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The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances
This overview of Peter Beagle's extraordinary career as a fantasist contains seven short stories and three essays as well as a new preface by the author. It also features the original whimsical Chesley Award-winning cover illustration by talented Bay Area artist Michael Dashow. "The Last Unicorn, Beagle's most beloved novel, was an underground bestseller in the late 1960s and 1970s. This collection includes two of Beagle's popular unicorn stories, "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" and "Julie's Unicorn," as well as "Lila the Werewolf," which is anthologized in the "Oxford Book of Fantasy, and a tribute to J. R. R. Tolkien, "The Naga."
Contents
Introduction: “Under the Zucchini” by Patricia A. McKillip
Fiction
“Come Lady Death”
“Julie’s Unicorn”
“Lila the Werewolf”
“My Daughter’s Name Is Sarah”
“Pittsburgh Stories (a Recollection)”
“Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros”
“Telephone Call”
“The Naga”
Essays
“D. H. Lawrence in Taos”
“Learning a Trade”
“My Last Hero”
“The Poor People’s Campaign”
Contents
Introduction: “Under the Zucchini” by Patricia A. McKillip
Fiction
“Come Lady Death”
“Julie’s Unicorn”
“Lila the Werewolf”
“My Daughter’s Name Is Sarah”
“Pittsburgh Stories (a Recollection)”
“Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros”
“Telephone Call”
“The Naga”
Essays
“D. H. Lawrence in Taos”
“Learning a Trade”
“My Last Hero”
“The Poor People’s Campaign”
186 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
About the author
Peter S. Beagle
219 books4,135 followersPeter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, A Fine and Private Place , when he was only 19 years old. Today he is best known as the author of The Last Unicorn, which routinely polls as one of the top ten fantasy novels of all time, and at least two of his other books (A Fine and Private Place and I See By My Outfit) are considered modern classics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
October 5, 2022
This is a very nice collection of short pieces that showcases the range of Beagle's career. It includes a couple of very early non-genre short stories from the late 1950s when he was a college student, three non-fiction pieces, and five more recent fantasy short stories. The essays are from the 1960s: a study of the legacy of D.H. Lawrence (with whom I was not very familiar), a reflective piece on personal heroes (musicians and baseball players, go figure), and a profoundly moving and depressing piece about activism and social awareness that examines the role of Johnson's war on poverty and King and his movement and concludes, many years later, that not much progress was made. Of the newer stories, I didn't much care for The Naga, which was supposed to be Tolkienesque, but enjoyed the others very much. Julie's Unicorn is a fun and funny neat romantic comedy romp and Come Lady Death (which appeared in The Atlantic in 1963) is a classic (in all senses of the word) very literary fantasy story. Lila the Werewolf is a bit dated now by social convention, but it's still a good one. (Aside: I remember a discussion many years ago with friends who were enthusiastic about an expensive (relatively, anyway, for the time) edition of the story in chapbook form... I had read it originally in Terry Carr's New Worlds of Fantasy #3 with a Kenneth Smith cover of a birdy/buggy alien in a spacesuit... I was the only one who seemed to grasp that it was the -same- story with the same words no matter the format and presentation. They thought I was missing something, that it was better in the Capra edition, but my point was that it was the same story. Oh well...) My favorite piece in the book was Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros, inspiration for the book's title and the whimsical Michael Dashow cover illustration. It's a wonderful piece of literature, one of the best stories ever, surely Beagle's very best (and yes, I do know that he wrote The Last Unicorn.) It teaches us that not all magic is supernatural.
October 16, 2026
Subtitle: "and other odd acquaintances"
I am, slowly and after too many years, beginning to catch up with the works of Peter Beagle. Longer ago than I care to think about I read and was blown away first by his astonishing and delightful The Last Unicorn and then his almost as wondrous A Fine and Private Place , but then somehow lost track of him amongst all the other good and great and mediocre and sometimes lousy stuff I was reading. But not long ago I read I'm Afraid You've God Dragons and remembered what I loved about those two, so here's Beagle again, and there will be more in the foreseeable future.
This is a collection of short stories, and those are always a little difficult to review well. It begins with a (typically) laudatory forewordy sort of thing by Patricia A. McKillip (no mean fantasist herself) entitled, ahem "Under the Zucchini," and she means it.
There follow three Parts.
Part I, Stories, contains three, well, Stories.
"Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" gives the collection its title, more or less. Gottesman, a professor of philosophy in his middle years, visits a zoo for the first time in his life when his sister and niece visit from their native Switzerland. The only odd thing about the visit is that, while said niece is watching the tigers, the Indian Rhinoceros in an out-of-the-way enclosure addresses him by name, explaining that it is, in fact, a unicorn.
Several days later, after the Professor drops his niece and sister at the airport, he finds that the rhino has moved in with him. This might become all magical-realist, but this is a Peter Beagle story, so they don't, but they do go on for quite an interesting while beyond this point.
"Come Lady Death" concerns a fabulously wealthy Lady, who has grown bored with throwing the most fashionable and successful parties in London, in the mid-eighteenth century. To alleviate the boredom she holds one last party, and invites Death as the guest of honor. As she more than half expects, Death shows up in person, but not the way you're probably thinking.
