The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle 4/5 🦄s

There is a reason, I contend, that this book is considered a must-read for any Tolkien-esque fantasy fan. It is beautiful, wonderfully lyrical and heartfelt. It is also very... unconventional, in the way old fairy tales often are. It is not a story of knights and dragons and powerful wizards, although all are present, but a unicorn who in an effort to save all other unicorns who have been lost, learns what it means to be mortal. Suspension of disbelief is key to enjoying this book: as much as is explained, so much is Not, and as a reader I found myself taken out of the narrative as I wondered, "Why is this happening?" over and over. The moment I accepted things at face value, and allowed myself to enjoy the story as it was, I found I enjoyed it a lot more. 

A few gripes I have with this books. One, it's clear the author is a man in the way he describes women. They are either ethereal, mystical, unknowable beings, (the Unicorn, the princesses) or shallow, despairing, or wretched women (Molly Grue). The other is, of course, the ending:

the Unicorn is able to save her people because she has fallen in love with a Prince and the despair she feels at his death is enough to return her to Unicorn form. Which... The book is self aware in many ways, but I found the relationship between the Unicorn and the Wizard OR Molly more compelling than the Prince.

Tldr; it's a good book, just don't think too much about it and enjoy it for the beautiful piece of prose it is.