Like any fantasy-driven 80's kid, I grew up with the movie The Last Unicorn, and then because I am a lover of books I also own and have read the book a few times (there are quite a few meaningful details left out of the movie). All of that said, I didn't know quite what to expect from this one.
The setting is modern-day, for an undefined value of. An old man living alone on his isolated farm (which is in Calabria, Italy) finds a unicorn- which turns out to be pregnant, on his property. He understands the need to keep it a secret, because the media would go crazy if they found a real live unicorn.
Which they eventually do.
Honestly I don't feel like that's giving too much away because that's what happens, but that's not really what this book is about.
What the story is about is people, and relationships, and second chances. The unicorn is in some ways merely the catalyst that sets off a chain reaction of change for a man long set in his ways. It's an interesting contrast to the Last Unicorn, with the story almost entirely taking place on a secluded countryside farm, while the journey is very much one of the self.
In some ways it's a quiet story, introspective, and told mostly through the eyes of a man used to days of silence and solitude. His life is reflected in the feel of the narrative.
If you're looking for a story with magical realms and talking animals, you're going to be disappointed, but if you want a sweet story about self discovery, this is a beautiful book.
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