"Lila the Werewolf" is one of two stories herein that I had read before. Told from the point of view of Farrell, a rather odd fish, who works in a bookstore in or near Greenwich Village. Farrell has just begun cohabiting with one Lila Braun as the story opens. One night, which happens to be the first full moon after she's moved in, she says she's going to visit her mother overnight. Early the next morning, Farrell wakes up with a wolf in his bed; since the wolf is asleep, he goes back to sleep also, and when he wakes up, there's no wolf but a naked Lila. Humor, horror, and madness ensue.
In "Julie's Unicorn," we encounter Farrell again, some years later, but the story isn't from his point of view this time: Julie Tanikawa, an old friend, shows up at the restaurant where Farrell is head chef, in Avicenna, California. The next day, they visit the town's museum, and Farrell points out to her an old medieval wall hanging. She sees a unicorn on it, being dragged along by a knight, and without thinking does some magic her grandmother taught her. The unicorn comes out of the tapestry, alive, but the same size it was in the tapestry, a few inches tall. This presents some problems, though fortunately Julie's cat does not try to eat it.
And "The Naga" is presented as a lost passage from Pliny the Elder concerning tales he has heard of a strange, snakelike being from beyond Arabia.
Part II, Early Stories, contains two early stories, and an introduction thereunto entitled "Pittsburgh Stories," which explains how these two stories came to be written while Beagle was a student at (of all places) the University of Pittsburgh, and how they helped him survive those times financially.
"Telephone Call" is a fictionalized account of something that actually occurred in Beagle's dorm room, written very much under the influence of J.D. Salinger and Catcher in the Rye and all that bullshit.
"My Daughter's Name is Sarah" is a middle-aged Jewish man in New York, telling how his grade-school daughter got her heart broken a little bit.
Part III, Essays, contains three essays and an introduction called "Learning a Trade," which discusses Beagle's adventures in journalism.
"My Last Heroes" is a little bit about the baseball player Warren Spahn, but mostly about the French outsider singer-songwriter Georges Brassens. Beagle learned French primarily so he could understand the lyrics of Brassens's songs. His description was fascinating enough to send me to YouTube and seek out some of Brassen's music, and it is unique.
"D.H. Lawrence in Taos" is a sort-of travel piece about how Beagle went to Taos, New Mexico, to look at the places where the then relatively-recently dead writer had hung out. Beagle scores interviews with members of Lawrence's closest friends in Taos, including his "Three Fates."
"The Poor People's Campaign" is the sort of story Harlan Ellison liked to tell, about joining a long-distance protest against terrible societal conditions. In this case, Beagle rode (provided) buses from the deep South to Washington, where they were joined by poor folk from the Northeast, Chicago, and I don't recall where-all else, in a purpose-built shantytown, somewhat reminiscent of the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression, called Resurrection City. Beagle tells of the rise and fall of Resurrection City and of the Campaign. More important, he relates conversations with many people on the buses and in Resurrection City, depicting just how poor these people really were -- far worse than the poverty we see depicted in the news -- and how hopeless they felt.
This is a strangely structured book. The first part is full of that Beagle magic; the second is, well, a chance to see young Beagle learning to be mature Beagle. But the third part, and especially the last essay, threw me right out of the mood of magic. Not that they aren't good essays; they are good essays, and that last one may be a great essay. But they just don't fit in with the stories, and they feel like an appendage sewn on from another kind of animal altogether.
7 out of 10 teeny tiny unicorns.
I am, slowly and after too many years, beginning to catch up with the works of Peter Beagle. Longer ago than I care to think about I read and was blown away first by his astonishing and delightful The Last Unicorn and then his almost as wondrous A Fine and Private Place , but then somehow lost track of him amongst all the other good and great and mediocre and sometimes lousy stuff I was reading. But not long ago I read I'm Afraid You've God Dragons and remembered what I loved about those two, so here's Beagle again, and there will be more in the foreseeable future.
This is a collection of short stories, and those are always a little difficult to review well. It begins with a (typically) laudatory forewordy sort of thing by Patricia A. McKillip (no mean fantasist herself) entitled, ahem "Under the Zucchini," and she means it.
There follow three Parts.
Part I, Stories, contains three, well, Stories.
"Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" gives the collection its title, more or less. Gottesman, a professor of philosophy in his middle years, visits a zoo for the first time in his life when his sister and niece visit from their native Switzerland. The only odd thing about the visit is that, while said niece is watching the tigers, the Indian Rhinoceros in an out-of-the-way enclosure addresses him by name, explaining that it is, in fact, a unicorn.
Several days later, after the Professor drops his niece and sister at the airport, he finds that the rhino has moved in with him. This might become all magical-realist, but this is a Peter Beagle story, so they don't, but they do go on for quite an interesting while beyond this point.
"Come Lady Death" concerns a fabulously wealthy Lady, who has grown bored with throwing the most fashionable and successful parties in London, in the mid-eighteenth century. To alleviate the boredom she holds one last party, and invites Death as the guest of honor. As she more than half expects, Death shows up in person, but not the way you're probably thinking.
