Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn is one of my favorite books, so I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw that he'd written a new story about unicorns. In Calabria is a short story about Claudio Bianchi, an Italian farmer whose life has seemingly fallen into a rut. At least until a pregnant unicorn visits his villa. In Calabria isn't a sequel to The Last Unicorn, but in some ways it serves as a spiritual successor. The book addresses some of the same themes as The Last Unicorn, including mortality, modernity, and mundanity. It also contains the beautiful language and sense of whimsy I've come to expect from Beagle's best works.Read more…

One of the most intriguing aspects of The Last Unicorn is how elements of modernity intrude into what otherwise seems like a whimsical medieval fantasy. The Butterfly near the beginning of the novel famously refers to the "A train." Such modern elements are deliberate anachronisms and serve to unsettle the secondary world. They also emphasize the contrast between mundane reality and the magic of the unicorn.

In Calabria presents the same juxtaposition, only in reverse. The novel is set in contemporary Italy, complete with references to the internet and paparazzi. It's the unicorn that intrudes. As in The Last Unicorn, the unicorn infuses the world with a bit of magic. She changes the people and places she encounters, always for the better. At the same time, the unicorn seems like a reminder of possibilities of life. Claudio Bianchi's life suddenly regains a sense of purpose once he encounters the unicorn. He gains inspiration for his poetry, a beautiful lover, and a sense of purpose.

Unfortunately, the romantic subplot of In Calabria doesn't quite work for me. Claudio falls in love with Giovanna, the postman's younger sister. She is half Claudio's age, yet somehow falls hopelessly in love with him soon after learning about the unicorn. Part of the problem is that the novel is so short it never has time to explore their relationship. They literally fall in love overnight. Giovanna herself seems to have no other purpose in life aside from pleasing or protecting Claudio; we never get a sense of who she is or what she sees in him. At best, it's as if the unicorn puts a love spell on her. At worst, she comes across like a parody of a middle-aged man's sexual fantasy.

In Calabria provides an interesting twist on unicorn stories. I love the idea of a unicorn in a contemporary setting. I definitely recommend it for fans of unicorns and Beagle's previous work. However, it's a short novel - really a novella - meaning Beagle doesn't have time to develop the characters or plot. The story is very straightforward, with few eccentricities or digressions, which is a shame because the eccentricities and digressions are almost always the best parts of Beagle's works. As such, In Calabria contains few truly memorable moments. This means that, like Calabria itself, the book feels a bit mundane, save for the presence of the unicorn herself, which is truly magical.

Note: In Calabria was published on February 14, 2017. I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A living Myth- that is what Beagle's In Calabria is about.

Claudio Bianchi is a solemn farmer who never wanted to be one in the first place. Even though he is not bitter, there is a sadness and mist around his little farm and around himself. It prevents him from having too much contact with anybody- except for the post man.

He seems as content as he can get when one day, she comes in his life. Not a woman, not a relative, but la Signora as he calls her. The white unicorn is searching around his farm, for what Claudio cannot say.

It is here our story begins as we see this world through Claudio's eyes. The wonders of the unicorn, what happened to her and how Claudio finds somebody he can trust, somebody who he can love. Without fear without giving up himself.

I enjoyed this story extremely and it has touched me like rarely a story can. It is heart-wrenching, sometimes utterly lovely, mysterious. My heart thumped in my ribcage so hard at some points, I was barely able to read on.

The mysteries of unicorns and Beagle's work have been there all my life. Evey christmas, I would watch The Last Unicorn on TV and I cried every single time. I still watch it on christmas. And so, As I saw this book by the author of The Last Unicorn, I couldn't resist requesting it. I'm glad I did.

The characters were deep and intriguing even though some of them didn't have a lot of 'screen time'.

The story is rather short with about 90 pages on my eReader. It is fast.paced were it needs to be and detailed where it needs to be detailed. I loved how Calabria was not a world of wonder and myth but rather a place of our century in which Google Maps exists and the people are just ordinary people instead of heroic, totally moral and unrealistic fellows.

Th only reason I gave 4 Ribbons is that, even though this book is very touching, there wasn't all that much happening and I would have liked to have a few more scenes of relationship between Claudio and Giovanna and maybe an Epilogue what happens to the unicorns.

*I received a copy via Netgally in exchange for my honest review.

John W. Campbell or one of the other Golden Age editors once observed that the best science fiction writing begins with the world as we know it and changes one thing. We can quibble over whether Peter Beagle is writing SF or fantasy but "In Calabria" begins with the everyday life of an ordinary farmer in Calabria who walks out of his farmhouse one day to find a unicorn grazing in his field. That's it. That's the story, and it is wonderful wonderful writing. Another Peter Beagle trionfo.

I received a review copy of "In Calabria" by Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon) through NetGalley.com.