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Deerskin
As Princess Lissla Lissar reaches womanhood, it is clear to all the kingdom that in her beauty she is the image of her dead mother, the queen. But this likeness forces her to flee from her father's lust and madness; and in the pain and horror of that flight she forgets who she is and what it is she flees from: forgets almost everything but the love and loyalty of her dog, Ash, who accompanies her. But a chance encounter on the road leads to a job in another king's kennels, where the prince finds himself falling in love with the new kennel maid . . . and one day he tells her of a princess named Lissla Lissar, who had a dog named Ash.
384 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
769 people are currently reading
15939 people want to read
About the author
Robin McKinley
41 books7,218 followersBorn in her mother's hometown of Warren, Ohio, Robin McKinley grew up an only child with a father in the United States Navy. She moved around frequently as a child and read copiously; she credits this background with the inspiration for her stories.
Her passion for reading was one of the most constant things in her childhood, so she began to remember events, places, and time periods by what books she read where. For example, she read Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book for the first time in California; The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in New York; The Lord of the Rings for the first time in Japan; The Once and Future King for the first time in Maine. She still uses books to keep track of her life.
McKinley attended Gould Academy, a preparatory school in Bethel, Maine, and Dickinson College in 1970-1972. In 1975, she was graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College. In 1978, her first novel, Beauty, was accepted by the first publisher she sent it to, and she began her writing career, at age 26. At the time she was living in Brunswick, Maine. Since then she has lived in Boston, on a horse farm in Eastern Massachusetts, in New York City, in Blue Hill, Maine, and now in Hampshire, England, with her husband Peter Dickinson (also a writer, and with whom she co-wrote Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits in 2001) and two lurchers (crossbred sighthounds).
Over the years she has worked as an editor and transcriber (1972-73), research assistant (1976-77), bookstore clerk (1978), teacher and counselor (1978-79), editorial assistant (1979-81), barn manager (1981-82), free-lance editor (1982-85), and full-time writer. Other than writing and reading books, she divides her time mainly between walking her "hellhounds," gardening, cooking, playing the piano, homeopathy, change ringing, and keeping her blog.
Her passion for reading was one of the most constant things in her childhood, so she began to remember events, places, and time periods by what books she read where. For example, she read Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book for the first time in California; The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in New York; The Lord of the Rings for the first time in Japan; The Once and Future King for the first time in Maine. She still uses books to keep track of her life.
McKinley attended Gould Academy, a preparatory school in Bethel, Maine, and Dickinson College in 1970-1972. In 1975, she was graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College. In 1978, her first novel, Beauty, was accepted by the first publisher she sent it to, and she began her writing career, at age 26. At the time she was living in Brunswick, Maine. Since then she has lived in Boston, on a horse farm in Eastern Massachusetts, in New York City, in Blue Hill, Maine, and now in Hampshire, England, with her husband Peter Dickinson (also a writer, and with whom she co-wrote Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits in 2001) and two lurchers (crossbred sighthounds).
Over the years she has worked as an editor and transcriber (1972-73), research assistant (1976-77), bookstore clerk (1978), teacher and counselor (1978-79), editorial assistant (1979-81), barn manager (1981-82), free-lance editor (1982-85), and full-time writer. Other than writing and reading books, she divides her time mainly between walking her "hellhounds," gardening, cooking, playing the piano, homeopathy, change ringing, and keeping her blog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,818 reviews
March 27, 2017
"I am hurt...in ways you cannot see, and that I cannot explain, even to myself, but only know that they are there, and a part of me, as much as my hands and eyes and breath are a part of me."
This book seemed like a less sophisticated ancestor of Tender Morsels. I got a bundle deal on several of Mckinley's works and so I went into this novel with no idea what it was about.
It was a tiny bit of a shock.
I really enjoyed this book. It inspired a deeply emotional response. Recently, I've been less interested in plot (and to some degree, character) and more interested in two questions; does this novel make me think? And/ or does this novel make me feel?
This book gave me all the feelz.
I know it probably seems inappropriate to be taking such a light hearted tone with such a serious book but I mean it with absolute honesty. I was very emotional reading this book.
I also felt that the message of the book was important; You can survive sexual abuse, even thou it changes you irrevocably, it is possible to live despite it.
"Her fingers crawled upwards and touched the outer curve of her breast, and the fingers paused, quaking in fear; but after the moment, despite the panic trying to break out of its shadows and seize her mind, she told her fingers, go on. This is my body. I reclaim my body for myself: for my use, for my understanding, for my kindness and care. Go on. And the fingers walked cautiously on, over the curiously muscleless, faintly ridged flesh, cooler than the rest of the body, across the tender nipple, into the deep cleft between, and out onto the breast that lay limp and helpless and hardly recognizable as round, lying like a hunting trophy over her other arm. Mine, she thought. My body. It lives on the breaths I breathe and the food I eat; the blood my heart pumps reaches all of me, into all my hidden crevices, from my scalp to my heels."
Tonally, the book is written in a dreamy manner. This is very much a fairytale. The original tale it was based on "Donkeyskin" was much less clear with regard to how it turned out for the girl. The King who she married in the origin tale was (I believe) deliberately obfuscated. It was a story that was meant to speak to girls and women trapped in sexually abusive relationships with men who had complete power over them.
McKinley (thankfully) choose to tell the more optimistic version of the tale. It is meant to be allegorical, don't expect searing realism.
There is one other thing I wanted to comment on. Another reviewer stated that "McKinley's view of trauma - rape, incest, miscarriage - is absolute crap and offensive to people who have actually been through those things. I couldn't believe she tried to romanticize such horrible things. She told the story very well, as she thought of it; unfortunately all the sentiments were contrived and false."
Being a surviver of familial CSA I find this sort of commentary absolute crap and offensive. Some of the behaviours and events McKinley described spoke to me personally about my own experience. Other aspects didn't. I spoke about this inmy review of Carve the Mark. Your unique experience of something does not make you the arbitrator of all possible responses to that trauma/ event.
If a novel is factually incorrect or it treats major traumas like no big deal then by all means rip the author to shreds. But if you didn't like the way an author handled how a character responded to their trauma because it didn't match your idea of how they should respond- you probably need to take a look a second look at your own perspective. People are complex and not everyone responds in the same way.
What was particularly baffling for me with regard to this criticism is that McKinley speaks in metaphors about very, very common responses to sexual abuse- by blocking it from your mind and the very common result- complete social isolation and crippling, self- imposed loneliness. Deerskin's humiliation, horror and blood loss in the harrowing climax of the novel was an authentic metaphor for how survivors often feel when they finally acknowledge the abuse. The fact that Deerskin only told the truth once another young girl was in danger is also very common in adult survivors who maintained the secret throughout childhood, often up until the point that they have their own children and realise they have to protect them from the perpetrator in their family. Additionally, the devotion people had towards her father, the victim- blaming that occurred and her guilt were all common experiences for people who have experienced CSA.
The only point at which McKinley misstepped was by using magic to physically heal Deerskin. Returning Deerskin's body to it's "unspoiled" state, was an example of where over- romanticising the perfect female form ran counter to the theme and tone of the book.
There were a few other minor problems with the book, it was repetitive, and I think it would be rather too charitable to assume McKinley did this deliberately. Although dealing with CSA can often feel endless and repetitive, I don't think she genuinely intended for the novel to sometimes feel that way. The story was also predictable, but when reading a retelling does that ever really matter?
This was a touching book. It lacked the sophistication of some of the other retellings that deal with sexual assault but it also ended on a happy note which was cathartic as a reader. If you enjoy fiction that delves into painful experiences in a fairytale framework, this is one of the best examples out there.
Well worth the read.
This book seemed like a less sophisticated ancestor of Tender Morsels. I got a bundle deal on several of Mckinley's works and so I went into this novel with no idea what it was about.
It was a tiny bit of a shock.
I really enjoyed this book. It inspired a deeply emotional response. Recently, I've been less interested in plot (and to some degree, character) and more interested in two questions; does this novel make me think? And/ or does this novel make me feel?
This book gave me all the feelz.
I know it probably seems inappropriate to be taking such a light hearted tone with such a serious book but I mean it with absolute honesty. I was very emotional reading this book.
I also felt that the message of the book was important; You can survive sexual abuse, even thou it changes you irrevocably, it is possible to live despite it.