"Lila the Werewolf" is one of two stories herein that I had read before. Told from the point of view of Farrell, a rather odd fish, who works in a bookstore in or near Greenwich Village. Farrell has just begun cohabiting with one Lila Braun as the story opens. One night, which happens to be the first full moon after she's moved in, she says she's going to visit her mother overnight. Early the next morning, Farrell wakes up with a wolf in his bed; since the wolf is asleep, he goes back to sleep also, and when he wakes up, there's no wolf but a naked Lila. Humor, horror, and madness ensue.
In "Julie's Unicorn," we encounter Farrell again, some years later, but the story isn't from his point of view this time: Julie Tanikawa, an old friend, shows up at the restaurant where Farrell is head chef, in Avicenna, California. The next day, they visit the town's museum, and Farrell points out to her an old medieval wall hanging. She sees a unicorn on it, being dragged along by a knight, and without thinking does some magic her grandmother taught her. The unicorn comes out of the tapestry, alive, but the same size it was in the tapestry, a few inches tall. This presents some problems, though fortunately Julie's cat does not try to eat it.
And "The Naga" is presented as a lost passage from Pliny the Elder concerning tales he has heard of a strange, snakelike being from beyond Arabia.
Part II, Early Stories, contains two early stories, and an introduction thereunto entitled "Pittsburgh Stories," which explains how these two stories came to be written while Beagle was a student at (of all places) the University of Pittsburgh, and how they helped him survive those times financially.
"Telephone Call" is a fictionalized account of something that actually occurred in Beagle's dorm room, written very much under the influence of J.D. Salinger and Catcher in the Rye and all that bullshit.
"My Daughter's Name is Sarah" is a middle-aged Jewish man in New York, telling how his grade-school daughter got her heart broken a little bit.
Part III, Essays, contains three essays and an introduction called "Learning a Trade," which discusses Beagle's adventures in journalism.
"My Last Heroes" is a little bit about the baseball player Warren Spahn, but mostly about the French outsider singer-songwriter Georges Brassens. Beagle learned French primarily so he could understand the lyrics of Brassens's songs. His description was fascinating enough to send me to YouTube and seek out some of Brassen's music, and it is unique.
"D.H. Lawrence in Taos" is a sort-of travel piece about how Beagle went to Taos, New Mexico, to look at the places where the then relatively-recently dead writer had hung out. Beagle scores interviews with members of Lawrence's closest friends in Taos, including his "Three Fates."
"The Poor People's Campaign" is the sort of story Harlan Ellison liked to tell, about joining a long-distance protest against terrible societal conditions. In this case, Beagle rode (provided) buses from the deep South to Washington, where they were joined by poor folk from the Northeast, Chicago, and I don't recall where-all else, in a purpose-built shantytown, somewhat reminiscent of the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression, called Resurrection City. Beagle tells of the rise and fall of Resurrection City and of the Campaign. More important, he relates conversations with many people on the buses and in Resurrection City, depicting just how poor these people really were -- far worse than the poverty we see depicted in the news -- and how hopeless they felt.
This is a strangely structured book. The first part is full of that Beagle magic; the second is, well, a chance to see young Beagle learning to be mature Beagle. But the third part, and especially the last essay, threw me right out of the mood of magic. Not that they aren't good essays; they are good essays, and that last one may be a great essay. But they just don't fit in with the stories, and they feel like an appendage sewn on from another kind of animal altogether.
7 out of 10 teeny tiny unicorns.
November 19, 2016
I was skeptical about this one at first. I admit I wasn't expecting much. I am not a true fantasy fan and more than two decades ago I tried and failed to make it through Beagle's The Last Unicorn. Clearly, that was my problem and not any fault of Beagle's. This story is charming and clear, and I found myself experiencing some bit of dismay towards the end. Emotion - that's the thing a short story needs to evoke in a reader to be successful. This one worked for me - and I'm still wondering how and why.
May 17, 2025
Peter S Beagle is one of my favorite authors -- his novel The Last Unicorn is very dear to my heart, and his other writing is almost always excellent. The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche is a collection of miscellaneous writings by Beagle, odd little snippets that don't quite fit anywhere else but are fascinating reading regardless. And it's a good look at some oddities of his career, including very early work and his non-fiction work.
The first section of this book (aside from two introductions, one by Beagle and one by fantasy author Patricia A. McKillip) is a compilation of some of Beagle's stories from through the years. I'd read one of these before, "Lila the Werewolf," but it was fun to revisit it (and the main character of that one also shows up in another story in this collection, "Julie's Unicorn"). Of these stories, "Come Lady Death" and "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" were probably my favorites -- "The Naga" was written for an anthology that never materialized and feels a little bland.
The second section of this book is relatively short -- two of Beagle's first published stories, written while he was in college. "Telephone Call" and "My Daughter's Name Is Sarah" are both realistic stories, a far cry from the fantasy that seems to be Beagle's usual fare, but they're interesting glimpses into his early writing and the writer he would eventually become.
