Contains: Lila the Werewolf -- The last Unicorn -- Come, Lady Death -- A fine and private place ( )

I grew up my whole life as a fantasy addict and somehow missed this classic. I've had it on my shelf for years and I always thought of it as probably a silly book for kids. So then my 10-year-old son handed it to me when were picking out the next book I would read to him. I was surprised that he picked it out because the version I have is old and not very exciting looking. I started to read it to him and after a day or two he was lost and didn't want to read it anymore, but I was totally enthralled. The writing was amazing.

I'm a fan of "purple prose" and this was definitely deeply beautiful, poetic writing. The story immediately put me in land of "the classic fairy tale" and besides being short (especially compared to the brick-sized, door stoppers that are being churned out by the average author nowadays), the scope is epic and the story is tragic.

I definitely look forward to reading more from Mr. Beagle (and I have more, since the book I own is a collection of his stories) and would suggest it for adults as well as more sophisticated young readers.

After reading The Last Unicorn I was so taken by Mr. Beagle's writing that I decided to read the rest of the stories in the omnibus I had. This was another novel and other than a man who could talk to ghosts and a talking raven there was nothing fantastic about it. It was really kind of slow but the writing and characters were great. I read it with my wife and we both kept wondering where it was going. In the end not much happened, but as with may literary stories (as opposed to genre fiction) there was a lot happening metaphorically.

Beagle's writing really sets a scene. I was right there in the Jewish district with Mrs. Klapper gossiping on the street in the 60's. (less) ( )

I actually read only _The Last Unicorn_ in this collection. I read that for the Fantasy Book discussion group. One discussant pointed out that Beagle does an excellent job of making the unicorn *not* think like a human, and I agree, and it's consistent. Those who know me will understand when I say that this this work is a bit "twee" for me, but it also has a good bit of humor, parody, and self-reference in it to relieve that. Characters speak of themselves being in fairy tales or folk songs; the Robin Hood parody mistakes the magician for the ballad collector Child; a prince flips through a magazine (in an otherwise medieval setting) while a princess calls for a unicorn. Those post-modern aspects put me very much in mind of _The Princess Bride_. We were stumped in the discussion when the leader asked us for the "truth" of _The Last Unicorn_: it seems to me to be about seeing and being seen. I'd recommend _The Last Unicorn_ along with _The Hobbit_ and _The Princess Bride_ for reading to kids. (And I should really read the other items in this collection.) ( )

This omnibus has two short stories, and two full length stories in it - Lila the Werewolf and Come, Lady Death (short stories); and The Last Unicorn and A Fine and Private Place (full length). Overall I'm giving it a three, but that's based on taking each story individually.

Lila the Werewolf (1 star): I just plain didn't like this one. I almost quit reading the omnibus right from the beginning, this was the first story in it and it did not make a good first impression. But I continued, and I'm glad I did.

The Last Unicorn (3 stars): I expected to love this story, as it seems that most people do, but I find myself just barely liking it. I think that if I had read it as a kid, I would have loved it. As an adult? It was just kind of bland. I didn't care much about the characters, overall was just unimpressed. But that said, it was still a well told story.

Come, Lady Death (3 stars): This was much better than the first short story, which I was glad for. It was short and cute and i enjoyed reading it.

A Fine and Private Place (4 stars): This is the one that surprised me, and that really saved the omnibus for me. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I read the omnibus mostly for The Last Unicorn, I had never even heard of this story before I read it. But it was really really sweet. It was humorous and touching, and an all around fun read. Of the four stories in the book, this is the only one I would really recommend. ( )

This volume contains two novels, a novella, and a short story, so I'll review them each separately.

Lila the Werewolf: A strange and somewhat sad tale of a young woman who occasionally turns into a wolf, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. A good example of "just because it's fantasy doesn't mean it's for children". It's written well, just a little disturbing to read.

The Last Unicorn: This is a marvelous book. I've read it before, and did not reread it this time around, but it remains one of my favorites.

A Fine and Private Place: A tale of two ghosts, a raven, and a man who lives in a cemetery. It's decidedly bittersweet, with a little humor here and a little tragedy there. It was very introspective and atmospheric - a "quiet" book, if you will. I liked the snarky raven - and I thought it odd how, in a cemetery where people think talking to ghosts is a little weird, no one ever mentions how unusual it is for a raven to speak. I wish there had been just a little bit more about Laura and Michael, especially there at the end, but all in all it was good.

Come Lady Death: An old woman decides to invite Death to her next party - and Death does indeed attend. The ending left me a little cold, but otherwise it was a decent story. ( )