Chat about... Beauty by Robin McKinley

Did you love Beauty by Robin McKinley? Hated it? Seen an interesting article about the book? Felt the book was a victim to superfluous commas? Loved the book, hated the cover?

Discuss it all here! Spoilers abound, enter at your own risk...

I'm onto my second copy of this book, the first one was read until it died, so I may be a bit biased about this book. I love the library as depicted in the story, and her description of just launching yourself into the story without really thinking about how you understand it or needing to understand everything, really did speak to me.
I also thought Beauty was a great character in herself.
I still think Disney owe Robin McKinley a tonne of money for the inspiration that must have come from her, the book was written afterwards.
I also love that Robin McKinley revisited the myth with a slightly different slant with Spindle's End

I quite enjoyed the book, but it's not going to be one of my Desert Island Picks. The prose was a little too "wordy" for my taste. But it wasn't a bad book, and if someone asked for a recommendation for a retelling of a fairy tale (rather than a subversion) I would certainly suggest Beauty to them.

My favourite character was Ger, Beauty's blacksmith brother-in-law. He was just so sensible :-D He bought the house cheap because it was next to a magic forest... but he just stayed out of the forest. Hah!

>2 wyvernfriend:
*cough*Rose Daughter *cough*

I am a big fan of fairy tale retellings of all shapes and sizes (including subversions) and I am a fan of Robin McKinley's stuff, so I really liked this one. Particularly the fact that Beauty was, for once, not beautiful.

Yes, my bad. Still I have enjoyed every book by her that I have read, the only one that didn't really gel was the door in the hedge, though I think I need to revisit that again, I may not have been the right age... Which reminds me, I think I'm behind on a few... ETA Pegasus reserved for me in the libraries and then I'm almost up to date with her.

>5 wyvernfriend:

Just as a warning, Pegasus is only half a book, and ends with a cliffhanger. The sequel won't be out till 2014, I think either. (I enjoyed it, but read it knowing that it was only half a story).