The final section of the book includes essays and journalism. Beagle has written quite a bit of non-fiction, including a travel memoir, but this was the first non-fiction of his I've read... and his knack for fiction-writing still serves him well in his non-fiction, bringing scenes and characters to vivid life. The final piece in this book, "The Poor People's Campaign," is a piece of journalism that was written in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination and, while it was never published, still feels sadly relevant today.
Beagle fans will enjoy this varied look into the man's writing, and those unfamiliar to him will see it as a nice introduction to his work. Recommended.
The first section of this book (aside from two introductions, one by Beagle and one by fantasy author Patricia A. McKillip) is a compilation of some of Beagle's stories from through the years. I'd read one of these before, "Lila the Werewolf," but it was fun to revisit it (and the main character of that one also shows up in another story in this collection, "Julie's Unicorn"). Of these stories, "Come Lady Death" and "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" were probably my favorites -- "The Naga" was written for an anthology that never materialized and feels a little bland.
The second section of this book is relatively short -- two of Beagle's first published stories, written while he was in college. "Telephone Call" and "My Daughter's Name Is Sarah" are both realistic stories, a far cry from the fantasy that seems to be Beagle's usual fare, but they're interesting glimpses into his early writing and the writer he would eventually become.
The final section of the book includes essays and journalism. Beagle has written quite a bit of non-fiction, including a travel memoir, but this was the first non-fiction of his I've read... and his knack for fiction-writing still serves him well in his non-fiction, bringing scenes and characters to vivid life. The final piece in this book, "The Poor People's Campaign," is a piece of journalism that was written in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination and, while it was never published, still feels sadly relevant today.
Beagle fans will enjoy this varied look into the man's writing, and those unfamiliar to him will see it as a nice introduction to his work. Recommended.
March 19, 2022
Short stories by a unique novelist. He wrote "A Fine and Private Place," and also "The Last Unicorn." The title story is about the long friendship between a philosophy professor and a rhinoceros (or unicorn) whom only he can see, with whom he debates philosophy each evening. Peter S Beagle also wrote the script for an animated version of "The Lord of the Rings," sometime in the 70's, and, speaking as a ten-year-old who had already read that trilogy ten times, his version is way better than the movie. Even Eowyn's confrontation of the witch king. I don't mean to imply that I would have felt the animated version to be acceptable when I was ten, still less the movie, as back then I still had a quite rigid interpretation of faerie as unconveyable. Nowadays I can approach interpretations in the broader context of having studied many genres. Beagle's interpretation of the orcs' march which Sam and Frodo have to join was, I believe, adopted by the movie, although presented visually very differently. Here it is (I hope):
https://youtu.be/YdXQJS3Yv0Y
https://youtu.be/YdXQJS3Yv0Y
April 19, 2022
I got this book many years ago the time I went to comic con. Although crowds are kind of my idea of hell, I wound up having a fantastic time one I realized that around the underpopulated edges of the convention still existed a con from the 1970s where I could meet Sergio Aragones and attend a lecture on Boris Vallejo. I came across Peter by surprise in artists alley and it was like finding a unicorn in a glade, given how much I’d idolized him as a child. I thanked him for his work and bought a copy of this book which he signed for me. This was probably around 2010 or so. And it’s taken me until now to read it, because I never used to make time for things I would actually enjoy. But I’ve been forced to, now. I enjoyed it.
May 20, 2023
I’ve read most of the short stories before (Lila the Werewolf is my least favorite Beagle short story ever, but it was good to read that before Julie’s Unicorn). His thoughts on life and mortality are always worth reading.
The essays? The first was lovely and evocative. The second was far too long.
The last one was incredible. Worth hunting down the book for that one alone.
The essays? The first was lovely and evocative. The second was far too long.
The last one was incredible. Worth hunting down the book for that one alone.
May 20, 2017
A lot of repeated short stories from other collections, but whatcha gonna do when it's your favorite author~?
I still find his essays fall a little flat for me. But that may be the generational gap.
His short stories and novels always make me tingle with warmth.
I still find his essays fall a little flat for me. But that may be the generational gap.
His short stories and novels always make me tingle with warmth.
January 8, 2023
This anthology left me with a lot to think about. I enjoyed the early works, and how his writing improved and his writing voice had been established including his pacing. His essays... They are something I will think about for a long time.
March 28, 2018
5 stars for the Rhinoceros who quoted Nietzsche and Come Lady Death. Did not enjoy the other pieces as much.
November 30, 2011
My first acquaintance with Peter Beagle’s work, like a lot of other people’s, was the classic The Last Unicorn. I was hooked, and sought out everything else I could find, which at that time was I See By My Outfit and A Fine and Private Place, a non-fiction account of a cross-country trip on a motor scooter and Beagle’s first novel, respectively. I didn’t even know that he did any work at less than novel length until I stumbled upon the one-two pairing of “Come Lady Death” and “Lila the Werewolf” in The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle back in 1978.
The Tachyon collection came along a good deal later, in 1997, and even though it also included the above two stories, I snapped it up for what else was there, including the title story which I had managed to miss in its first print appearance, plus “The Naga” (likewise) and the story original to this volume, “Julie’s Unicorn.”