"Her fingers crawled upwards and touched the outer curve of her breast, and the fingers paused, quaking in fear; but after the moment, despite the panic trying to break out of its shadows and seize her mind, she told her fingers, go on. This is my body. I reclaim my body for myself: for my use, for my understanding, for my kindness and care. Go on. And the fingers walked cautiously on, over the curiously muscleless, faintly ridged flesh, cooler than the rest of the body, across the tender nipple, into the deep cleft between, and out onto the breast that lay limp and helpless and hardly recognizable as round, lying like a hunting trophy over her other arm. Mine, she thought. My body. It lives on the breaths I breathe and the food I eat; the blood my heart pumps reaches all of me, into all my hidden crevices, from my scalp to my heels."
Tonally, the book is written in a dreamy manner. This is very much a fairytale. The original tale it was based on "Donkeyskin" was much less clear with regard to how it turned out for the girl. The King who she married in the origin tale was (I believe) deliberately obfuscated. It was a story that was meant to speak to girls and women trapped in sexually abusive relationships with men who had complete power over them.
McKinley (thankfully) choose to tell the more optimistic version of the tale. It is meant to be allegorical, don't expect searing realism.
There is one other thing I wanted to comment on. Another reviewer stated that "McKinley's view of trauma - rape, incest, miscarriage - is absolute crap and offensive to people who have actually been through those things. I couldn't believe she tried to romanticize such horrible things. She told the story very well, as she thought of it; unfortunately all the sentiments were contrived and false."
Being a surviver of familial CSA I find this sort of commentary absolute crap and offensive. Some of the behaviours and events McKinley described spoke to me personally about my own experience. Other aspects didn't. I spoke about this inmy review of Carve the Mark. Your unique experience of something does not make you the arbitrator of all possible responses to that trauma/ event.
If a novel is factually incorrect or it treats major traumas like no big deal then by all means rip the author to shreds. But if you didn't like the way an author handled how a character responded to their trauma because it didn't match your idea of how they should respond- you probably need to take a look a second look at your own perspective. People are complex and not everyone responds in the same way.
What was particularly baffling for me with regard to this criticism is that McKinley speaks in metaphors about very, very common responses to sexual abuse- by blocking it from your mind and the very common result- complete social isolation and crippling, self- imposed loneliness. Deerskin's humiliation, horror and blood loss in the harrowing climax of the novel was an authentic metaphor for how survivors often feel when they finally acknowledge the abuse. The fact that Deerskin only told the truth once another young girl was in danger is also very common in adult survivors who maintained the secret throughout childhood, often up until the point that they have their own children and realise they have to protect them from the perpetrator in their family. Additionally, the devotion people had towards her father, the victim- blaming that occurred and her guilt were all common experiences for people who have experienced CSA.
The only point at which McKinley misstepped was by using magic to physically heal Deerskin. Returning Deerskin's body to it's "unspoiled" state, was an example of where over- romanticising the perfect female form ran counter to the theme and tone of the book.
There were a few other minor problems with the book, it was repetitive, and I think it would be rather too charitable to assume McKinley did this deliberately. Although dealing with CSA can often feel endless and repetitive, I don't think she genuinely intended for the novel to sometimes feel that way. The story was also predictable, but when reading a retelling does that ever really matter?
This was a touching book. It lacked the sophistication of some of the other retellings that deal with sexual assault but it also ended on a happy note which was cathartic as a reader. If you enjoy fiction that delves into painful experiences in a fairytale framework, this is one of the best examples out there.
Well worth the read.
January 5, 2019
I give this older Robin McKinley dark fantasy novel a very qualified recommendation. It's loosely based on the old Donkeyskin fairy tale and deals directly with unpleasant trigger themes: rape, incest and miscarriage. It's handled with sensitivity and might be cathartic for some readers, but it's definitely not light reading.
Lissar is a young, shy princess with a drop-dead gorgeous mother. When her mother falls ill and dies, having lost the will to live because her illness sapped her beauty, the king is deeply distraught. As Lissar grows older and becomes the image of her mother, her father becomes unhealthily obsessed, culminating in one horrible night. Lissar escapes with her devoted dog to an isolated cabin in the mountains, but for many months she's delirious and barely functional.
It's a very gradual healing process for Lissar, with some tremendously difficult times. There are also some truly heartwarming parts in the rest of the story: wonderful dogs (and PUPPIES!) and a truly kindhearted man, the beta hero type.
But make no mistake, this is a difficult book to read. Aside from the subject matter, Lissar's interior monologuing is too long-winded at times, and McKinley's penchant for nightmarish, incomprehensible scenes gets full play here (twice, in fact!). I actually reread Deerskin at least once, maybe even twice, back in my days as a huge McKinley fan, but I don't know that I'll ever pick it up again.
Maybe I'll just reread the parts with the puppies and skip the rest.
Lissar is a young, shy princess with a drop-dead gorgeous mother. When her mother falls ill and dies, having lost the will to live because her illness sapped her beauty, the king is deeply distraught. As Lissar grows older and becomes the image of her mother, her father becomes unhealthily obsessed, culminating in one horrible night. Lissar escapes with her devoted dog to an isolated cabin in the mountains, but for many months she's delirious and barely functional.
It's a very gradual healing process for Lissar, with some tremendously difficult times. There are also some truly heartwarming parts in the rest of the story: wonderful dogs (and PUPPIES!) and a truly kindhearted man, the beta hero type.
But make no mistake, this is a difficult book to read. Aside from the subject matter, Lissar's interior monologuing is too long-winded at times, and McKinley's penchant for nightmarish, incomprehensible scenes gets full play here (twice, in fact!). I actually reread Deerskin at least once, maybe even twice, back in my days as a huge McKinley fan, but I don't know that I'll ever pick it up again.
Maybe I'll just reread the parts with the puppies and skip the rest.
August 20, 2019
I was only there for the dog!!!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
February 19, 2024
¿Cómo un libro puede hacerte sentir tantas cosas? ¿Cómo puedes vivir con tanta intensidad y querer tan profundamente a unos personajes que viven entre páginas de papel?
No es algo muy común, pero si algo consigue «Piel de ciervo» es emocionarte, hacerte sentir. Me cuesta hablar de este libro porque es una de mis novelas favoritas de la vida, de las que más me han impactado e impresionado... pero voy a intentarlo.
«Piel de ciervo» es una historia enmarcada dentro de los cuentos de hadas, de la fantasía, que tan liviana e inocente queremos creer que es pero que esconde bajo sus palabras bellas y cuidadas mucha verdad. En esta novela la autora nos introduce en una especie de sueño narrativo (envolvente e hipnótico) que se convierte pronto en un relato escalofriante mediante el cual Mckinley nos habla (en mi opinión con maestría) de abuso, del trauma y del estrés postraumático.
Por suerte, McKinley decide contarlo con una mirada luminosa y esperanzadora. Porque se puede sobrevivir e incluso "vivir" después del trauma. Y eso es lo que nos cuenta «Piel de ciervo», cómo Lissar sobrevive y aprende a vivir de nuevo, convirtiéndose en una nueva persona (porque jamás podrá volver a ser la que era antes), pero aprendiendo de las cosas más pequeñas y mundanas (como cortar leña, cocinar, dar de comer cada dos horas a unos cachorros de galgo..) y encontrando así algo que la ata a la vida, algo que le muestra un camino diferente, que recorrerá descubriendo el significado de la lealtad, la amistad, el amor...
La historia está llena de la simbología de los cuentos de hadas, pero al mismo tiempo es cotidiana, real y palpable. Es una lectura incómoda e inquietante en su inicio, dolorosa, pero también entrañable, tierna y maravillosa. Nadie que lo haya leído podrá olvidar a Lissar y a su fiel Ceniza, son personajes que trascienden el papel, y su historia, es de esas que se te clavan muy dentro, que se quedan contigo para siempre.
Este es uno de mis libros favoritos de la vida, así que no puedo ser objetiva, pero subjetivamente os diré que para mi, este es el libro perfecto.
No es algo muy común, pero si algo consigue «Piel de ciervo» es emocionarte, hacerte sentir. Me cuesta hablar de este libro porque es una de mis novelas favoritas de la vida, de las que más me han impactado e impresionado... pero voy a intentarlo.
«Piel de ciervo» es una historia enmarcada dentro de los cuentos de hadas, de la fantasía, que tan liviana e inocente queremos creer que es pero que esconde bajo sus palabras bellas y cuidadas mucha verdad. En esta novela la autora nos introduce en una especie de sueño narrativo (envolvente e hipnótico) que se convierte pronto en un relato escalofriante mediante el cual Mckinley nos habla (en mi opinión con maestría) de abuso, del trauma y del estrés postraumático.
