Beauty is the first novel by Robin McKinley, and the only one of hers that I've read. I praise her ability to write, and I would read another novel of hers. However, this one let me down. The beginning was slow. Not until around page 100 did it catch my attention. However, once Beauty met the Beast, I couldn't put it down! McKinley did a great job building up the rising action; however, the climax and falling action left me disappointed. McKinley floods her story with intricate details: a page's worth description of paintings hanging in the hall, the color of each gown Beauty wears for dinner, the type of food Beauty's horse eats in his stable. Her attention to detail transported me into the world of Beauty and her Beast. She obviously has talent, and I have hope that it is better honed in her newer novels.
Heather
Beauty sounds very interesting! Thanks for visiting The Window Seat Reader. I agree, book idea lists are so much fun to browse to find new titles! And libraries are great. :)
ReplyDeleteI love Beauty and its lyrical descriptions, but I do see where you're coming from in terms of the slow-moving beginning. My favorite aspects of the book had to be the Beast's castle, all of its magic, and the relationship that gently and gradually develops between the Beast and Beauty.
ReplyDeleteSorry about my spoilery Beautiful Creatures review. I don't normally like to spoil quite so much but I felt that to justify my rating of it (2.5 stars) I should really give a thorough explanation of why I wasn't a fan. Generally speaking, I would say it was partly the writing style I had issues with, and partly that I couldn't connect with one of the two main characters. I also felt that the fantasy aspect of it was not well structured enough to make sense, leaving the reader with many burning unexplained questions. On the plus side, the deep South setting is depicted very well, and I did enjoy some of the side characters. I've seen many reviews raving about it, but I found that I was forcing myself to read it (never a good sign). Anyway, that's just my two cents!
Danya
A Tapestry of Words
Hello!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for referring me to your blog :). We have a lot in common! I read this Beauty and one other, by the same title. I really enjoy reading "grown up" or YA versions of fairy tales. I was not a fan of Wicked, but read a few that I've enjoyed tremendously.
~Lily