Book Review | Beauty

Amazon | Goodreads | Robin McKinley’s Website

Title & Author: Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast by Robin McKinley

Rating: 3.5 stars

Series: Folktales, #1

Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling/Adaptation

Release Date: 1978

Pages: 247

Publisher: Harper Collins

Format: Hardcover

Source: Local Library

Description: Synopsis from the book jacket:

“‘Like all of the other doors I had met in the castle, this one opened at my approach. The room it revealed was a large, warm, and gracious one. On one wall to my left a fire was burning in a fireplace; two armchairs were drawn up before it. One chair was empty. In the other a massive shadow sat. I caught a gleam of dark-green velvet on what might have been a knee in the shadowed armchair.

“Good evening, Beauty,” said a great harsh voice.’

A young woman, well educated and honourable, accepts responsibility for her father’s act and leaves her family to enter the enchanted world of castle and Beast. The Beast she finds is not the one she imagined, but can she stay with him?

A gifted storyteller has embellished the classic tale, developing a new and very real world of her own in a love story that has all the wonder and magic of the fairy tale.”

Book Review:

Pacing: 3 stars Although I enjoyed McKinley’s writing style, which really mimicked the fairy tale genre’s typical voice, I did find that the pacing lagged and lurched occasionally, especially the first half.

Plot: 4 stars I love fairy tale/folk tale retellings, especially when there is a twist to them, like Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted. McKinley does a good job building on the original fairy tale, fleshing out Beauty’s background and her sense of loyalty to her family. I also liked the use of the invisible servants and the growing bond between Beauty and the Beast. The plot definitely does a good job of balancing between fairy-tale tropes and an individual, relatable voice.

Characters: 4 stars I really enjoyed how McKinley gave Beauty her own voice, wants, and background separate from her interactions with the Beast. While her family seemed a bit flat in some respects (in a way that fairy tale characters often are a bit a flat), I still found them interesting. When reading about the Beast, I’ll admit that I kind of wish he had been given even more personality, but overall I found his and Beauty’s store fun to read.

Overall: 3.5 stars This is a good book to read if you want a bit of light reading to pass the time. If you like fairy tale retelllings, I’d definitely say this is a must, as it is a bit of a classic. McKinley does a good job breathing some new life into an old tale.

Recommend buy or borrow: Borrow