my thoughts on: Beauty by Robin McKinley [review]

Beauty by Robin McKinley

published 1983

click here for synopsis

Perfect heroine.

Even more perfect hero. 

Amazing minor characters to surround and enhance the awesomeness of Beauty and the Beast.

A wonderful tale to read aloud to children.

A magical retelling that tugged at my heart strings. I already had a thing for Beauty and the Beast (favourite Disney film of all time), and I have always adored delving into the unreachable fantasy of magical places, enchantments, and fairytale characters to amplify and promote pure love. 

There were lines in this book where I had to re-read them over and over just for the pure joy of re-experiencing the awesome intensity of feelings that were evoked. (e.g. the end of the quote below)

I cried a fair bit. I'm lame like that, and I will be the first to admit it. 

Roses are my favourite flower. 

Beauty is a pure, true, classic and magically wonderful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. 

It is beauty in the living body of literature.

I'll read this to my children and children's children...

And what better compliment could an author receive than that?

Snippet:

At the edge of sleep it seemed that the breeze returned, and something cool was put on my hands so that the pain slipped away like a thief in shadow. The gentle whistling and sighing of the breeze resolved itself at last into words, but I was too near sleep to hear much of what was said, or to be certain that I was not listening to a dream. There were two voices. The first said: 'Poor child, poor child. I feel for her sadly. If only there were some way we could help her.'

The second voice said, 'But there isn't, dear. You know that. We do our best, but she must find her own way.'

'I know. But it seems so hard.'

'It does, and it is; but cheer up. She is a good girl, and he loves her already. It will be alright in time...'