Por suerte, McKinley decide contarlo con una mirada luminosa y esperanzadora. Porque se puede sobrevivir e incluso "vivir" después del trauma. Y eso es lo que nos cuenta «Piel de ciervo», cómo Lissar sobrevive y aprende a vivir de nuevo, convirtiéndose en una nueva persona (porque jamás podrá volver a ser la que era antes), pero aprendiendo de las cosas más pequeñas y mundanas (como cortar leña, cocinar, dar de comer cada dos horas a unos cachorros de galgo..) y encontrando así algo que la ata a la vida, algo que le muestra un camino diferente, que recorrerá descubriendo el significado de la lealtad, la amistad, el amor...
La historia está llena de la simbología de los cuentos de hadas, pero al mismo tiempo es cotidiana, real y palpable. Es una lectura incómoda e inquietante en su inicio, dolorosa, pero también entrañable, tierna y maravillosa. Nadie que lo haya leído podrá olvidar a Lissar y a su fiel Ceniza, son personajes que trascienden el papel, y su historia, es de esas que se te clavan muy dentro, que se quedan contigo para siempre.
Este es uno de mis libros favoritos de la vida, así que no puedo ser objetiva, pero subjetivamente os diré que para mi, este es el libro perfecto.
June 25, 2023
McKinley has covered many fairytales in her novels, but this is the one that haunts me the most.
Based on Perrault's "Donkeyskin" Deerskin is the story of princess Lissla Lissar, daughter of the most beautiful woman in the world. Her mother's dying request is that her husband only marry a woman as beautiful as her - and that becomes her daughter.
The dreamlike quality of the writing means that the trauma scenes are obscured. But the emotion is real - as is the hope and the recovery.
Based on Perrault's "Donkeyskin" Deerskin is the story of princess Lissla Lissar, daughter of the most beautiful woman in the world. Her mother's dying request is that her husband only marry a woman as beautiful as her - and that becomes her daughter.
The dreamlike quality of the writing means that the trauma scenes are obscured. But the emotion is real - as is the hope and the recovery.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2013
Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers
Trigger Warning: Rape, abuse, incest.
Princess Lissla Lissar is the daughter of a heroic and handsome king, who won the hand of the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms. Every night, Lissar listens to her nursemaid spin the same tale - the story of her father, winning her mother's hand over the other six Kings by completing an impossible, superhuman task. Every day and every night, Lissar hears the story of her mother's incredible beauty and her father's heroic deeds, and how much everyone in the kingdom loves their royal leaders. On the rare occasions that Lissar gets to see her parents, or even interact with other children, she is always in the background, neglected and forgotten in the face of the stunning beauty and splendor of her parents.
But one day, the beautiful queen is not quite as beautiful as she once was, and loses her will to live. Before she dies, she commissions a great and terrible painting of her unparalleled beauty, and with her dying breath she makes her husband promise that he will only marry again if his bride is as beautiful as she. Racked by his grief, the King agrees, driven mad by his grief. As the kingdom mourns, Princess Lissar withdraws further away from the prying eyes and games of the court - her only true friend is her beloved hound, Ash, and together she and Ash spend the next quiet years in a secluded part of the castle, away from the eyes of Lissar's father.
When Lissar turns seventeen, however, everything changes as her father's feverish gaze seizes on Lissar's blooming beauty and her resemblance to her mother. Following a nightmarish birthday ball, the King declares that he will marry Princess Lissla Lissar in three days. Horrified and alone, Lissar tries to lock herself away from her father, but to no avail - he breaks down her doors, beats and rapes his daughter in the night. Battered, terrified, but with a stubborn will to live, Lissar stumbles away from the palace with only the company of her loyal dog Ash, and makes her way through the cold, cruel woods.
After a long, cold winter, Lissar is able to heal, though she blocks out all memory of her past. When the weather warms, she leaves her isolated home in the woods for a new kingdom and earns a job in the palace kennels. Here, Lissar makes a new life for herself - but she will be forced to confront her past once and for all, with a future of hope and happiness waiting for her.
Deerskin is not an easy book to read. Incredibly disturbing, painful, and triggering, this is NOT a book for everyone. That said, as horrific and raw as this book is, Deerskin is also a resonant, powerful, and empowering read.
From a writing perspective, Robin McKinley tends towards the verbose and the ornate - sometimes this works for her books, and sometimes (in my opinion) it does not. I am happy to say that Deerskin is one of the successful endeavors, with its beautiful, languid prose, vivid images and descriptions. McKinley is retelling a fairy tale, after all, and Deerskin is a decidedly dreamlike book with heavy folklore overtones. As Philip Pullman discusses in his version of the story "Thousandfurs" (and in general for Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm), the magic of a fable lies in its telling, and Deerskin excels in this regard with its lush turns of phrase. Even when describing something as simple as cleaning a hut in the middle of winter, or the techniques to feed ailing puppies (both events that occur in this text, mind you), McKinley makes the story effortlessly interesting and surprisingly ethereal.
But beyond the setting, the telling, and the world, Deerskin is really a book that comes down to a horrific story, and a young woman's stubborn will to live. Heroine Lissar, who becomes Deerskin and Moonwoman, is the sole figure at the heart of this book, and on whose shoulders the tale's success or failure rests. And let me say this once with feeling: Lissar is an amazing, gut-wrenching, awe-inspiring heroine. I loved her character, I cried for her character, I rooted wholeheartedly for her character. Lissar's growing dread defines the first part of this book, as she looks into her father's eyes for the first time and sees something she cannot name, but something that frightens her deeply. Like a nightmare, the next years of her young life unfold with her always pulling away from her father's notice, until it comes to a crashing, horrific climax following her seventeenth birthday. This, for me, was an incredibly challenging read - I had to keep putting the book down because it was so disturbing - but Robin McKinley does a phenomenal job of building this terror and claustrophobia, and then segueing the book from one of fear to one of hope. Because as dark and horrific as the first part of the story is, as Lissar flees her old life and begins to heal and gradually comes to confront her past, it's an amazing and empowering arc. And, it has a happy ending - one where Lissar is able to confront and defeat the monster of her past, and have a future of happiness and life.
I could wax on about Lissar and Ash (the most touching, wonderful relationship between a woman and her closest animal companion that I have read probably...ever), about the folkloric elements with the Moonwoman that helps Lissar find her way, about the slow simmering relationship between Lissar and Prince Ossin...but perhaps those are all things that are best discovered by the reader. Suffice it to say, I loved all of these different threads and Robin McKinley's skill at weaving them together into a complete story.
I don't know if I'll read Deerskin again in the near future - most likely not. But I feel stronger and smarter and alive for reading it, and I absolutely recommend it.
Trigger Warning: Rape, abuse, incest.
Princess Lissla Lissar is the daughter of a heroic and handsome king, who won the hand of the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms. Every night, Lissar listens to her nursemaid spin the same tale - the story of her father, winning her mother's hand over the other six Kings by completing an impossible, superhuman task. Every day and every night, Lissar hears the story of her mother's incredible beauty and her father's heroic deeds, and how much everyone in the kingdom loves their royal leaders. On the rare occasions that Lissar gets to see her parents, or even interact with other children, she is always in the background, neglected and forgotten in the face of the stunning beauty and splendor of her parents.
But one day, the beautiful queen is not quite as beautiful as she once was, and loses her will to live. Before she dies, she commissions a great and terrible painting of her unparalleled beauty, and with her dying breath she makes her husband promise that he will only marry again if his bride is as beautiful as she. Racked by his grief, the King agrees, driven mad by his grief. As the kingdom mourns, Princess Lissar withdraws further away from the prying eyes and games of the court - her only true friend is her beloved hound, Ash, and together she and Ash spend the next quiet years in a secluded part of the castle, away from the eyes of Lissar's father.
When Lissar turns seventeen, however, everything changes as her father's feverish gaze seizes on Lissar's blooming beauty and her resemblance to her mother. Following a nightmarish birthday ball, the King declares that he will marry Princess Lissla Lissar in three days. Horrified and alone, Lissar tries to lock herself away from her father, but to no avail - he breaks down her doors, beats and rapes his daughter in the night. Battered, terrified, but with a stubborn will to live, Lissar stumbles away from the palace with only the company of her loyal dog Ash, and makes her way through the cold, cruel woods.
