In Calabria

As I adored The Last Unicorn, I grabbed this book excitedly from my library as soon as I saw it, expecting another fantastical magical journey of wonder and tears. I didn't quite get what I was looking for, at least not until writing this review (which was originally slanted to the negative) since it's taken me until now to come to clarity regarding the themes. Incidentally, I'm a little proud of the fact I extracted said themes on my own without reading any analysis so far.

I get the feeling this book is largely influenced by Peter's frustration with both old age and the continued exploitation of his beloved Last Unicorn. While I won't go too far into details here, the allegory is heart-wrenchingly explicit. The use of strong profanity and the very graphic description of a mutilated dead cat were extremely jarring. Beagle's anger shows in bursts of graphic clarity, sundering the otherwise meandering, wistful prose that's quite aware it falls short of what it wants to be.

I'm torn on my opinion of this book. It didn't inspire the same sense of wonder and magic and fantasy that The Last Unicorn did. It's grounded and raw. It could have been suitable for children except for the moments noted above, as well as the relatively sudden (to me) consummation of a hitherto-platonic May-September relationship. Tonally it's out of whack and feels a bit unedited.

That said, I can't fault the author for it. This story is full of pain and yearning, and yet clear hope at the end. I wonder if finally at his late age, Beagle is free of the demons that haunt these pages. I'm looking forward to seeing what he writes next.