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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
So I know this is Robin McKinley's second foray into the story of Beauty and the Beast, but I want her to write a third because her hints about what Beauty's sisters get up to while she's off at the Beast's castle are Just. So. Tantalizing.
When you read a great book and the author does you the grass kindness of letting you know where she got her inspiration (T. Kingfisher - Bryony and the Roses), you are smart if you take that as a book recommendation.
Only - maybe don't read the two quite back to back.
In any event, this is a different story than the one mentioned above, and yet it is also the same. If you read both together, consider it a theme and it's variations and you will love both.
One of the things that I felt breathes life into this story is the awareness of how much a part of the whole biosphere any garden must be to be healthy. That is the breath that Beauty brings, and it is gloriously warming to the story.
Only - maybe don't read the two quite back to back.
In any event, this is a different story than the one mentioned above, and yet it is also the same. If you read both together, consider it a theme and it's variations and you will love both.
One of the things that I felt breathes life into this story is the awareness of how much a part of the whole biosphere any garden must be to be healthy. That is the breath that Beauty brings, and it is gloriously warming to the story.
If I had read this before Beauty I might have enjoyed it more, for parts are beautiful and the classic McKinley descriptions shine. But Beauty is a million times better - this telling lacked the chemistry between the Beast and Beauty that she had done so well in her first novel, and missed all the best parts like the magical servants and library. Instead we got lovely, but repetitive scenes of Beauty tending roses in the garden.
I admire authors for bravely re-doing the same thing, or changing the original fable, but it didn't quite work on either account. This was so similar to Beauty, even to recycling several of the lines, and the new parts were buried underneath wordy tangents that went on for pages. Often the writing - especially in the romantic scenes - felt rushed and stale.
At the last she made a change to the story - the Beast stayed a beast, and [b:Beauty and the Beast|41424|Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast|Robin McKinley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169613617s/41424.jpg|2321285] is too well-known and loved to make such a change - it's just not itself without the last petal falling and the whispered "I love you" and shooting fireworks and transformation.
I admire authors for bravely re-doing the same thing, or changing the original fable, but it didn't quite work on either account. This was so similar to Beauty, even to recycling several of the lines, and the new parts were buried underneath wordy tangents that went on for pages. Often the writing - especially in the romantic scenes - felt rushed and stale.
At the last she made a change to the story - the Beast stayed a beast, and [b:Beauty and the Beast|41424|Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast|Robin McKinley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169613617s/41424.jpg|2321285] is too well-known and loved to make such a change - it's just not itself without the last petal falling and the whispered "I love you" and shooting fireworks and transformation.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It is hard for me to explain why I love this book so much. I think it is more of the feeling I get while reading it rather than the characters or plot. There is something fantastical about it- like you as a reader are a part of the magic McKinley brings to life.
On the whole, Rose Daughter was all right. Rose Daughter is McKinley’s second time retelling the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” the first being her debut novel Beauty. I have read Beauty, but it was too long ago for me to be able to accurately compare the two books.
Beauty is the youngest daughter of a merchant. When disaster strikes her family, she along with her father and two sisters moves to a country cottage covered in roses. The fairy tale is not a re-visioning and for the most part unfolds in the usual manner.
If you’ve read any amount of McKinley’s work, Rose Daughter should feel at least somewhat familiar. It contains all the usual hallmarks of her work. To quote from my prior review of McKinley’s Shadows: “An animal loving girl goes to have her mystical climatic encounter that draws upon her unexplored magical heritage, all the while accompanied by a practical herd of random animals.” This statement remains more or less true for Rose Daughter, although not much is actually done with the heroine’s magic powers in this case.
The focus of the Rose Daughter retelling is the roses themselves. In this version, Beauty is a gardener who loves roses. I actually did like the way McKinley put the roses at the core of the story. It fit with the original tale but still felt new. However, the best aspect of Rose Daughter has to be the relationship between Beauty and her sisters. I really loved the strength of the bond between them and how they worked together in their new circumstances.
Rose Daughter is a sedately paced story that I still enjoyed reading. However there was a lot about it that was very vague and unclear. It seems like there were some good ideas with the backstory to the tale (I particularly liked the idea of Beauty’s mother being significant) but I never felt like I completely understood it.
