In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle
Published by Tachyon Publications
Ebook
Expected publication date 14 February 2017
176 pages
Review copy
I was given an ARC by the publisher and voluntarily reviewed it.
WHAT’S IT’S ABOUT
From the acclaimed author of The Last Unicorn comes a new, exquisitely-told unicorn fable for the modern age.
Claudio Bianchi has lived alone for many years on a hillside in Southern Italy’s scenic Calabria. Set in his ways and suspicious of outsiders, Claudio has always resisted change, preferring farming and writing poetry. But one chilly morning, as though from a dream, an impossible visitor appears at the farm. When Claudio comes to her aid, an act of kindness throws his world into chaos. Suddenly he must stave off inquisitive onlookers, invasive media, and even more sinister influences.
Lyrical, gripping, and wise, In Calabria confirms Peter S. Beagle’s continuing legacy as one of fantasy’s most legendary authors.
OPENING
‘THE WHOLE TROUBLE with your farm’, Romano Muscari said ‘is that it is too far uphill for the American suntanners, and too low for the German skiers. Location is everything’.
WHAT I THOUGHT
This is my first time reading the author.
I really enjoyed In Calabria. I’ve never read fantasy fiction before with unicorns in it, not that I remember anyway so the subject matter was a refreshing change. Claudio is like an Italian version of my favourite grumpy old man, Victor Meldrew from the TV series, One Foot In The Grave though he handles a unicorn giving birth on his land that old Meldrew would have. In Calabria is a quiet sort of story that gradually worked its way into my heart. The story really comes to live when word spreads about Claudio’s mysterious visitor and people from all over the world come to gawk and try and get a glimpse of the unusual mother and her child. There were a few tense moments when Claudio’s unassuming farm becomes the focus of a media circus. I thought the love story between him a much younger woman was very sweet. I loved the way In Calabria concludes. This is a lovely story and well worth a read.
RATING
The Book Lover's Boudoir 