After a long, cold winter, Lissar is able to heal, though she blocks out all memory of her past. When the weather warms, she leaves her isolated home in the woods for a new kingdom and earns a job in the palace kennels. Here, Lissar makes a new life for herself - but she will be forced to confront her past once and for all, with a future of hope and happiness waiting for her.
Deerskin is not an easy book to read. Incredibly disturbing, painful, and triggering, this is NOT a book for everyone. That said, as horrific and raw as this book is, Deerskin is also a resonant, powerful, and empowering read.
From a writing perspective, Robin McKinley tends towards the verbose and the ornate - sometimes this works for her books, and sometimes (in my opinion) it does not. I am happy to say that Deerskin is one of the successful endeavors, with its beautiful, languid prose, vivid images and descriptions. McKinley is retelling a fairy tale, after all, and Deerskin is a decidedly dreamlike book with heavy folklore overtones. As Philip Pullman discusses in his version of the story "Thousandfurs" (and in general for Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm), the magic of a fable lies in its telling, and Deerskin excels in this regard with its lush turns of phrase. Even when describing something as simple as cleaning a hut in the middle of winter, or the techniques to feed ailing puppies (both events that occur in this text, mind you), McKinley makes the story effortlessly interesting and surprisingly ethereal.
But beyond the setting, the telling, and the world, Deerskin is really a book that comes down to a horrific story, and a young woman's stubborn will to live. Heroine Lissar, who becomes Deerskin and Moonwoman, is the sole figure at the heart of this book, and on whose shoulders the tale's success or failure rests. And let me say this once with feeling: Lissar is an amazing, gut-wrenching, awe-inspiring heroine. I loved her character, I cried for her character, I rooted wholeheartedly for her character. Lissar's growing dread defines the first part of this book, as she looks into her father's eyes for the first time and sees something she cannot name, but something that frightens her deeply. Like a nightmare, the next years of her young life unfold with her always pulling away from her father's notice, until it comes to a crashing, horrific climax following her seventeenth birthday. This, for me, was an incredibly challenging read - I had to keep putting the book down because it was so disturbing - but Robin McKinley does a phenomenal job of building this terror and claustrophobia, and then segueing the book from one of fear to one of hope. Because as dark and horrific as the first part of the story is, as Lissar flees her old life and begins to heal and gradually comes to confront her past, it's an amazing and empowering arc. And, it has a happy ending - one where Lissar is able to confront and defeat the monster of her past, and have a future of happiness and life.
I could wax on about Lissar and Ash (the most touching, wonderful relationship between a woman and her closest animal companion that I have read probably...ever), about the folkloric elements with the Moonwoman that helps Lissar find her way, about the slow simmering relationship between Lissar and Prince Ossin...but perhaps those are all things that are best discovered by the reader. Suffice it to say, I loved all of these different threads and Robin McKinley's skill at weaving them together into a complete story.
I don't know if I'll read Deerskin again in the near future - most likely not. But I feel stronger and smarter and alive for reading it, and I absolutely recommend it.
July 15, 2021
I’ll preface this review by stating that the trigger warnings were not kidding. The scene in question was violent and graphic and the aftermath of the trauma resounded throughout the book.
I debated reading this due to that, but I’m glad I did. It was incredibly written, and felt like a heavy, adult fairytale. The relationship with the dogs was powerful and I loved the legend of the Moonwoman. My only complaint is that I wish there was a bit more description of the animals created by the author.
I debated reading this due to that, but I’m glad I did. It was incredibly written, and felt like a heavy, adult fairytale. The relationship with the dogs was powerful and I loved the legend of the Moonwoman. My only complaint is that I wish there was a bit more description of the animals created by the author.
dnf
October 2, 2019Marie Kondo-ing my way through my tbr. I WILL clear my shelves, real and virtual.
Lovely language, as always from McKinley, but it's just tooooo long. There is no way I can get through another 300 pages of it.
Lovely language, as always from McKinley, but it's just tooooo long. There is no way I can get through another 300 pages of it.
November 17, 2011
Having just read and adored McKinley's Sunshine and The Blue Sword when I started this book, I was full of love for the author and expecting great things. This book is a re-telling of the Donkeyskin fairytale, which I actually do remember from when I was little, though I have to say the incestuous subtext did go completely over my head when I was 5.
Princess Lissar Lisslar is a lonely and awkward child who grows up obscured by the shadow of her glorious parents who are so completely obsessed with each other that they do not seem to notice that they have a child at all and are so totally fantabulous that everyone around them only has eyes for them and is blinded to Lissar's existence. Throughout her childhood Lissar is told stories of the magical fairytale wooing of her mother, the most beautiful woman in the seven kingdoms, by her father, one of the seven suitors who had to go to the ends of the earth to win her.
But then one day, the most beautiful woman in the seven kingdoms falls ill and, because she cannot bear the fading of even the tiniest fraction of her beauty, confines herself to her bed and covers herself up with a veil, so that no one can glimpse her, not even her devastated husband. The queen also orders a portait to be painted, depicting her at the apex of her glory and, as her dying wish, extracts a promise from her husband that he would not marry again unless his new wife was no less beautiful than herself. The king, as they do, goes mad with grief after the queen's death and, on Lissar's 17th birthday, announces his plan to marry his daughter, for she looks so much like her mother.
I knew this book was about rape, incestuous rape at that, going in and I thought this aspect of the story was handled with great understanding and sensitivity. The way McKinley deals with blaming the victim syndrome (what has she done to this wonderful glorious man to make him behave like this? she must be evil and amoral, she must have asked for this and enticed him with her wiles... it is astonishing and disheartening how prevalent this thinking still is in real life, how ready we are to blame victims of sexual assault for what happens to them) and the devastating impact the rape has on her feels genuine and heart-breaking.
So why three stars? Well, I'm just going to put it out there (although I do feel like there must be something wrong with me for not liking the book more) I found this story pretty dull. I don't know if it was because I knew exactly what was going to happen from the very start (but what did I expect, this is a fairy tale retelling?) or if it was the deliberately languid quality of the prose in which McKinley chooses to tell her tale that didn't quite work for me. It also didn't help that I found Lissar to be a complete blank. She is like a bud that is stamped out before it really gets a chance to bloom, before she really finds herself as a person and after, it is all about coping and survival and pushing out the horrific memories and avoiding being herself. And I know that this is exactly how it would be, that it couldn't really be anything else, but it was dull for me to read about a person who is simply pulled like a puppet on a string without any rhyme or reason throughout most of the book.
I wanted Lissar to take control of her life and choose to do something because that is what she wants to do, because she is ready for it and for me, that never really happened, though other readers may disagree with me on this. Even the final resolution, when Lissar finally faces her father again, seemed baffling to me because, again, she seems to be simply pulled into it by the mysterious magical force that has been guiding her steps ever since she left her home, and it is not something that she consiously chooses to do. Also the imagery of the climax was pretty disturbing with Lissar seemingly re-living her rape in order to condemn her father. While this is probably inevitable in this context, it also left me feeling perturbed. Yes, I realise that this is the reality of every rape case, that in order to bring to justice the perpetrator, every rape victim has to re-live their ordeal in front of the police, relatives, lawyers, jury (that is, after all, why so many choose not to report). I just wish there was another way.
Princess Lissar Lisslar is a lonely and awkward child who grows up obscured by the shadow of her glorious parents who are so completely obsessed with each other that they do not seem to notice that they have a child at all and are so totally fantabulous that everyone around them only has eyes for them and is blinded to Lissar's existence. Throughout her childhood Lissar is told stories of the magical fairytale wooing of her mother, the most beautiful woman in the seven kingdoms, by her father, one of the seven suitors who had to go to the ends of the earth to win her.
But then one day, the most beautiful woman in the seven kingdoms falls ill and, because she cannot bear the fading of even the tiniest fraction of her beauty, confines herself to her bed and covers herself up with a veil, so that no one can glimpse her, not even her devastated husband. The queen also orders a portait to be painted, depicting her at the apex of her glory and, as her dying wish, extracts a promise from her husband that he would not marry again unless his new wife was no less beautiful than herself. The king, as they do, goes mad with grief after the queen's death and, on Lissar's 17th birthday, announces his plan to marry his daughter, for she looks so much like her mother.
