The Beast's Heart: A Novel of Beauty and the Beast
By: Leife Shallcross / Narrated By: Jim Dale
Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
Magnificent narration of this enchanting and humanizing tale
Lemme just get it outta the way: I’m a TOTAL sucker for variations, retellings of classics. I mean, I’m almost embarrassed about how many Pride and Prejudice Variations/Vagaries I have in my Library.
But with this, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I’ll just say that I’ve already reviewed Enchant (Blah) and Beauty (Really quite good). How thrilled I am, then, that here with The Beast’s Heart we have the story from the Beast’s point of view. All things Beastie? All things here!
I read other reviewers pan the dickens outta it cuz our Heroine is named Isabeau and not Belle (This story takes place in France, ooooh AGES ago!), and one of her sisters is named Claude—a man’s name. They also said it dragged like crazy. To the former I say: Get over it; this is fiction for cripes sake. To the latter I say: Uhm, yeah, you have a point.
That said about the dragging, don’t go into this novel looking for scenes of action, scenes of huge and monstrous choices being made. This is a story of the evolution of an individual from a Beast in the forest to a good man his lineage said he was to be. Yes, I do agree that there was no climactic scene that leaves one breathless. Rather, I found it to be a loving look at a man (Beast) doing the best he can given the circumstances (Uhm, he’s a BEAST!).
The book opens with him (He’s not given a name until the close of the story—he’s the Beast throughout) reacting to this enchantment that’s left him a meld of many different animals: Mane of a lion, great grasping paws of a bear with a wolf’s claws that he can’t retract. At first he’s filled with anger, with rage. He WILL destroy any living creature who comes in his way. He WILL kill.
But soon that wears off as he contemplates the complete and utter loneliness of his condition. It’s then that he stumbles, after living in the forest for so long, upon the ruined remains of his ancestral home. And bits of magic occur. He’s taken care of, but he’s never spoken to. He wants for nothing except for companionship.
When a weary traveler wanders onto his land he’s overjoyed, thinking that, after the feast the magic has prepared for the fatigued man, the man and he will sit together, and perhaps they’ll chat.
Not so. Here we come to the part I’ve always wondered about: How on EARTH are we supposed to like the Hero when he does something as despicable as tell a man that if he doesn’t send his youngest daughter, his own death will be the result?
Answered! The book is written well enough (Thank you, “length of book”) and in enough detail that we see and feel the Beast for what he is: A truly empty and desperate man (Uh, Beast). He will do ANYthing, just please, let him be with a living soul.
Then too, when Isabeau comes to him they hammer out an agreement that it’s just for a year, and Isabeau’s heart and temper bear out how she’d agree to something like this. What I like about this book is that, while other retellings have the Beast falling head over heels in love almost immediately, here the Beast is so used to being cold and unloving (Note to self: Being cold and unloving can rain nasty enchantments down upon one’s head) that he questions whether Isabeau is someone he could love. He’s been so enraged for so long by his father and his father’s despicable nature, has been so committed to hardening his heart, he quite simply wonders whether he’s capable of that thing called love.
As I said, this is a long pondering of a man learning to be human, learning to find warmth (Begging for it by the end), basking in companionship and sharing. Plus, we get to meet Isabeau’s sisters, and we listen to their sweet and romantic stories of growth and love.
PLUS—JIM DALE!!! Need I say more? The Master of the Magical; the man who delivers stories of enchantment like nobody else can (Listen to The Night Circus if you don’t believe me!). And other reviewers said his talent was wasted on this book? Oh my… I dunno… I liked the darned thing, and I loved Jim Dale.
My only, only, ONLY problem is with the original tale itself. To me, Beauty falls for the Beast, says she’ll marry him. And what happens?!? WHAM! He turns into a plain old dude. What happened to m’ precious Beast?
I dunno; I think, when all is said and done? Me? Here, with this book? I fell in love with The Beast… So sue me.
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