I love that Beauty isn't outwardly beautiful to begin with, but already inwardly beautiful. She's so sweet and helpful and nice and hardworking -- everything I love in a fictional character. I love how well she gets along with her family. Her sisters aren't horrible in this version! In fact, although her family falls from wealth to hard times, they really have a very happy home life overall. That is absolutely refreshing and made me so happy. Plus, Beast was really a very nice guy, if a bit brusque and prone to having raging bouts of temper thanks to his curse -- but he always took care to get away from Beauty if one of those was coming on, and they really weren't his fault, I didn't think.
This was probably the coziest version of Beauty and the Beast I have ever read, or at least rivalling the one I wrote myself, which was also super cozy a lot of the time. And I loved the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" perspective that was woven into it.
Particularly Good Bits:
"You will find no mirrors here," he said, "for I cannot bear them: nor any quiet water in ponds. And since I am the only one who sees you, why are you not then beautiful?" (p. 162).
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G. It's clean and wholesome.
This is the 14th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.
I'm really glad you liked this one, as I remember loving it back in the day, though it's been 30 years and I have very little memory of it, other than that I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteDKoren, your comment that you liked it really bumped this way up on my list! It's a straight-forward, nicely paced story :-)
DeleteI LOVE this book!
ReplyDeleteCarol, I don't blame you!
DeleteMcKinley is usually quite good, and that is one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteGypsi, this is my first time reading her! Do you have recommendations of other good McKinley books I should seek out?
DeleteThis is a favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling. I love it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I don't blame you! It's so good.
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