I knew this book was about rape, incestuous rape at that, going in and I thought this aspect of the story was handled with great understanding and sensitivity. The way McKinley deals with blaming the victim syndrome (what has she done to this wonderful glorious man to make him behave like this? she must be evil and amoral, she must have asked for this and enticed him with her wiles... it is astonishing and disheartening how prevalent this thinking still is in real life, how ready we are to blame victims of sexual assault for what happens to them) and the devastating impact the rape has on her feels genuine and heart-breaking.
So why three stars? Well, I'm just going to put it out there (although I do feel like there must be something wrong with me for not liking the book more) I found this story pretty dull. I don't know if it was because I knew exactly what was going to happen from the very start (but what did I expect, this is a fairy tale retelling?) or if it was the deliberately languid quality of the prose in which McKinley chooses to tell her tale that didn't quite work for me. It also didn't help that I found Lissar to be a complete blank. She is like a bud that is stamped out before it really gets a chance to bloom, before she really finds herself as a person and after, it is all about coping and survival and pushing out the horrific memories and avoiding being herself. And I know that this is exactly how it would be, that it couldn't really be anything else, but it was dull for me to read about a person who is simply pulled like a puppet on a string without any rhyme or reason throughout most of the book.
I wanted Lissar to take control of her life and choose to do something because that is what she wants to do, because she is ready for it and for me, that never really happened, though other readers may disagree with me on this. Even the final resolution, when Lissar finally faces her father again, seemed baffling to me because, again, she seems to be simply pulled into it by the mysterious magical force that has been guiding her steps ever since she left her home, and it is not something that she consiously chooses to do. Also the imagery of the climax was pretty disturbing with Lissar seemingly re-living her rape in order to condemn her father. While this is probably inevitable in this context, it also left me feeling perturbed. Yes, I realise that this is the reality of every rape case, that in order to bring to justice the perpetrator, every rape victim has to re-live their ordeal in front of the police, relatives, lawyers, jury (that is, after all, why so many choose not to report). I just wish there was another way.
April 17, 2021
5 Stars for Deerskin (audiobook) by Robin McKinley read by Xe Sands.
My wife recommended this to me. It’s one of her favorite books and I’m happy to report that I really enjoyed it too. It looks like I’m going to be reading more Robin McKinley. Also, Xe Sands did a great job with the narration.
My wife recommended this to me. It’s one of her favorite books and I’m happy to report that I really enjoyed it too. It looks like I’m going to be reading more Robin McKinley. Also, Xe Sands did a great job with the narration.
July 19, 2011
Oh my, I scarcely know what to say about this book. It's actually not quite 5 stars, but I'd feel bad only giving it four.
It's wrenching, maddening, lyrical, unflinchingly honest in the way of fairy tales, and it's terribly sad. If it weren't for the dogs, I'm not sure I could've read it. I knew it was about a woman who was raped by her father when I bought it. It was on a list compiled by NPR of books about strong women. That's why I bought it. I thought I was prepared for it. I work as a practicing psychotherapist, and have sat in my office with women (and men) who have been through this same thing. I have been enraged before by the way families and society blame the victim in situations like this. And yet when I read it in this book, I was so upset I had to stop reading for a while.
I got up and cleaned my kitchen, walked the dogs, cast around for some light hearted simple minded book to read. Then I decided to pick it up again. I'd put it aside right after the rape and his killing of her beloved dog.
But the dog was not dead. The rest of the book is about her healing, and her recovery, and the way she comes into her own power. It's also about the dog, and then dogs, as she finds her way to the court of the man who'd given her the dog in the first place, and she nurses a litter of puppies whose mother died and she keeps them alive along with herself.
I hadn't read Robin McKinley before, but now will have to look at her other books. I love dogs. :-) And they save this book from being unbearable.
It's wrenching, maddening, lyrical, unflinchingly honest in the way of fairy tales, and it's terribly sad. If it weren't for the dogs, I'm not sure I could've read it. I knew it was about a woman who was raped by her father when I bought it. It was on a list compiled by NPR of books about strong women. That's why I bought it. I thought I was prepared for it. I work as a practicing psychotherapist, and have sat in my office with women (and men) who have been through this same thing. I have been enraged before by the way families and society blame the victim in situations like this. And yet when I read it in this book, I was so upset I had to stop reading for a while.
I got up and cleaned my kitchen, walked the dogs, cast around for some light hearted simple minded book to read. Then I decided to pick it up again. I'd put it aside right after the rape and his killing of her beloved dog.
But the dog was not dead. The rest of the book is about her healing, and her recovery, and the way she comes into her own power. It's also about the dog, and then dogs, as she finds her way to the court of the man who'd given her the dog in the first place, and she nurses a litter of puppies whose mother died and she keeps them alive along with herself.
I hadn't read Robin McKinley before, but now will have to look at her other books. I love dogs. :-) And they save this book from being unbearable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2017
TW: rape, incest, abuse
She had decided to live. If she could not think of certain things, she would not think of them. There were other things to think of, immediate things.I recently got rid of someone from my feed on this website for laughing at trigger warnings, so if you're of the same opinion of that particular sot, take yourself out. It's bad enough that I have to pick apart my students at work for hurling the phrase "triggered" around, as if it wasn't scary enough for neuroatypicals and sexual assault survivors, what with movies like Split and the rest (You know around 70% of people with DID developed it as a result of being sexual assaulted as a child, right? No? And yet you get off on watching them being portrayed as monsters. Who's the monster here.) running around. Despite having switched from an open profile to a closed one and pruning those who treat with violent hierarchies as the oh-so-hip slang from the so-called friends list, I need to reiterate how not "nice" I am in reviews like these in hopes that'll cut down on the friend requests that keep on coming from those who want my words and my reading tastes without having to deal with me. You want my knowledge and my critical thinking? Work for it.
There were some things that took life and broke it, not merely into meaninglessness, but with active malice flung the pieces farther, into hell.I've never been raped. This means I've never been raped by a family member. As such, I'm not going to argue with any review that says this whole book is a travesty when it comes to portraying the experiences of survivors of such. What I can say for certain is that this book portrays rape culture to a tee, and when it comes to the more subtle aspects of the build up, I sure hope the misguided accusations and violent burying of heads in the sand struck some readers in the gut, for there are too many ratings for there not to have been a pusher of the slogans of "she was asking for it" or "he couldn't help himself" in its crowd. See, rape happens as much as it does and is as ignored as much as it is because of gamers using it as casual slang (do not come at me with the archaic definition of "to take" because I will take your lack of context and shove it up your ass) and government officials defining it as a preexisting condition that insurance companies can refuse to cover and no one, save for a few cases, talking about it except those who have not experienced it, with those who have committed it being the loudest of the bunch. It starts with the father leering awkwardly at to close a range at the girls at his daughter's birthday party at the pool, comes up in the middle with the oh so famous John Green conflating discomfort with aged cis males intruding into spaces for young females with an accusation of sexual assault (and getting half the Internet behind him, as if his ego wasn't pampered enough), and ends with the US wearing its latest president with his baggage of lawsuits of sexual assaults of all ages like a badge of honor.
No one of us is so whole that [they] can see the future.This is a book of neglect, degradation, and healing. How accurately it portrays the degradation and healing is a complicated question, as this is the fantasy world portrayed by the books that I read when I was younger, and the more adult themes (we call these things adult when it is the children whom we refuse to stand for) does not cancel out the dragons, or the time travel, or the haunting. The only way to find out would be to give those whom have been hurt in this way control over their narratives of representation, and that will not happen so long as it's normalized that the Average Joe laughs instead of listens and the Average Jane ostracizes instead of supports. So long as that's the case, the Average Person will find it easier to expect that the survivors simply not survive so that they may get on with their fearless and flawless lives. The chemicals in your brain won't protect you forever.
Ammy saw the fear, and her friendly heart was shaken by the knowledge that any human creature could fear her own laughter.Revisiting McKinley after so long a time is a bit of a windfall, as I can't imagine myself capable of hashing out my thoughts on these issues at the time I added this book on this site, or even when I finally acquired a copy. Like all of her other works that I encounter, plan to encounter, and will inevitably reencounter, this is a play on a fairy tale, and the whole weight of Disney as a branch of the white supremacist patriarchy cannot erase the origins of a degradation many a society attempts to smother the evidence of today. There are still videos of children being gang raped circling the Internet, there are still senior citizens being rendered unable to function for the rest of the week because someone didn't warn them that their movie contained sexual assault, there is still a cavalier attitude towards a kind of inflicted pain that does not kill you and does not make you stronger indoctrinated by an academia more concerned with plagiarism than the souls of its students. I will not argue with anyone who thinks themselves threatened by what I have to say here, as my time and my energy are my own, and I will not spend it on sea lions and dog whistlers. The fact that, once upon a time, you looked away when you should have done something is not my concern. I don't have nightmares about any such thing, and you're welcome to yours.
