#also Beagle is openly Jewish and while I am absolutely not qualified to speak on that aspect of his work

[everybodyknows-everybodydies]

Should I read the last unicorn? I saw part of the movie and was not enthralled, but I've heard the book is better??

ESTEEMED DOCTOR HOLLIGAY PLEASE DO READ THIS BOOK

I haven't pitched it via your submission form bc I know you're not interested in fantasy and I wanted to pitch something I was at least even a little more confident might be up your alley haha, but I would genuinely be SO interested in your thoughts on the book. TLU is something I would consider a foundational piece in terms of stories that shaped my tastes (so take that as you will) and Beagle is probably my favorite living author. I love the movie dearly but it cuts a LOT from the book and, I think, loses a lot of the nuance in doing so; it lingers at the surface level much more than the book does. (I don't know how much is allowed re: spoilers and given the nature of my blog you've almost definitely seen me crying about my absolute least favorite book-to-movie change anyway but I will restrain myself here all the same lol.) (SUFFICE TO SAY SOME THINGS I CONSIDER CRUCIAL ARE LEFT OUT)

If I were to pitch it, I would want to highlight the genre awareness of it as something in particular that might interest you: the characters acknowledge a number of times that they are acting out a fairytale, and what roles they play, and what it means to play those roles. There are also, constantly, really thought-provoking questions being implicitly asked by the narrative. What does it mean to be "real" or "beautiful"? Can someone be mythologized simply by writing themselves into folklore? What kind of sacrifices are acceptable to ensure one's continued comfort and happiness? and so on and so forth.

It's silly! (I have to emphasize there are some truly silly things that happen in this book! It makes me laugh, but also there are details that hint at a larger world that just... don't get explained!) It's serious! It's a complicated, thoughtful book, with SO much more depth than an animated movie could manage to fit into a standard runtime. I recognize that I am biased and acknowledge this as a potential judgment-clouding factor, but I really think even if you end up coming away from it with no particular interest in revisiting it that there are at least a few moments and themes that you'll appreciate.

Also the unicorn is, like, kind of a terrible person, which the movie totally glosses over, but I think you'd enjoy that she has this very self-centered and kind of disdainful "I'm a noble beautiful creature and better than all of you" vibe lol.

ANYWAY IF YOU DO DECIDE TO READ IT I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS I'm a little insane about this book. This post is so long and took me like an hour to write bc I'm trying to passionately but coherently explain without going into too much detail hfjdkgs. Hopefully I have succeeded!!