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MuzeFormatDesc: Audio Cassette
ISBN-10: 0787109517
ISBN-13: 9780787109516
May 1996
Publisher: Random House Value Pub
Unabridged
Language: English |
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* ML=ships from multiple locations, AE/AP/AA=ships from U.S. Military location.
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* ML=ships from multiple locations, AE/AP/AA=ships from U.S. Military location.
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* ML=ships from multiple locations, AE/AP/AA=ships from U.S. Military location.
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Synopsis
The tale of "Beauty and the Beast" recast as an encounter between Alix, a beautiful young painter, and Lee Crompton, a reclusive and beastly writer of mystery novels who has summoned Alix to his New Hampshire home to have her paint his portrait.
| Size | | Height: | 7.0 in | | Width: | 4.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 4.8 oz |
Industry Reviews
In this beautifully written contemporary retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," Alix Miller is hired to paint a portrait of Leland Crompton, following a centuries-old tradition in which the artistic Millers have been patronized by the aristocratic Cromptons. Alix arrives at her subject's isolated New Hampshire home to discover that his face is seriously deformed, the result of a genetic disorder. Her hopes of merely taking a few photographs and returning home to paint a portrait she's unenthusiastic about are dashed, as Leland refuses to allow himself to be photographed. Resigned to spending time getting to know her subject, Alix finds herself increasingly drawn to the lonely, intelligent man. This is a wonderful, loving story with two believable and appealing protagonists. The author's use of language is illuminating. A little gem. Elizabeth Mary Mellett, Brookline Public Library, Mass.
Breitman
Revisionist fairy tales with a message are definitely a '90s thing, and Wilson's lightweight but strained debut is a retelling of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. The latter is Leland Crompton, a rich recluse who lives on a remote estate in New Hampshire's White Mountains, writing mysteries under the nom de plume of Harris Bellefleur and hiding his grotesquely deformed face. Yet family tradition dictates that his portrait must be painted, and Alix Miller, aka Beauty, is the latest of her family of artists to accept the commission. Of course, Alix, who narrates, has an unworthy boyfriend-oblivious and selfish photojournalist Mark. And, of course, she is ready for true love. Wilson spins her tale with some skill, but her stilted dialogue is clunky with platitudes ("You know that the friends of adversity are friends forever"). Leland is an appealing character, however. With his generosity and his gracefulness as he skates, he demonstrates that real beauty is active, found in movement and deed, not in the static medium of a portrait. His self-effacing humor is refreshing: When posing for Alix, he quips, "As you can see, I have no bad side." In opting for a weeper of an ending, however, Wilson pushes her love story over the brink into the kind of bathos that only romance addicts will embrace. Major ad/promo; first serial to Good Housekeeping. (June)
Lopate
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