October 22, 2007
McKinley's writing is amazing, dreamlike, gutwrenching & heartwarming. This book is not for everyone. It has a very dark tone & the first few chapters are very painful to read. Your heart will be ripped to pieces several times before the book ends. BUT despite all of this I found it to be a very uplifting story of triumph & love.
It is the story of Princess Lissar, who at first glance appears to live a charmed life. Actually, once we dig a little deeper we realize Lissar is very alone & isolated in her world. Her parents don't seem to remember she exists, she has no friends only servants. The turning point begins when her Mother dies and she receives a puppy as a gift of condolence from Prince Ossin whom she names Ash. Dear old Dad, crazy with grief over the loss of his Queen, turns into a nutcase & completely forgets he has daughter for several years. During this time Lissar & Ash grow up together & become bonded closer than any two beings can be. Then one day Dad remembers he has a daughter & decides it is time for her to marry & start producing an heir. Once he takes a good look at Lissar he notices how beautiful she has become & how much she resembles her mother. I don't want to give anything else away but this is the beginning of Lissar's transformation into the mystical creature Deerskin & the end of her life as she knows it.
Despite the dreary beginning, this story is ultimately a positive one & especially recommended for dog/animal lovers. The scenes with the puppy rearing, Lissar's eventual opening up to Prince Ossin & the magical, mystical qualities of the story make this a must read. Lissar is a heroine to admire & Prince Ossin is a ray of light in a world filled with selfish, spoiled & revolting men. Lissar's dog Ash is the glue that holds her together through good times and bad.
So, if you're up for an emotional read that is well worth the pain put a day aside to read this one & make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy. You're guaranteed to cry tears of pain & of joy. This one unquestionably gets 5 out of 5 stars.
It is the story of Princess Lissar, who at first glance appears to live a charmed life. Actually, once we dig a little deeper we realize Lissar is very alone & isolated in her world. Her parents don't seem to remember she exists, she has no friends only servants. The turning point begins when her Mother dies and she receives a puppy as a gift of condolence from Prince Ossin whom she names Ash. Dear old Dad, crazy with grief over the loss of his Queen, turns into a nutcase & completely forgets he has daughter for several years. During this time Lissar & Ash grow up together & become bonded closer than any two beings can be. Then one day Dad remembers he has a daughter & decides it is time for her to marry & start producing an heir. Once he takes a good look at Lissar he notices how beautiful she has become & how much she resembles her mother. I don't want to give anything else away but this is the beginning of Lissar's transformation into the mystical creature Deerskin & the end of her life as she knows it.
Despite the dreary beginning, this story is ultimately a positive one & especially recommended for dog/animal lovers. The scenes with the puppy rearing, Lissar's eventual opening up to Prince Ossin & the magical, mystical qualities of the story make this a must read. Lissar is a heroine to admire & Prince Ossin is a ray of light in a world filled with selfish, spoiled & revolting men. Lissar's dog Ash is the glue that holds her together through good times and bad.
So, if you're up for an emotional read that is well worth the pain put a day aside to read this one & make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy. You're guaranteed to cry tears of pain & of joy. This one unquestionably gets 5 out of 5 stars.
December 27, 2024
La pequeña Lissla Lissar vive en uno de los reinos más grandes del mundo. Sus padres, los reyes, son venerados por el pueblo y la historia de como se conocieron y forjaron su amor se ha convertido en una de las grandes leyendas de lugar. Todos admiran la belleza de la reina y la imponente figura del rey. La única que no siente esta admiración por los reyes es Lissar, que siempre se ha sentido abandonada por ambos y conforme crecía notaba aún más esa ausencia de vínculo afectivo con sus progenitores. Además, su forma de ser, que no es nada apropiada para una princesa, la hace sentir aún más fuera de lugar en su mundo de opulencia. Sin embargo, alguien logrará salvarla de esta sensación de soledad, Ceniza, una perrita enviada desde un reino amigo por motivo de su cumpleaños. El flechazo entre las dos es inmediato. Un trágico suceso obligará a las dos amigas a huir al bosque en busca de un nuevo destino.
“Piel de ciervo” es un retelling de un cuento de Perrault llamado “Piel de asno”, el cual he investigado, y me gusta ver como la obra de Robin McKinley se separá muchísmo del cuento original, poniendo en el centro de la trama a Lissar y su vínculo con Ceniza. Tras un trauma, Lissar necesita sanar, necesita curarse y su fiel compañera Ceniza la ayuda en esa travesía. Lo primero que me llamó la atención es que pese a ser un cuento de hadas, la historia no narra muchísimos momentos heroicos o de acción, más bien se centra en el interior de su protagonista, y nos muestra a Lissar mientras transita por el complicado camino que debe seguir para reconstruir sus pedazos, reponerse al dolor y poder seguir adelante. Me gusta mucho como la autora trata las fases del trauma, dando todo el espacio necesario para que el lector pueda sumergirse en la trastornada mente de su protagonista y vivir con ella todo el proceso.
“Piel de ciervo” no es una historia ágil ni sencilla, y no solo por los temas que trata, sino por como está contada. A ratos puede ser densa, y al estar centrada en las emociones de su protagonista y en su fragmentada mente, a veces puede sentirse algo dispersa, por eso es una de esas obras que necesita que el lector esté muy presente mientras la lee, para poder sacarle el máximo jugo. Al estar narrada de una forma muy íntima, muy “para dentro”, una cosa que destaca es como se muestra la cotidianidad del día a día de Ceniza y Lissar, a través de la búsqueda de alimentos con los que subsistir, el mantenimiento y limpieza del lugar donde se resguardan del frío o los cuidados que se dan la una a la otra. Es más, los cuidados son, sin lugar a dudas, el tema central de la historia, la importancia de sanar, de retirarse para cuidar de una misma y dejarse cuidar por otros que te quieran bien, y como ese apoyo sirve de sostén para mantenerse, para poder recuperarse y volver a ser quien eres.
Pese a que la obra no deja de ser una revisión de un cuento de hadas clásico y mantiene muchos de lo elementos propios de estos, creo que la autora sabe darle un giro a todo lo anticuado o rancio con respecto a este tipo de historias, para transformarla en otra cosa. En este cuento hay un príncipe, porque sí, como todo cuento de hadas, tiene un príncipe. Sin embargo, este está muy alejado del prototipo de hombre atractivo, imponente y, normalmente, agresivo, cualidad que suele confundirse con valentía. El príncipe de “Piel de ciervo” es descrito como un hombre normal, poco atractivo, más centrado en la naturaleza y los animales que cuida que en nada que tenga que ver con su reino o el amor, al que le cuesta especialmente relacionarse con los demás. Se agradece poder disfrutar de personajes masculinos heteros que no tengan comportamientos que te chirríen. Parece una tontería, pero es muy difícil de encontrar ese tipo de personajes. Y que esta obra tenga más de treinta años le aporta un valor añadido.
El tramo final me ha parecido perfecto: es duro, es impactante y es bonito. Creo que es el cierre perfecto para una historia de superación, donde la protagonista busca reconstruir sus pedazos, volver a ser ella misma, y aprender a ser feliz pese a sus heridas. Mi parte favorita de la obra es esa manada que la protagonista crea junto a Ceniza y una camada de cachorros que con sus cuidados logra salvar. He disfrutado de ese vínculo que crean todos y como Lissar es una más de la manada. Existen escenas visualmente muy poderosas en relación a esto. Si le tengo que poner un pero a la obra, diré que a veces me ha costado un poco leer algunas escenas de caza, porque se me hacían muy difíciles de digerir. El resto me ha encantado, pero repito que no es una obra ágil, por lo cual al que se anime con ella le recomendaría que lo hiciera cuando pueda dedicarle la ateción que merece.