Assuming you haven’t read the stories I’m talking about, capsule summaries seem in order. That is, they seem to be in order, and that would certainly be considered polite, I fancy. The problem with Beagle, as with most writers working at his level, is that telling you what a story is about doesn’t tell you anything. For example, the title story, “The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche.” An ex-pat Swiss professor of philosophy, on what appears to be a near-random visit to the local zoo, encounters a talking rhinoceros who decides to leave the zoo and live with him. Or “The Naga,” an unhappy king finds his soul-mate in a divine serpent. Or “Julie’s Unicorn,” a friend of Farrell (Beagle’s recurring character) frees a unicorn from a ratty old tapestry and together they try to find it a new home. So. See the problem? I appear to have told you what the story is, but that’s an illusion. What the story is about isn’t what it’s about, if you know what I mean and you really should. Stories are to be experienced, not pre-digested. The only correction for that is to read the stories yourself. Then, maybe, you’ll know the stories. Not before.
I don’t pretend to know if Beagle took an actual hiatus from the field or it just seemed that way before he returned with The Innkeeper’s Song, but it did appear that the mid-nineties marked a flurry of creation which has yet to ebb, and thank goodness for that. The value of the Tachyon collection is that it gathers stories from that time and earlier, which give more of a career overview than a standard “best of.” Also of interest to anyone following Beagle’s career are several early non-fiction pieces of the sort that Beagle himself claims were just to “put bread on the table,” but speak to his worldview and vision just as the stories do, and are thus interesting in and of themselves. Overall this collection is well worth any reader’s time, and especially those of us who had loved the stories for years but had never encountered that side of Peter Beagle’s writing before.
Better late than never.
The Tachyon collection came along a good deal later, in 1997, and even though it also included the above two stories, I snapped it up for what else was there, including the title story which I had managed to miss in its first print appearance, plus “The Naga” (likewise) and the story original to this volume, “Julie’s Unicorn.”
Assuming you haven’t read the stories I’m talking about, capsule summaries seem in order. That is, they seem to be in order, and that would certainly be considered polite, I fancy. The problem with Beagle, as with most writers working at his level, is that telling you what a story is about doesn’t tell you anything. For example, the title story, “The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche.” An ex-pat Swiss professor of philosophy, on what appears to be a near-random visit to the local zoo, encounters a talking rhinoceros who decides to leave the zoo and live with him. Or “The Naga,” an unhappy king finds his soul-mate in a divine serpent. Or “Julie’s Unicorn,” a friend of Farrell (Beagle’s recurring character) frees a unicorn from a ratty old tapestry and together they try to find it a new home. So. See the problem? I appear to have told you what the story is, but that’s an illusion. What the story is about isn’t what it’s about, if you know what I mean and you really should. Stories are to be experienced, not pre-digested. The only correction for that is to read the stories yourself. Then, maybe, you’ll know the stories. Not before.
I don’t pretend to know if Beagle took an actual hiatus from the field or it just seemed that way before he returned with The Innkeeper’s Song, but it did appear that the mid-nineties marked a flurry of creation which has yet to ebb, and thank goodness for that. The value of the Tachyon collection is that it gathers stories from that time and earlier, which give more of a career overview than a standard “best of.” Also of interest to anyone following Beagle’s career are several early non-fiction pieces of the sort that Beagle himself claims were just to “put bread on the table,” but speak to his worldview and vision just as the stories do, and are thus interesting in and of themselves. Overall this collection is well worth any reader’s time, and especially those of us who had loved the stories for years but had never encountered that side of Peter Beagle’s writing before.
Better late than never.
February 27, 2024
***
Short story collection by Peter S. Beagle, containing some of his better known short works.
-Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros- A delightful story in which a rhinoceros who insists he is in fact a unicorn befriends the lonely Professor Gottesman, moving into his home as they form a friendship based on intellectual discourse. This is the first of several Beagle stories exploring unicorns in different cultures.
-Come Lady Death- An English lady decides to invite Death to a party. To everyone's surprise, Death turns out to be a beautiful young woman. A lovely story, although the
-Lila the Werewolf- Joe Farrell wants to break up with his girlfriend, but he feels he can't because she would think the only reason for the breakup is because she's a werewolf. This story is very funny and sweet until the ending which involves a
-Julie's Unicorn- Joe Farrell returns with a new girlfriend, Julie, who releases a tiny unicorn from a hunting scene within an old tapestry. A silly story, with the little unicorn's antics by far the best parts of the story.
-The Naga- A lonely king falls in love with a beautiful nagini, but must keep their love a secret. This is a slower story, the first part consisting of explaining what a naga is, before turning into a classic hidden lover story,
Non-fantasy short stories:
-Telephone Call
-My Daughters Name is Sarah
Essays:
-Learning a Trade
-My Last Heroes
-D.H. Lawrence in Taos
-The Poor People's Campaign
Personal history: Received as a gift.
Other Unicorn Tales:
1. The Unicorn Tapestries (poem)
2. The Unicorn Sonata
5. Olfert Dapper's Day (short story)
6. The Story of Kao Yu (short story)
7. My Son Heydari and the Karkadann (short story)
8. In Calabria
Joe Farrell:
1. The Folk of the Air
4. Spook (short story)
Short story collection by Peter S. Beagle, containing some of his better known short works.
-Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros- A delightful story in which a rhinoceros who insists he is in fact a unicorn befriends the lonely Professor Gottesman, moving into his home as they form a friendship based on intellectual discourse. This is the first of several Beagle stories exploring unicorns in different cultures.
-Come Lady Death- An English lady decides to invite Death to a party. To everyone's surprise, Death turns out to be a beautiful young woman. A lovely story, although the
-Lila the Werewolf- Joe Farrell wants to break up with his girlfriend, but he feels he can't because she would think the only reason for the breakup is because she's a werewolf. This story is very funny and sweet until the ending which involves a
-Julie's Unicorn- Joe Farrell returns with a new girlfriend, Julie, who releases a tiny unicorn from a hunting scene within an old tapestry. A silly story, with the little unicorn's antics by far the best parts of the story.
-The Naga- A lonely king falls in love with a beautiful nagini, but must keep their love a secret. This is a slower story, the first part consisting of explaining what a naga is, before turning into a classic hidden lover story,
Non-fantasy short stories:
-Telephone Call
-My Daughters Name is Sarah
Essays:
-Learning a Trade
-My Last Heroes
-D.H. Lawrence in Taos
-The Poor People's Campaign
Personal history: Received as a gift.
Other Unicorn Tales:
1. The Unicorn Tapestries (poem)
2. The Unicorn Sonata
5. Olfert Dapper's Day (short story)
6. The Story of Kao Yu (short story)
7. My Son Heydari and the Karkadann (short story)
8. In Calabria
Joe Farrell:
1. The Folk of the Air
4. Spook (short story)
March 12, 2015
I bought this book at Fantasy-Con this summer at Peter's booth (we're BFFs, so I can call him Peter). He recommended this one because it was just reprinted with new additions and revisions including some of his earliest published work and his forays into journalism. The fantastical stories were my still my favorite part, particularly "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" and "Come, Lady Death." The former is a sweetly sad tale about aging, philosophy, and companionship featuring my absolute favorite pachyderm. The latter is one of Neil Gaiman's inspirations and I can't believe it has taken me this long to read it. As the title suggests, the theme of the collection is "odd acquaintances," including a rhinoceros who insists it is (and may be) a unicorn, a werewolf, Death herself, and an actual unicorn. For fans of "Folk of the Air," it also reunites Julie and Farrell, which was great fun.
The early stories are interesting reads, and I could definitely hear them being read aloud on the New Yorker podcast, but they are not exactly to my taste. The journalist essays, however, are a glimpse into a very different world and are fascinating additions. The last of these chronicles Peter's participation in the Poor People's campaign of 1968. Peter grants us a ground's eye view of the participants, their struggles, and the opposition they faced as he camped out in Resurrection City. This essay took a paragraph out of my history book and made it vivid and real. While it is unfortunate that this will be relevant for a long time, I am particularly glad to have found it now after recent tensions stemming from racism and poverty have once again begun to push at my country's foundations. While Peter says in this book that journalism wasn't the career for him (and I am happy he returned to the world of fantasy), it was clearly a worthwhile foray into the field.
There is a little something for everyone in this collection, and I highly recommend it for Beagle fans as well as anyone who loves a good story, true or true at heart.
The early stories are interesting reads, and I could definitely hear them being read aloud on the New Yorker podcast, but they are not exactly to my taste. The journalist essays, however, are a glimpse into a very different world and are fascinating additions. The last of these chronicles Peter's participation in the Poor People's campaign of 1968. Peter grants us a ground's eye view of the participants, their struggles, and the opposition they faced as he camped out in Resurrection City. This essay took a paragraph out of my history book and made it vivid and real. While it is unfortunate that this will be relevant for a long time, I am particularly glad to have found it now after recent tensions stemming from racism and poverty have once again begun to push at my country's foundations. While Peter says in this book that journalism wasn't the career for him (and I am happy he returned to the world of fantasy), it was clearly a worthwhile foray into the field.
There is a little something for everyone in this collection, and I highly recommend it for Beagle fans as well as anyone who loves a good story, true or true at heart.
January 8, 2010
As the first exposure I've had to Peter S. Beagle, I found this book truly fantastic. At first, I expected it to read like Rudyard Kipling, but I think that is simply because I fell prey to the old reader's adage. In truth it is almost nothing like Kipling.
On of the things I found most enjoyable was the way Beagle effortlessly mixes the fantastical with the commonplace without delving into any kind of alternate reality. Charlie Todd, the founder of Improv Everywhere, once said that the reason he does what he does is because he believes that real life should not be devoid of the fantastic, and I think this describes Beagle's work perfectly.
One of the stories I did not care for was Lila the Werewolf. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it was because I hated Farrell. He was such a mundane idiot! Lila, for a werewolf, was also pretty boring herself. The imagery in this story evoked a dingy and kind of pathetic setting, completely barren of the beauty in his other stories. The feeling I had when I read it reminded me of how I felt when I read The Metamorphosis by Kafka, and I had a very negative visceral reaction to that story. I can, however, appreciate the writer's ability to get an emotional rise out of me.
I'm very much looking forward to picking up some more Peter S. Beagle.
