Review: The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I picked up this book and began to read it's words. I instantly felt transported to a world of nonsense. Not the fun kind though. It read to me like a mild-mannered acid trip, and at times, some lucidity broke through the haze. It almost read like two or more stories to me, maybe that was the intention, but it felt so disjointed to me. Not cohesive. I normally love whimsical stories, but this one did not speak to me it just kept dragging me along and I almost couldn't remember some parts when I was done reading them.

I will say something about it though, that corroborates the impressions of those that enjoyed the book: Moments of it do stay with you. Whether that is a good reference for one or a negative one depends on how the book affects you. Dreamy, odd, moments of the story, and then the rest of it fading into forgettable gibberish.

One of my favorite books is Alice in Wonderland. I feel that's a lyrical, whimsical, tromp through amusing madness of nonsense and love it immensely. I say that because so many people describe The Last Unicorn as lyrical whimsy. I wanted to love this book, and feeling that I love AIW so much I would have thought this not too far of a cry from something like that. But I felt that The Last Unicorn wanted to be so many things and it ended up falling through in being any of them because it felt like it was reaching in too many directions and didn't complete the path to any because of expelling it's energy before it reached one goal. It was about many things, and nothing at all in the end. A journey that wanted to take you on multiple paths of the mythic symbolism of the unicorn and just fell short for me.

I do wish it had spoke to me fondly, but it had too many whispers instead that I just ended up not fully hearing. I know many people love this book, so it is most definitely one that I believe people love when they read it as a kid, or at just the right moment in their adult life when they need what it offers.



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