“Piel de ciervo” es un retelling de un cuento de Perrault llamado “Piel de asno”, el cual he investigado, y me gusta ver como la obra de Robin McKinley se separá muchísmo del cuento original, poniendo en el centro de la trama a Lissar y su vínculo con Ceniza. Tras un trauma, Lissar necesita sanar, necesita curarse y su fiel compañera Ceniza la ayuda en esa travesía. Lo primero que me llamó la atención es que pese a ser un cuento de hadas, la historia no narra muchísimos momentos heroicos o de acción, más bien se centra en el interior de su protagonista, y nos muestra a Lissar mientras transita por el complicado camino que debe seguir para reconstruir sus pedazos, reponerse al dolor y poder seguir adelante. Me gusta mucho como la autora trata las fases del trauma, dando todo el espacio necesario para que el lector pueda sumergirse en la trastornada mente de su protagonista y vivir con ella todo el proceso.
“Piel de ciervo” no es una historia ágil ni sencilla, y no solo por los temas que trata, sino por como está contada. A ratos puede ser densa, y al estar centrada en las emociones de su protagonista y en su fragmentada mente, a veces puede sentirse algo dispersa, por eso es una de esas obras que necesita que el lector esté muy presente mientras la lee, para poder sacarle el máximo jugo. Al estar narrada de una forma muy íntima, muy “para dentro”, una cosa que destaca es como se muestra la cotidianidad del día a día de Ceniza y Lissar, a través de la búsqueda de alimentos con los que subsistir, el mantenimiento y limpieza del lugar donde se resguardan del frío o los cuidados que se dan la una a la otra. Es más, los cuidados son, sin lugar a dudas, el tema central de la historia, la importancia de sanar, de retirarse para cuidar de una misma y dejarse cuidar por otros que te quieran bien, y como ese apoyo sirve de sostén para mantenerse, para poder recuperarse y volver a ser quien eres.
Pese a que la obra no deja de ser una revisión de un cuento de hadas clásico y mantiene muchos de lo elementos propios de estos, creo que la autora sabe darle un giro a todo lo anticuado o rancio con respecto a este tipo de historias, para transformarla en otra cosa. En este cuento hay un príncipe, porque sí, como todo cuento de hadas, tiene un príncipe. Sin embargo, este está muy alejado del prototipo de hombre atractivo, imponente y, normalmente, agresivo, cualidad que suele confundirse con valentía. El príncipe de “Piel de ciervo” es descrito como un hombre normal, poco atractivo, más centrado en la naturaleza y los animales que cuida que en nada que tenga que ver con su reino o el amor, al que le cuesta especialmente relacionarse con los demás. Se agradece poder disfrutar de personajes masculinos heteros que no tengan comportamientos que te chirríen. Parece una tontería, pero es muy difícil de encontrar ese tipo de personajes. Y que esta obra tenga más de treinta años le aporta un valor añadido.
El tramo final me ha parecido perfecto: es duro, es impactante y es bonito. Creo que es el cierre perfecto para una historia de superación, donde la protagonista busca reconstruir sus pedazos, volver a ser ella misma, y aprender a ser feliz pese a sus heridas. Mi parte favorita de la obra es esa manada que la protagonista crea junto a Ceniza y una camada de cachorros que con sus cuidados logra salvar. He disfrutado de ese vínculo que crean todos y como Lissar es una más de la manada. Existen escenas visualmente muy poderosas en relación a esto. Si le tengo que poner un pero a la obra, diré que a veces me ha costado un poco leer algunas escenas de caza, porque se me hacían muy difíciles de digerir. El resto me ha encantado, pero repito que no es una obra ágil, por lo cual al que se anime con ella le recomendaría que lo hiciera cuando pueda dedicarle la ateción que merece.
December 3, 2010
This is one of my all-time favorite books. McKinley's writing is amazing, dreamlike, gut-wrenching & heartwarming and this book is not for everyone. It has a very dark tone & the first few chapters are very painful to read. Your heart will be ripped to pieces several times before the book ends. BUT despite all of this I found it to be a very uplifting story of triumph & love.
Deerskin is the story of Princess Lissar, who at first glance appears to live a charmed life. Actually, once we dig a little deeper we realize Lissar is very alone & isolated in her world. Her parents don't seem to remember she exists, she has no friends. The turning point begins when her mother dies and she receives a puppy as a gift of condolence from Prince Ossin whom she names Ash. Her Dad, crazy with grief over the loss of his Queen, turns into a nutcase and completely forgets he has daughter for several years. During this time Lissar & Ash grow up together & become bonded closer than any two beings can be. Then one day her dad remembers he has a daughter & decides it is time for her to marry & start producing an heir. Once he takes a good look at Lissar he notices how beautiful she has become & how much she resembles her mother. I don't want to give anything else away but this is the beginning of Lissar's transformation into the mystical creature Deerskin and the brutal end of her life as she knows it.
Despite the dreary beginning, this story is ultimately a positive one and especially recommended for dog/animal lovers. The scenes with the puppy rearing, Lissar's eventual opening up to Prince Ossin & the magical, mystical qualities of the story make this a must read. Lissar is a heroine to admire & Prince Ossin is a ray of light in a world filled with selfish, spoiled and revolting men. Lissar's dog Ash is the glue that holds her together through good times and bad.
So, if you're up for an emotional read that is well worth the pain put a day aside to read this one, just make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy. You're guaranteed to cry tears of pain & of joy. This one unquestionably gets 5 out of 5 stars.
Deerskin is the story of Princess Lissar, who at first glance appears to live a charmed life. Actually, once we dig a little deeper we realize Lissar is very alone & isolated in her world. Her parents don't seem to remember she exists, she has no friends. The turning point begins when her mother dies and she receives a puppy as a gift of condolence from Prince Ossin whom she names Ash. Her Dad, crazy with grief over the loss of his Queen, turns into a nutcase and completely forgets he has daughter for several years. During this time Lissar & Ash grow up together & become bonded closer than any two beings can be. Then one day her dad remembers he has a daughter & decides it is time for her to marry & start producing an heir. Once he takes a good look at Lissar he notices how beautiful she has become & how much she resembles her mother. I don't want to give anything else away but this is the beginning of Lissar's transformation into the mystical creature Deerskin and the brutal end of her life as she knows it.
Despite the dreary beginning, this story is ultimately a positive one and especially recommended for dog/animal lovers. The scenes with the puppy rearing, Lissar's eventual opening up to Prince Ossin & the magical, mystical qualities of the story make this a must read. Lissar is a heroine to admire & Prince Ossin is a ray of light in a world filled with selfish, spoiled and revolting men. Lissar's dog Ash is the glue that holds her together through good times and bad.
So, if you're up for an emotional read that is well worth the pain put a day aside to read this one, just make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy. You're guaranteed to cry tears of pain & of joy. This one unquestionably gets 5 out of 5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2007
I love this book. It's incredible. Robin McKinley did an amazing job of taking a fairy tale and creating a beautiful story of strength and survival out of it.
If you are not yet coping with a sexual abuse trauma, don't read this book. If you have no sexual abuse trauma, or are dealing with it, this book is wonderful. If you are in that first category, I think it would be too jarring, too raw, too something.
If you are not yet coping with a sexual abuse trauma, don't read this book. If you have no sexual abuse trauma, or are dealing with it, this book is wonderful. If you are in that first category, I think it would be too jarring, too raw, too something.
January 10, 2009
A fairy tale in only the technical term, Deerskin takes place in a nameless land within the "seven kingdoms", where a young princess is known for nothing but being the daughter of the best king and most beautiful queen ever. She grows up hearing the story of her mother's courting, the accomplishments of her father and other such things that have instantly become legend in their lifetimes. When the queen falls ill and dies, a few people turn their attention to the princess, now of age to marry, and realize that she will become the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms, as her mother was before. This is brought to the attention of a crazed and grieving king, who is driven to the unthinkable. Together with her dog, Ash, Princess Lissar flees her castle with little to no memory of who she is, why she is running and what has happened to her.
Ok, WOW. Now, I have read a few of McKinley's novels, including The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, so I'm not unfamiliar with McKinley's solid yet visceral imagery. But there was something very, very remarkable about this book, something that I can't rightly explain, something you have to read for yourself.
In the beginning I was actually a little put off by the way it was written, in a very non-specific fairy tale type way, "once upon a time" and all that, where no one had a name. But it was only for about two chapters that it was like this. As soon as Lissar was acknowledged as a person by someone, and not just a thing to get underfoot, that she was given a name. This is done when a foreign prince hears of her mother's death and, instead of sending some lavish mourning gift to her father, sends a small, white puppy to Lissar.