On of the things I found most enjoyable was the way Beagle effortlessly mixes the fantastical with the commonplace without delving into any kind of alternate reality. Charlie Todd, the founder of Improv Everywhere, once said that the reason he does what he does is because he believes that real life should not be devoid of the fantastic, and I think this describes Beagle's work perfectly.
One of the stories I did not care for was Lila the Werewolf. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it was because I hated Farrell. He was such a mundane idiot! Lila, for a werewolf, was also pretty boring herself. The imagery in this story evoked a dingy and kind of pathetic setting, completely barren of the beauty in his other stories. The feeling I had when I read it reminded me of how I felt when I read The Metamorphosis by Kafka, and I had a very negative visceral reaction to that story. I can, however, appreciate the writer's ability to get an emotional rise out of me.
I'm very much looking forward to picking up some more Peter S. Beagle.
December 6, 2009
I am very impressed with Peter S. Beagle. This guy really knows how to tell a story, really slip into the head of the narrator and give each story a unique voice.
I don't even know how to describe this. Let's just say... well, okay, this collection includes a couple of his earliest published works, stuff he wrote in his college years. And let's just say that, for one, I was skeptical. I don't usually care for "early" works because, unless I'm nuts about the author, they're probably not good. For another, I didn't care for the characters, settings, or topics. So, the fact that I finished these early stories thinking to myself, "wow..." really says something about Beagle's chops as a writer.
That aside. This collection has two stories that just... blew my mind. Both "Salt Wine" and "The Naga" were just... gorgeously elegiac. Especially "Salt Wine". Read it.
Reason why this review doesn't give it more stars? I really didn't care for the essays, and the title story plus a couple others were mostly just "Meh." I would give "Salt Wine" and "The Naga" both 5 stars individually though. "Two-Hearts" was quite good as well.
I don't even know how to describe this. Let's just say... well, okay, this collection includes a couple of his earliest published works, stuff he wrote in his college years. And let's just say that, for one, I was skeptical. I don't usually care for "early" works because, unless I'm nuts about the author, they're probably not good. For another, I didn't care for the characters, settings, or topics. So, the fact that I finished these early stories thinking to myself, "wow..." really says something about Beagle's chops as a writer.
That aside. This collection has two stories that just... blew my mind. Both "Salt Wine" and "The Naga" were just... gorgeously elegiac. Especially "Salt Wine". Read it.
Reason why this review doesn't give it more stars? I really didn't care for the essays, and the title story plus a couple others were mostly just "Meh." I would give "Salt Wine" and "The Naga" both 5 stars individually though. "Two-Hearts" was quite good as well.
July 26, 2013
Book #34 for 2013
This is an eclectic assortment of short works from Peter S Beagle, and I definitely liked some of them more than others. But even when it wasn't the sort of thing I don't usually go in for, each piece worked for me. "Julie's Unicorn," with its unexpected blending of magic systems in a modern, urban setting, was easily my favorite. But "Lila the Werewolf" also showcased Beagle's sly humor, and "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" was at once fanciful and poignant.
It doesn't feel accurate to say that the quality is uneven in this collection, but the tone varies considerably throughout. For instance, some of the nonfiction pieces were heavier than I was expecting. "The Poor People's Campaign" in particular humbled me by how little I know or understand of the Civil Rights movement. But Beagle did an excellent job of schooling me, putting me, the reader, right in the thick of the action and bringing it to life.
I would recommend this to any Peter Beagle fan. I also think that most people would be able to find at least one piece here that they would find resonance with. Beagle is a writer who knows how to resonate.
This is an eclectic assortment of short works from Peter S Beagle, and I definitely liked some of them more than others. But even when it wasn't the sort of thing I don't usually go in for, each piece worked for me. "Julie's Unicorn," with its unexpected blending of magic systems in a modern, urban setting, was easily my favorite. But "Lila the Werewolf" also showcased Beagle's sly humor, and "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" was at once fanciful and poignant.
It doesn't feel accurate to say that the quality is uneven in this collection, but the tone varies considerably throughout. For instance, some of the nonfiction pieces were heavier than I was expecting. "The Poor People's Campaign" in particular humbled me by how little I know or understand of the Civil Rights movement. But Beagle did an excellent job of schooling me, putting me, the reader, right in the thick of the action and bringing it to life.
I would recommend this to any Peter Beagle fan. I also think that most people would be able to find at least one piece here that they would find resonance with. Beagle is a writer who knows how to resonate.
September 9, 2008
A hilarious collection of Beagle's work! This one really tickled me for the most part. He includes some real world essays he'd written many years ago, which were okay (and I wondered why he included them with the collection of stories that he did...to temper them emotionally?).
"Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" is by far the voters top pick as far as favorites go, and I fall into that category as well. "Julie's Unicorn" was very odd; it had a flavor of Charles de Lint about it, perhaps that's why it was a surreal read. But a satisfying story none-the-less.
Here's a bit of trivia: did you know that Neil Gaiman's character Death from his Sandman series was inspired by Peter Beagle's "Come Lady Death"? Ask Neil yourself! He made the comment at Balticon 40.
"Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" is by far the voters top pick as far as favorites go, and I fall into that category as well. "Julie's Unicorn" was very odd; it had a flavor of Charles de Lint about it, perhaps that's why it was a surreal read. But a satisfying story none-the-less.
Here's a bit of trivia: did you know that Neil Gaiman's character Death from his Sandman series was inspired by Peter Beagle's "Come Lady Death"? Ask Neil yourself! He made the comment at Balticon 40.
October 21, 2009
I met Peter Beagle once, and he seemed like a really nice guy, so I'm disappointed I can't give this a better rating. He's incredible at setting a mood and creating an emotional experience, especially with his short stories. This collection does have "Come Lady Death" one of my all-time favorite short stories, so bravo for that.
The trouble is, his stories just don't have conclusions. I have accepted it, and can enjoy his work knowing that more than likely I will have more questions than answers when I'm done reading. With a collection of short works like this, it's best to enjoy the experience, and I think that's probably the point he is trying to make.
The trouble is, his stories just don't have conclusions. I have accepted it, and can enjoy his work knowing that more than likely I will have more questions than answers when I'm done reading. With a collection of short works like this, it's best to enjoy the experience, and I think that's probably the point he is trying to make.
August 12, 2011
I've put off seeking out this book for a while as I was afraid I would not like the title story, yet I was pleasantly surprised. I think Beagle's other short story collections are a little stronger, and it really isn't fair to compare as this isn't only a short story collection; the book also includes some early non-fiction writing. The non-fiction was interesting, though probably more so to people who know more about the events as they are unfortunately, a little out of context here.
As for the fiction I have the problem that I want to read it as quickly as possible to find out what will happen, but I also want to sit back and savor the stories at the same time.
As for the fiction I have the problem that I want to read it as quickly as possible to find out what will happen, but I also want to sit back and savor the stories at the same time.
August 12, 2011
At Balticon 40, Neil Gaiman and Peter S. Beagle shared a stage for the first time. Gaiman revealed that his character Death from "The Sandman" was inspired by Beagle's short story, "Come Lady Death". That noteworthy tidbit aside, this short story anthology's namesake is the jewel of the bunch. It's a poignant absurdist tale of a philosophical rhinoceros who fancies itself a unicorn, and the lonely intellectual old professor who becomes its friend.
The other tales weren't as strong or richly textured, but I felt these two tales were worth my purchase of the whole collection.
The other tales weren't as strong or richly textured, but I felt these two tales were worth my purchase of the whole collection.
February 9, 2008
An interesting collection of stories from his early works to some a bit more present day. It contains fantasy work as well as fiction.
I think my favorite story is the one that gave the name to the book. I got to hear it read by the author and I now when I read it, I can still hear the professor's German accent.
I've been holding off on reading the last few short stories. I suppose I should read them so I can shelve this in the "read" section.
I think my favorite story is the one that gave the name to the book. I got to hear it read by the author and I now when I read it, I can still hear the professor's German accent.
I've been holding off on reading the last few short stories. I suppose I should read them so I can shelve this in the "read" section.
January 2, 2009
A collection of short stories by the author of The Last Unicorn. I picked this up when I saw he was signing at his table at Balticon, but hadn't read it until now. "Julie's Unicorn" is my fave, but they were all pretty good.
July 19, 2009
Collection of short stories and essays. I spoke to Peter S. Beagle at a book fair and he said this was his personal favorite of all his books. I wasn't that thrilled with it, though the essay about D.H. Lawrence was interesting, and it's hard not to enjoy a story about a Rhinoceros who insists it's a unicorn.
November 9, 2013
Ah, his voice,his voice! Peter S. Beagle and Patricia McKillip both have a way of writing fantasy that makes it read like poetry, or like a folk story that you feel must have been around for centuries already, because they sound so old and wise, like they've been handed down from generation to generation such that no one really knows where the story really started. Fabulous.
December 14, 2008
What isn't there to love about this collection of fantasy short stories? And the title story, about a philosopher rhinoceros and his relationship with a professor is like an old friend that I keep coming back to for its comfort and charm. An inventive, funny little collection.
August 20, 2009
I gave this 3 stars because while the stories I liked, I REALLY liked, the ones I didn't like were complete and utter bombs for me. My favorite two were the rhinocerus one, and Come Lady Death, with the latter coming out on top. SIX stars for Come Lady Death!
October 25, 2010
The night after I read the titular story of this book, I had a dream that I owned two pets: a mischievous fox and a talking baby hippo, who would help me get the fox out of trouble. I figure any author whose style goes so far as to affect your dreams deserves five stars.
January 1, 2011
I love Peter Beagle. This book of short stories was delightful. I kept finding myself wanting to read them outloud as the stories just seemed even better that way. I laughed outloud and actually audibly oohed over some of the beautiful turns of phrase. A definitely good read.
December 31, 2014
A wonderful collection of short stories and essays. I particularly enjoyed Come Lady Death (I'm quite lucky to have found an original copy of the Sci-Fi magazine in a bookstore earlier this summer), Julie's Unicorn, and The Poor People's Campaign.
August 1, 2007
collection of Peter S. Beagle.
some good things in here!
some good things in here!
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