'Well, I cannot know that, can I? I can only do what I can dowhat I can guess to trybecause I am the one who is here. With a tremendous effort she opened her eyes again and spoke aloud, although her voice was not quite steady. 'This is a story like any nursery tale of magic? Where any maiden will do, anyanymonster, any hero, so long as they meet the right mysterious old women and discover the right enchanted doors during the right haunted midnights.' 'Is that all that matters?' she whispered, as if the Numen might hear and answer her. But it's lovely comfort reading, as McKinley often is, and I recommend it. This isn't my favorite of McKinley's retellings (that would be Spindle's End)I see too many flaws in it, and its messages lack personal appeal. The ending is half that: beautiful, intimate, character-driven but it's also half talky, confusing, and largely divorced from the core plot and characters, which sours things. McKinley has knack for finding definitive moments, and Beauty's monologues, as she gives herself voice and carves her own experience out of her fairytale setting, are the unequivocal highlight of the book. This was much better upon reread, cozy and charming and enchanting the haunted atmosphere of the Beast's castle is particularly well done.

But I've read more McKinley since, and come to appreciate her breadth of style. Once upon a time, this was one of the first McKinley novels I readand, after Deerskin, it felt insubstantial.

Review: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast, about three lively sisters and a cottage covered in roses.

Rose daughter robin mckinley