Rose Daughter had a few significant problems that related mostly to the warping of time. Beauty decides that she wants to marry the Beast after knowing him for only seven days? Really? She hardly had any interaction with him! Then there’s Beauty leaving the castle near the end. Why did she leave? There was no good reason. And then she hardly spent any time there before heading right back. Basically she only had time to run through a recap for her sisters which was as boring as all get out.
I’d probably recommend Rose Daughter only to people who are already fans of McKinley’s fairy tale retellings. If you’re interested in reading one of her books, I would suggest The Hero and the Crown or Sunshine instead.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Beauty is the youngest daughter of a merchant. When disaster strikes her family, she along with her father and two sisters moves to a country cottage covered in roses. The fairy tale is not a re-visioning and for the most part unfolds in the usual manner.
If you’ve read any amount of McKinley’s work, Rose Daughter should feel at least somewhat familiar. It contains all the usual hallmarks of her work. To quote from my prior review of McKinley’s Shadows: “An animal loving girl goes to have her mystical climatic encounter that draws upon her unexplored magical heritage, all the while accompanied by a practical herd of random animals.” This statement remains more or less true for Rose Daughter, although not much is actually done with the heroine’s magic powers in this case.
The focus of the Rose Daughter retelling is the roses themselves. In this version, Beauty is a gardener who loves roses. I actually did like the way McKinley put the roses at the core of the story. It fit with the original tale but still felt new. However, the best aspect of Rose Daughter has to be the relationship between Beauty and her sisters. I really loved the strength of the bond between them and how they worked together in their new circumstances.
Rose Daughter is a sedately paced story that I still enjoyed reading. However there was a lot about it that was very vague and unclear. It seems like there were some good ideas with the backstory to the tale (I particularly liked the idea of Beauty’s mother being significant) but I never felt like I completely understood it.
Rose Daughter had a few significant problems that related mostly to the warping of time. Beauty decides that she wants to marry the Beast after knowing him for only seven days? Really? She hardly had any interaction with him! Then there’s Beauty leaving the castle near the end. Why did she leave? There was no good reason. And then she hardly spent any time there before heading right back. Basically she only had time to run through a recap for her sisters which was as boring as all get out.
I’d probably recommend Rose Daughter only to people who are already fans of McKinley’s fairy tale retellings. If you’re interested in reading one of her books, I would suggest The Hero and the Crown or Sunshine instead.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Robin McKinley's two books (Beauty, Rose Daughter) are the definitive versions of Beauty and the Beast. I like both versions for different reasons.
Rose Daughter reads like one of McKinley's other books, the Hero and the Crown, in that it is drenched in magic.
Rose Daughter reads like one of McKinley's other books, the Hero and the Crown, in that it is drenched in magic.
Every last moment is described in lengthy, boring detail. This was nowhere as enjoyable as her earlier book “Beauty.”
I mentioned a few times in my review of Beauty (okay, a lot of times) that between the two Beauty & the Beast retellings of Robin McKinley’s, I prefer Rose Daughter over Beauty*. Not that I’m saying one ultimately trumps the other, but while Beauty is pretty much a straightforward retelling of the fairy tale with some more character development towards Beauty’s sisters, Rose Daughter is more McKinley’s angle—taking the well-known fairy tale and putting her own spin and twist to it. (See also: Spindle’s End.)
Rose Daughter is still largely the same story, but there’s more meat to this one. The bare bones are still there, but McKinley seems to have more fun with this one, and definitely spends a lot of time setting up the story. There’s a depth and scale to this version that is a little lacking in her previous book, and it’s why if I have to pick between the two, I’ll go for Rose Daughter over Beauty.
The main thing I love is that the story takes its time setting up this world of sorcerers and green witches, while still hitting the familiar beats. There’s a lot of time setting up the village of Longchance and the supposed curse that’s been laid on the village for two centuries. And what I like about all of this set-up is that McKinley does manage to tie it into her main plot, but it’s such a slow realization that the story of the two sorcerers and the greenwitch is the one that leads to the Beast and the enchanted castle in the woods.And also the reveal that there never really was a curse, but people think there’s one because of how the story’s mutated over the years. It’s a nice twist to things, and I like that it’s something that keeps sneaking into the plot until the climax begins.
