and Beagle's flare for description is a real delight. One example: "The rind of the country cracked, and the flesh of it peeled back into gullies and ravines or shriveled into scabby hills."
Good writing always speaks for itself, so I will leave you with my favorite passage in the book. It has everything: magic, thoughtfulness, whimsy, and a sentiment that speaks clearly to a reader at a level that most literature does not.
"There has never been a spell on me before," the unicorn said. She shivered long and deep. "There has never been a world in which I was not known."
"I know exactly how you feel," Schmendrick said eagerly. The unicorn looked at him out of dark, endless eyes, and he smiled nervously and looked at his hands. "It's a rare man who is taken for what he truly is," he said. "There is much misjudgment in the world. Now I knew you for a unicorn when I first saw you, and I know that I am your friend. Yet you take me for a clown, or a clod, or a betrayer, and so I must be if you see me so. The magic on you is only magic and will vanish as soon as you are free, but the enchantment of error that you put on me I must wear forever in your eyes. We are not alway what we seem, and hardly ever what we dream. Still I have read, or heard it sung, that unicorns when time was young, could tell the difference 'twixt the two - the false shining and the true, the lips' laugh and the heart's rue."
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LibraryThing member fuzzi
Four wonderful stories by Peter S. Beagle, ranging from the superb "Last Unicorn" to the lesser but still good "A Fine and Private Place".
LibraryThing member melydia
This volume contains two novels, a novella, and a short story, so I'll review them each separately.
Lila the Werewolf: A strange and somewhat sad tale of a young woman who occasionally turns into a wolf, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. A good example of "just because it's fantasy doesn't mean
The Last Unicorn: This is a marvelous book. I've read it before, and did not reread it this time around, but it remains one of my favorites.
A Fine and Private Place: A tale of two ghosts, a raven, and a man who lives in a cemetery. It's decidedly bittersweet, with a little humor here and a little tragedy there. It was very introspective and atmospheric - a "quiet" book, if you will. I liked the snarky raven - and I thought it odd how, in a cemetery where people think talking to ghosts is a little weird, no one ever mentions how unusual it is for a raven to speak. I wish there had been just a little bit more about Laura and Michael, especially there at the end, but all in all it was good.
Come Lady Death: An old woman decides to invite Death to her next party - and Death does indeed attend. The ending left me a little cold, but otherwise it was a decent story.
Lila the Werewolf: A strange and somewhat sad tale of a young woman who occasionally turns into a wolf, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. A good example of "just because it's fantasy doesn't mean
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it's for children". It's written well, just a little disturbing to read.The Last Unicorn: This is a marvelous book. I've read it before, and did not reread it this time around, but it remains one of my favorites.
A Fine and Private Place: A tale of two ghosts, a raven, and a man who lives in a cemetery. It's decidedly bittersweet, with a little humor here and a little tragedy there. It was very introspective and atmospheric - a "quiet" book, if you will. I liked the snarky raven - and I thought it odd how, in a cemetery where people think talking to ghosts is a little weird, no one ever mentions how unusual it is for a raven to speak. I wish there had been just a little bit more about Laura and Michael, especially there at the end, but all in all it was good.
Come Lady Death: An old woman decides to invite Death to her next party - and Death does indeed attend. The ending left me a little cold, but otherwise it was a decent story.
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LibraryThing member AmyMacEvilly
I actually read only _The Last Unicorn_ in this collection. I read that for the Fantasy Book discussion group. One discussant pointed out that Beagle does an excellent job of making the unicorn *not* think like a human, and I agree, and it's consistent. Those who know me will understand when I say
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that this this work is a bit "twee" for me, but it also has a good bit of humor, parody, and self-reference in it to relieve that. Characters speak of themselves being in fairy tales or folk songs; the Robin Hood parody mistakes the magician for the ballad collector Child; a prince flips through a magazine (in an otherwise medieval setting) while a princess calls for a unicorn. Those post-modern aspects put me very much in mind of _The Princess Bride_. We were stumped in the discussion when the leader asked us for the "truth" of _The Last Unicorn_: it seems to me to be about seeing and being seen. I'd recommend _The Last Unicorn_ along with _The Hobbit_ and _The Princess Bride_ for reading to kids. (And I should really read the other items in this collection.) Show Less
LibraryThing member ragwaine
I grew up my whole life as a fantasy addict and somehow missed this classic. I've had it on my shelf for years and I always thought of it as probably a silly book for kids. So then my 10-year-old son handed it to me when were picking out the next book I would read to him. I was surprised that he
I'm a fan of "purple prose" and this was definitely deeply beautiful, poetic writing. The story immediately put me in land of "the classic fairy tale" and besides being short (especially compared to the brick-sized, door stoppers that are being churned out by the average author nowadays), the scope is epic and the story is tragic.
I definitely look forward to reading more from Mr. Beagle (and I have more, since the book I own is a collection of his stories) and would suggest it for adults as well as more sophisticated young readers.
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picked it out because the version I have is old and not very exciting looking. I started to read it to him and after a day or two he was lost and didn't want to read it anymore, but I was totally enthralled. The writing was amazing.I'm a fan of "purple prose" and this was definitely deeply beautiful, poetic writing. The story immediately put me in land of "the classic fairy tale" and besides being short (especially compared to the brick-sized, door stoppers that are being churned out by the average author nowadays), the scope is epic and the story is tragic.
I definitely look forward to reading more from Mr. Beagle (and I have more, since the book I own is a collection of his stories) and would suggest it for adults as well as more sophisticated young readers.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1978 (Omnibus)
1960 (A Fine and Private Place)
1968 (The Last Unicorn)
Physical description
430 p.; 20 inches
ISBN
0670307254 / 9780670307258