Search - Beast

I LOVE Beauty and the Beast- my all time favorite fairytale....and so I was fired up about finding this...
Yes, it has a different take on the tale, as all attempt...but I felt that for ME, the style was a little amateur.... Ugghh, I feel bad saying it...but I did try...gave it about 100 some pages of its 250...and couldn't take anymore....I believe that is probably why it's suggested for young readers, although I did find some of the content to be a bit suggestive and think it may be a little inappropriate for them....
You may not mind...your preference may be different...if you like the B&Beast story- you may like it...but if you order it- order if from my bookshelf! ; )

I thought this was an awesome retelling of 'Beauty and the Beast'. Definitely worth reading.

This book is heavily Muslim from beginning to end, with many Farsi/Arabic words thrown in. They are always explained in the text. The author meant them for atmosphere, but I found them distracting. The middle half of the book bogs you down with the minute-to-minute life of a lion; eat, sleep, lust after female lions, sleep some more. Then toward the end we finally get to the castle and things perk up.

If you're a Beauty and the Beast fan, there are a few differences in this telling that are worth reading the book for. Other than the djinn turning the prince into the beast, there really isn't any magic in the entire book. The candles don't light themselves, food isn't magically provided, everything must be gained the old-fashioned way; by stealing it from the neighbors. Belle isn't as sweet and loveable as I'm used to her. There's a third character in the castle with them, a baby fox named Chou Chou. Beast can't speak at all, and has to communicate by scratching in the dirt with a claw. (If he had done that at the beginning with his father, it would have saved him a lot of trouble.) The biggest difference is that the book is told exclusively from the Beast's point of view.

I do recommend this book for fans, but I recommend more Robin McKinley's Beauty and Mercedes Lackey's The Fire Rose.

A sample bit from Beast, so you get a feel for the writing style. His mother is speaking to the prince before a religious sacrifice.

"I'll leave you to prepare, then," she says, straightening up. "At the prayers before the sacrifice, be sure to make your rakatha - your bows - deep and low, and to linger a moment before rising. That way I can pick you out from the other hajjiha and send you my strength." Mother leaves.

Her strength? A prince should rely on no one. But it is too late to protest; she is gone.

I was really looking forward to this book. I love all the fairy tales and thought a different take on Beauty and the Beast would be refreshing. While this book was not bad, it was not that great either. It seemed to stretch on forever. There were a few good parts which got me going but for most part, I just didn't feel compelled to read it. It was more of a struggle for me. I would have to admit the last part of the book was probably best. Once I got to that part I didn't want to put it down. I'm not really sure if I would recommend this book or not. I know that I didn't find it compelling but I think that some might.

This version of Beauty and the Beast starts out slowly. I felt that the addition of Arabic and Persian words and their definitions was possibly the reason. There is less of that towards page 50 and then the story begins to pick up. I started to really get into the book when all of a sudden it ended. I had so many questions and was very disappointed in the ending. Overall it was a good book and worth the read.