Geeks Guide to Books

The Last Unicorn

They only told me that it was the greatest fantasy novel ever written. As a Tolkien fan, I doubted this. But it surely wouldn’t hurt to read it, would it?

With this premise, I started seeking out a copy of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. It proved hard to find in Metro Manila, and once found, also proved to be quite expensive. So I kept scouring second-hand bookshops in my Finder-of-Lost-Treasures mode until by some turn of fate, I managed to get my hand on a copy at 1/18th of its original price. I admit that while looking at the slim, worn-out volume, I had my doubts about its potential greatness. If it was truly as amazing as it is touted to be, how come someone out there decided to give it away and leave it to the fate of questing fantasy enthusiasts? Even if I knew enough not to judge a book by its cover, a part of me wasn't enticed to read the book immediately. What's more is that when I tried to read the first five pages, my interest was only mildly hooked. At some point, I started to feel as if I was only trudging through it; I was going through the notions just so I could say I have read this so-called amazing novel. That is, of course, until I realized how stupid I sounded. I'm glad I had enough wisdom left to put The Last Unicorn down and save it for later reading. Perhaps a part of me recognized the faint shimmering jewel hidden inside the book and warned me, albeit subconsciously, that this is a story I must digest - - not speed-read through while inside a crowded bus after a tiring day at work.

Finally, I was able to get back to it during a long weekend. To my amazement, I picked up the book and this time I couldn't put it down. From the solitude of my room, I was catapulted into a world where unicorns exist – or at least, one still does. This creature has lived through the centuries and has brought beauty to her immediate surroundings. She didn't know she was the last unicorn, but she knew something was amiss because it had been a long time since she saw any of the others. She can also sense it because without unicorns, magic bleeds out of the world like watercolor and everything that is beautiful fades away with it. Not knowing cowardice or regret, she set out with the desire to find her kin and to find other beings able to recognize her. For if they can still name her as a unicorn, then a little magic must have remained and it would be enough to guide her way. She learns that the other unicorns were captured by the Red Bull owned by King Haggard, and with grim and a bit haughty determination, she chose to seek them both. But before she could even begin her quest she is captured by the Midnight Carnival and was put on display for a fee. Here she meets Schmendrick the Magician and the story picks up speed.

From the darkest Carnival ever assembled in the middle of the forest, we follow the unicorn and Schmendrick to the edges of the trees, beyond the borders of the fertile land and into the charred, barren soil of Haggard's kingdom. We meet petty mayors and merry thieves, friendly townsfolk and greedy cursed men. I say we, because I was truly transported into this cunning, fascinating country with the unicorn and I could only follow her path.

This tale is a story of a lot of astonishing things. Very few books, fantasy yarns especially, could be said to influence people’s lives. Yet reading through the book has re-taught me the value of purity of heart, honesty of intentions, wisdom and heroism.

It also taught me that magic is in seeing the ordinary things with patient eyes. I have increasingly felt jaded ever since I started living in the “real world”. I started working right after college in what I believed as a noble job. One could say that I thought I could bring a little magic back into the world. But as the levels of difficulty of making a living rose, ennui settled in. Now I find myself discarding the dreams I had when I was younger because the world proved to be a drearier and more difficult place than I imagined it to be. So why fight for your dreams when the world seems to just be intent in foiling your plans? How long will it take me to get to my silver lining? I want to live the grand exciting life now, you see.

I found the answer in Prince Lir’s words (the son of King Haggard and who helped in freeing the other unicorns), “The true secret of being a hero is knowing the order of things… Quests may not simply be abandoned, prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit, unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.” And here, Olivia has learned fortitude.

As the world grows more jaded, the tendency to sneer at fairytales and happy endings also increases. But the novel boldly claimed that only the fantastic quests and the mythical beings are ever real. People are just part of one long, winding fairy tale. We are all playing our parts as authored by the Unknown Hand who created us. We are only on earth for such a little time and will be easily forgotten. Why not make the best out of it?

I wish I have read The Last Unicorn when I was younger. There are too many things I want to unlearn at my age now and maybe a great many things I wished I could have retained from what I originally knew as a kid. I would have truly enjoyed it back then because I knew that unicorns existed. I knew that magic is hidden deep inside each of us and is just waiting for the appropriate time to reveal itself. And where magic fails, brave hearts must sally forth and face whatever challenges lies ahead. I knew there were good and bad things, highlighted in black and white. I knew to avoid the grey areas if only because it is drab and listless.

Yes, a younger Olivia would’ve been happily lost deep in this book. But perhaps, reading it now has allowed me to distill some better truth, some purer knowledge from the book. Perhaps this cut-off feeling from anything magical is part of the enchantment. The book spurs me into action -- hold it! Hold it! before the last stardust fades away. Seek your dream to the end of the story. Do not let go until you have grasped it in your hand.

Luckily, I think I've just managed to catch a tail of it and that's why the world shimmers a bit brighter than it did yesterday. Just as the captured unicorns were set free and let loose into the land to bring back the magic, thus I summon magic back into my life as well.

posted by Liv Burgos @ 11:46 PM