Customer Reviews
The beautiful take on beauty and the beast. - By: emjem, 09 Sep 2007 
Retelling the story of beauty & the beast
When beauty's father shelters from a storm after visiting there old home in the city, the castle was more than welcoming to him, until he picks a single rose for his daughter Beauty. The punishment for this is to send one of his beloved daughters to live in the castle with the beast.
When beauty arrives at the castle she is more than eager to enter it. After a few months Beauty grows fond of the Beast, but the separation from her family becomes painful for her to think of them, no matter how hard she tries to put them out of her mind. As the Beast's love for beauty grows he lets her have that one wish.
With beauty staying with her family for more time than the beast consented to, & with the rose that the beast gave Beauty dieing, (he will die if the rose dies) what will happen to the beast? Will Beauty's growing fondness for him prompt her to return & save him or will she let the Beast & the roses completely die to alllow her to escape?.
Review Of "Beauty" - By: Mr. Nicholas S. A. Gibbons, 15 Mar 2007 This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It conjured up every emotion I have ever felt, at one point it almost felt as if my heart was being broken as well as the Beasts. Wonderfully written using articulate language & in-depth enalysis of the characters. I truly got lost in this book. The only book I have ever read twice,I would recommend to anyone that enjoys a classic love story. The best book I have read.
(Written by Nicholas G's Daughter)
A romantic fantasy fairytale! - By: SB, 01 Mar 2007 
Before I go any further, I have to tell you that this is a book for girls... girls only! This is a romantic re-telling of that old favourite "Beauty & the Beast".
"Beauty" is the youngest of three sisters, & together they live a very privileged life in a city on the coast with their father, a wealthy merchant. Beauty has a love of books, learning & horse-riding, whereas her elder sisters are the real beauties of the family & are looking for eligible young men to marry them!
However, as in alll good fairytales, the family suffer a reversal of fortune, with some ships lost at sea, & have to seek another way to make a living. Most of the family possessions are sold off at auction, & the family make their way to the country to start a new life there away from the sea. From there the enchantment begins... but I don't want to give too much away!
The story is lovely. The writing & phrases are a little cliched in places... but then I'm sure a younger reader wouldn't notice that & could enjoy the story as it's intended. For alll fairytale princesses aged 8+.
Beauty-ful - By: E. A Solinas, 25 Feb 2007 The best-known & best-loved of Robin McKinley's books is also one of the best of the fairy-tale retellings -- "Beauty," a more enlightened, fully-drawn version of "Beauty & the Beast." There's a depth & a richness to the story & characterizations, as well as a beauty of atmosphere & writing.
Beauty (real name is "Honour") is the ironicallly-named heroine of the story -- she isn't beautiful, but is very intelligent. She has two sisters, the beautiful Hope & Grace, & a benevolent, wealthy father. Then alll their lives change suddenly: the ships their father owns are lost, & the money goes with them. One of the sisters marries a poor but worthy country lad, while the other lost her beloved fiancee who captained one of the ships. After selling their possessions the family moves to the countryside.
The father leaves on a trip -- & returns with a single rose, a gift for Beauty, which carries the price of either his life or his daughter. Beauty leaves to go live at the castle of the mysterious Beast, with only her plowhorse to accompany her. She arrives at a castle of invisible servants, magical books, friendly animals, & a melancholy Beast who asks her to marry him every evening...
There is nothing new in fairy tale retellings now, but when McKinley first wrote "Beauty," it was a relative rarity. And even now, few of them are as intelligently written & have such solid heroines. Rather than giving her story a contrived "twist," McKinley merely fleshes out the storyline & gives the characters personalities.
The writing is excellent; McKinley writes the more prosaic passages of cottage life & the surrounding friendly village, as well as the more dreamlike, fantastical scenes in the Beast's castle. Lots of atmosphere, either in the poor but warm surroundings of the house, or the eerie feel of the castle.The dialogue is nearly flawless: McKinley doesn't write ye-olde-formal prose, but the characters never sound -- or think -- like modern Americans.
Beauty is a great heroine -- brainy, kind, wry-humored, brave & strong. Though the "Beauty" element is discarded, it is done so with the apparent understanding that this "Beauty" has brains & guts rather than a pretty face. The Beast himself is a little more shadowy; we never get inside his head the way we do Beauty's, but then the book is hers, not his. Beauty's father & sisters are equallly well-done, avoiding the cliches of nastiness in favor of being likable or haunted.
Robin McKinley's debut "Beauty" is still among the best-loved fairy-tale retellings. With the help of a gutsy, brainy heroine, it rises above a mere retelling & becomes THE retelling.
Most beautiful book - By: Jen, 25 Nov 2006 'Beauty' was one of the best books I have ever read! I found it slightly confusing towards the end, but the descriptions throughout were beautiful & the images it created in my mind were spectacular.
The way that the author makes you feel Beauty's emotions & how she perceives the Beast deserves more than five stars - this is a beautiful & enchanting story that made me love a fairytale that I had previously found rather juvenile & boring.
