The Last Unicorn
Reading 'The Last Unicorn' as if it were any other fantasy novel is a mistake. I can understand why so many readers are disappointed coming into it expecting the epic fantasy of Tolkien. Beagle was writing fantasy in the way that William Goldman and Poul Anderson did, with both an irreverence and a deeper understanding of what belongs in the type of story they're telling. This is a postmodern fairy-tale, full of digression and clichés and wholly self-aware of its charm.
I would never have suspected after seeing the film based on 'The Last Unicorn' that it was so faithful to the book. Time is uncertain, both in its passage for the characters and the setting itself. It is full of lovely passages about mortality, the heart, stories and costs. Beagle's rendition of the unicorn is the most convincing I've ever read.