I also think the dynamic of the three sisters is handled a lot better in this as well. While there are similarities between the two families—namely, that these are people who clearly love and care for one another—there’s more a disparity in the financial situation of Rose Daughter. I really like that we see the family struggling to get used to their new class in life and trying to figure out how to bring in money. And although things do occur happenstance, such as the acquisition of Rose Cottage, we see that the family is getting used to a rundown cottage and having to do housework, and trying to come up with solutions. And the sisters felt a lot more dynamic in this book. I freaking love Lionheart—that she’s the capable one with a loud mouth and ready to defend her sisters. I love that she has this very tender love story in the background of the main story that we only catch bare glimpses of, and there’s problems that arise from it. (Although he’s not a huge character, Jack Trueword is a good antagonist, even though his actions are pretty much regulated to trying to sniff out Lionheart’s secret and info-dumping about the curse at Ms. Oldhouse’s literary gathering. But it’s an awesomely written scene, so kudos to McKinley.) Jeweltongue is a fine character, and I feel like she’s the one who’s more or less holding the family together, especially after Beauty’s ‘disappearance.’ And I really liked that their father’s grief is better shown in this book, and especially how dealing with the loss of his wife and business have hit the old man.
Which is not to say that I don’t like Beauty. I think it would be easy for me to say that I don’t relate to her as much because she is more uninteresting to begin with, but that’s what I like about her development over the book. I like that she finds solace in nature and creatures, and that’s more of her motivation to head to the Beast’s palace—not to solely take her father’s place, but to see if by fixing the rose garden will undo whatever spell was laid on the Beast. And I love that she unwilling calls creatures to populate the rose garden, especially the fact that the animals that arrive aren’t especially cute ones. (As an aside, having read so much Gail Carriger has ruined hedgehogs for me. Which was already one of my favorite scenes, when Beauty wakes up and discovers the hedgehogs hiding on the carpet pattern, but I was snickering a little more this time around.)
And I felt that there’s more of romance here as well. My main problem with the Beast in Beauty was that it felt like “Oh, he’s actually quite charming and kind to Beauty and so they’re going to fall in love.” There feels like there’s a lot more development to this Beast, especially in how with he is withdrawn when he’s with Beauty and that he’s had to relearn how to be a human again. I really like that this doesn’t shy away from the fact that the Beast is, well, bestial, and it is a plot point. I like the relationship that’s built up between the two much better in this version, because you can see Beauty clearly falling in love with him.And it also helps that although Beauty spends a “week” with the Beast, the time flow in the palace is much different from the outside world. It adds so much more tension to the ending and Beauty’s desperation to return in time because she doesn’t realize this until it’s too late. And it also helps frame Beauty’s choice at the end a lot better—I actually like that she chooses to return to her simple life and keep her Beast, instead of his transformation being the main reward.
On that note as well, I like that it’s stated that although Beauty and her Beast will do great and good things had she chosen him to be human, they wouldn’t be remembered as good people. It’s the sort of thing that tends to get overlooked in fairy tales and old school fantasy overall—that even though these are the heroes, not everyone is going to love them.
There’s also a much stronger sense of magic in this one as well. It’s not just because this version outright has magic as part of its world-building, but because it feels much more ingrained into the story than just having the Beast’s curse. I also love the fact that story-telling plays a major role in here, specifically the story of the two sorcerers and the greenwitch. I love that there’s multiple versions of this, that there was a simulacrum made of roses, or that she was just the greenwitch enchanted or maybe even the greenwitch’s daughter, but there’s no one right version of it. I love how everything ties neatly into the overreaching plot, and yet there’s still holes in the stories because they don’t quite match up to the truth.I love the ambiguity of the ending, that even though the story of the sorcerers was true, I’m still unsure if Beauty’s mother was really a woman or a simulacrum all along. I prefer the latter, but that’s just my own headcanon. And I love how much roses are used in the plot, not just as set decoration, but how integral they are to the story.
For as charming and delightful as Beauty is, I will recommend Rose Daughter over it if given the chance. I think McKinley stretches her wings more with this retelling, and she really brings a fresh breath to the story instead of just retreading ground that she’s been over once before. I love what’s been with the story here, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone either looking for a retelling or just starting out with McKinley’s fairy tales.
*Tangential aside, I was browsing through Tumblr the other day, and somebody posted that they wanted a version of Beauty & the Beast where Beauty’s willing to go off and fix up the castle and she’s not afraid of the Beast, and I’m sitting there going, “Hi, Robin McKinley wrote that book. Twice, actually.”
Rose Daughter is still largely the same story, but there’s more meat to this one. The bare bones are still there, but McKinley seems to have more fun with this one, and definitely spends a lot of time setting up the story. There’s a depth and scale to this version that is a little lacking in her previous book, and it’s why if I have to pick between the two, I’ll go for Rose Daughter over Beauty.
