Hardcover: 259 pages
Publisher: David Fickling Books; (3 April 2003)
ISBN-10: 0385604807
ISBN-13: 978-0385604802
Reviewer: Cara
Copy: Received as a present
From the inside cover:
Beauty has always been embarrassed by her nickname - she is plain and awkward compared to her two elder sisters, Hope and Grace. But what she lacks in beauty she can perhaps make up for in courage.
When their merchant father returns from a failed business trip to the city where they once lived, he tells his daughters a strange tale: how on his way home he lost himself in a winter storm, and stumbled out of it into the summer garden of a magical castle. Innocently he picks a rose, and a fearsome Beast roars at him tht his life is forfeit... unless one of his daughters will take his place.
He will not hear of it when Beauty declares that she will return to the castle in his stead, but she is determined to go. "He cannot be so bad if he loves roses so much," she says. "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"
This is a captivating retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast from an award-winning author.
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Most of us are familiar with the tale of Beauty and the Beast and this book does not stray from the original. What Robin McKinley does is to expand the short story into a full length novel, giving the characters more rounded personalities and a background history. This works well even though we do not meet the Beast and his enchanted castle until almost a third of the way into the book. This is Beauty’s story, told as a first person narrative. She is an endearing character; practical, down to earth and intelligent. Although a strong young woman she has a vulnerable side to her, believing herself to be plain and bookish and therefore unworthy of the love her two older sisters have experienced. It is her practical nature, combined with her acceptance that she is unlikely to find a husband that leads her to take her father’s place at the enchanted castle.
For me, the book really came alive once Beauty moved to live at the castle with the Beast. The magical atmosphere, with candles that lit up as Beauty passed by, invisible servants and, best of all, a special library, was very well described in gentle prose but vivid prose. Even the Beast himself was presented in a rather non-threatening way… we never get a full description of his appearance though we do learn that he wears a lot of velvet and lace. We know he is large in stature and has claws, but is he leonine or bear-like? This is never made clear. With Beauty he is a perfect gentleman; kind and attentive for the most part, yet there are hints that he has a ferocious side. As their relationship develops, through Beauty’s narrative we see how she mellows towards him.
The were some very imaginative touches in the book. I particularly liked the library that contained every book already written along with those yet to be written. The book seems to be set in 17th or early 18th century America (though this is never stated) but Beauty reads Charles Dickens and Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes along with books that mentions cars, steam engines and telephones. The invisible servants were also interesting, and amusing too, especially as Beauty began to hear them bickering and arguing as her sense became more attuned to the magical surroundings.
Beauty is a relaxing read, and a book suitable for teens as well as adults. As mentioned previously, the plot did not stray far from the original fairy story, so the ending was as expected. The final denouement, however, was thrilling nonetheless as part of me wondered if Robin McKinley would change the ending from the standard ‘happy ever after’. I enjoyed reading it, more because of the deeper characterisation and family history described, than for the actual plot. I’m not sure I would want to return to it in the future, but the descriptions and details given made it a book I will remember.
Plot: 5
Characters: 7
Style: 8
Overall rating 7/10