The main thing I love is that the story takes its time setting up this world of sorcerers and green witches, while still hitting the familiar beats. There’s a lot of time setting up the village of Longchance and the supposed curse that’s been laid on the village for two centuries. And what I like about all of this set-up is that McKinley does manage to tie it into her main plot, but it’s such a slow realization that the story of the two sorcerers and the greenwitch is the one that leads to the Beast and the enchanted castle in the woods.
I also think the dynamic of the three sisters is handled a lot better in this as well. While there are similarities between the two families—namely, that these are people who clearly love and care for one another—there’s more a disparity in the financial situation of Rose Daughter. I really like that we see the family struggling to get used to their new class in life and trying to figure out how to bring in money. And although things do occur happenstance, such as the acquisition of Rose Cottage, we see that the family is getting used to a rundown cottage and having to do housework, and trying to come up with solutions. And the sisters felt a lot more dynamic in this book. I freaking love Lionheart—that she’s the capable one with a loud mouth and ready to defend her sisters. I love that she has this very tender love story in the background of the main story that we only catch bare glimpses of, and there’s problems that arise from it. (Although he’s not a huge character, Jack Trueword is a good antagonist, even though his actions are pretty much regulated to trying to sniff out Lionheart’s secret and info-dumping about the curse at Ms. Oldhouse’s literary gathering. But it’s an awesomely written scene, so kudos to McKinley.) Jeweltongue is a fine character, and I feel like she’s the one who’s more or less holding the family together, especially after Beauty’s ‘disappearance.’ And I really liked that their father’s grief is better shown in this book, and especially how dealing with the loss of his wife and business have hit the old man.
Which is not to say that I don’t like Beauty. I think it would be easy for me to say that I don’t relate to her as much because she is more uninteresting to begin with, but that’s what I like about her development over the book. I like that she finds solace in nature and creatures, and that’s more of her motivation to head to the Beast’s palace—not to solely take her father’s place, but to see if by fixing the rose garden will undo whatever spell was laid on the Beast. And I love that she unwilling calls creatures to populate the rose garden, especially the fact that the animals that arrive aren’t especially cute ones. (As an aside, having read so much Gail Carriger has ruined hedgehogs for me. Which was already one of my favorite scenes, when Beauty wakes up and discovers the hedgehogs hiding on the carpet pattern, but I was snickering a little more this time around.)
And I felt that there’s more of romance here as well. My main problem with the Beast in Beauty was that it felt like “Oh, he’s actually quite charming and kind to Beauty and so they’re going to fall in love.” There feels like there’s a lot more development to this Beast, especially in how with he is withdrawn when he’s with Beauty and that he’s had to relearn how to be a human again. I really like that this doesn’t shy away from the fact that the Beast is, well, bestial, and it is a plot point. I like the relationship that’s built up between the two much better in this version, because you can see Beauty clearly falling in love with him.
On that note as well, I like that it’s stated that although Beauty and her Beast will do great and good things had she chosen him to be human, they wouldn’t be remembered as good people. It’s the sort of thing that tends to get overlooked in fairy tales and old school fantasy overall—that even though these are the heroes, not everyone is going to love them.
There’s also a much stronger sense of magic in this one as well. It’s not just because this version outright has magic as part of its world-building, but because it feels much more ingrained into the story than just having the Beast’s curse. I also love the fact that story-telling plays a major role in here, specifically the story of the two sorcerers and the greenwitch. I love that there’s multiple versions of this, that there was a simulacrum made of roses, or that she was just the greenwitch enchanted or maybe even the greenwitch’s daughter, but there’s no one right version of it. I love how everything ties neatly into the overreaching plot, and yet there’s still holes in the stories because they don’t quite match up to the truth.
For as charming and delightful as Beauty is, I will recommend Rose Daughter over it if given the chance. I think McKinley stretches her wings more with this retelling, and she really brings a fresh breath to the story instead of just retreading ground that she’s been over once before. I love what’s been with the story here, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone either looking for a retelling or just starting out with McKinley’s fairy tales.
*Tangential aside, I was browsing through Tumblr the other day, and somebody posted that they wanted a version of Beauty & the Beast where Beauty’s willing to go off and fix up the castle and she’s not afraid of the Beast, and I’m sitting there going, “Hi, Robin McKinley wrote that book. Twice, actually.”