For the first part of the book (during Lissar's "first life"), she struggles with her identity, finding herself uncomfortable with courtly life. There are a few moments within these two years that McKinley really strives to make the reader understand that Lissar's character is molded because of her circumstances, rather than in spite of them. She is a humble, shy, curious girl who would rather garden and play with her dog than spend money or order others around. It was her parents' neglect and her nursemaid's stories of her amazing parents that led to to believe she was no more important than a servant in her own castle. There is very little within her that really feels like a princess, and this is a very important aspect of her personality.
As soon as it stops reading like another fairy story (although her kingdom, and indeed any of the others, get named), the description becomes abundant, even excessive. This story has what I guess I would call flowery language, whereas my creative writing teacher would call it "dead wood". There is a bit of repetition, but I honestly got into that. It was the power of the emotion that was felt, the intensity of the things going on, that made it bear repeating. The restating of a bit of information in a different way made the scene more powerful, rather than taking away from it.
That having been said, I have to say this. I have never found myself actually horrified while reading before. There are plenty of times my heart has broken, I have cried, or felt very depressed because of what I was reading, but I have never felt absolutely, gut-wrenchingly horrified. There was a point where I felt slightly sick, reading what had happened to Lissar. That's the awe that this book inspires.
There are also a few messages of woman empowerment and the worship of beauty. Beauty, as you find out, was the ruin of both queen and princess of the kingdom. The queen loved her own face so well that when she fell ill, it wasn't the sickness that really killed her. It was her own vanity - she lost a bit of her beauty in being sick and didn't want to live anymore. Likewise, the princess growing into such beauty drove her father crazy and resulted in the act that would haunt her "new" life. It is actually in a new land, with an entirely different set of priorities, that Lissar finds comfort and her own identity.
This is a character driven fantasy dream story. The goal is not to create a concrete world but to engage yourself in Lissar's life, her struggles, and, eventually, her triumph. (Believe me, it comes, you have to stick with it... the first half of the book I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it through, her life seemed so dismal.) And in this, McKinley has truly succeeded. This is a book that I won't be able to forget for a while.
Ok, WOW. Now, I have read a few of McKinley's novels, including The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, so I'm not unfamiliar with McKinley's solid yet visceral imagery. But there was something very, very remarkable about this book, something that I can't rightly explain, something you have to read for yourself.
In the beginning I was actually a little put off by the way it was written, in a very non-specific fairy tale type way, "once upon a time" and all that, where no one had a name. But it was only for about two chapters that it was like this. As soon as Lissar was acknowledged as a person by someone, and not just a thing to get underfoot, that she was given a name. This is done when a foreign prince hears of her mother's death and, instead of sending some lavish mourning gift to her father, sends a small, white puppy to Lissar.
For the first part of the book (during Lissar's "first life"), she struggles with her identity, finding herself uncomfortable with courtly life. There are a few moments within these two years that McKinley really strives to make the reader understand that Lissar's character is molded because of her circumstances, rather than in spite of them. She is a humble, shy, curious girl who would rather garden and play with her dog than spend money or order others around. It was her parents' neglect and her nursemaid's stories of her amazing parents that led to to believe she was no more important than a servant in her own castle. There is very little within her that really feels like a princess, and this is a very important aspect of her personality.
As soon as it stops reading like another fairy story (although her kingdom, and indeed any of the others, get named), the description becomes abundant, even excessive. This story has what I guess I would call flowery language, whereas my creative writing teacher would call it "dead wood". There is a bit of repetition, but I honestly got into that. It was the power of the emotion that was felt, the intensity of the things going on, that made it bear repeating. The restating of a bit of information in a different way made the scene more powerful, rather than taking away from it.
That having been said, I have to say this. I have never found myself actually horrified while reading before. There are plenty of times my heart has broken, I have cried, or felt very depressed because of what I was reading, but I have never felt absolutely, gut-wrenchingly horrified. There was a point where I felt slightly sick, reading what had happened to Lissar. That's the awe that this book inspires.
There are also a few messages of woman empowerment and the worship of beauty. Beauty, as you find out, was the ruin of both queen and princess of the kingdom. The queen loved her own face so well that when she fell ill, it wasn't the sickness that really killed her. It was her own vanity - she lost a bit of her beauty in being sick and didn't want to live anymore. Likewise, the princess growing into such beauty drove her father crazy and resulted in the act that would haunt her "new" life. It is actually in a new land, with an entirely different set of priorities, that Lissar finds comfort and her own identity.
This is a character driven fantasy dream story. The goal is not to create a concrete world but to engage yourself in Lissar's life, her struggles, and, eventually, her triumph. (Believe me, it comes, you have to stick with it... the first half of the book I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it through, her life seemed so dismal.) And in this, McKinley has truly succeeded. This is a book that I won't be able to forget for a while.
November 5, 2020
After Sunshine I wanted more McKinley... and whoa.
In their native form, fairytales compass horrifying depths of human evil. But their mode - straightforward narrative, factual style, minimal description - generally avoids plunging the audience into darkness. Expansive fairytale retellings like this one, which does not abridge its source material, can't avoid it. The trauma in this story is palpable. It builds quietly in the early chapters. It reduces you to trembling during the assault you foresaw pages and pages before but kept hoping would not really happen. And it haunts the rest of the book.
McKinley handles her source material so well, I'm hard-pressed to think of Deerskin's equal. If each economical sentence of the original story is a bud, this is its blooming... expertly grafted into a well-realized otherworld, complete with its own customs, kingdoms, and mythologies - like the Artemis-type Moonwoman, who eventually grants Lissar her aspect.
Deerskin is a good book, but a hard read. It has much to say about objectification, both as it existed in ancient courts and high society and as an enduring archetype of social inclination, and unveils the cursed fruit such behavior nourishes in various people caught up in it. Just like a good fairytale, its artful observations add depth to a splendid story. Recommended, with caution.
In their native form, fairytales compass horrifying depths of human evil. But their mode - straightforward narrative, factual style, minimal description - generally avoids plunging the audience into darkness. Expansive fairytale retellings like this one, which does not abridge its source material, can't avoid it. The trauma in this story is palpable. It builds quietly in the early chapters. It reduces you to trembling during the assault you foresaw pages and pages before but kept hoping would not really happen. And it haunts the rest of the book.
McKinley handles her source material so well, I'm hard-pressed to think of Deerskin's equal. If each economical sentence of the original story is a bud, this is its blooming... expertly grafted into a well-realized otherworld, complete with its own customs, kingdoms, and mythologies - like the Artemis-type Moonwoman, who eventually grants Lissar her aspect.
Deerskin is a good book, but a hard read. It has much to say about objectification, both as it existed in ancient courts and high society and as an enduring archetype of social inclination, and unveils the cursed fruit such behavior nourishes in various people caught up in it. Just like a good fairytale, its artful observations add depth to a splendid story. Recommended, with caution.
August 9, 2008
I have hit page 92 and I am officially done reading this book. My spidey-sense was telling me all along that something was not right, but I clung to the naive hope that I was wrong about where it was going. Not so.
I am not in any way averse to dark themes, but this whole incest/rape thing just seemed gratuitous. I understand it's based on a creepy old fairy tale, but neither the main character nor her father were believable. I didn't really see overarching reason for their actions at any point.
Add to that the ponderous fairy-tale language and the obsession with the dog, which was not interesting to me...yeah no thanks.
And here I was, excited to treat myself to a "trashy fantasy book"...I am glad for the other reviews on this site, as they've confirmed what I've been thinking, and now I won't have to waste any more time.
I am not in any way averse to dark themes, but this whole incest/rape thing just seemed gratuitous. I understand it's based on a creepy old fairy tale, but neither the main character nor her father were believable. I didn't really see overarching reason for their actions at any point.
Add to that the ponderous fairy-tale language and the obsession with the dog, which was not interesting to me...yeah no thanks.
And here I was, excited to treat myself to a "trashy fantasy book"...I am glad for the other reviews on this site, as they've confirmed what I've been thinking, and now I won't have to waste any more time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2021
DNF at about 50%. Super boring.
February 8, 2019
2/5; 2 stars; C
There were so many things I liked about this book but in the end, the balance was off and I felt disappointed. I liked the character of Deerskin and I loved the dogs but the story dragged in several places and ended too abruptly. Xe Sands was an excellent narrator.
There were so many things I liked about this book but in the end, the balance was off and I felt disappointed. I liked the character of Deerskin and I loved the dogs but the story dragged in several places and ended too abruptly. Xe Sands was an excellent narrator.
March 25, 2012
I’m going to be explicit about some plot details, because most of the criticism of this book seems to come from people who didn’t know what they were getting into. So: Deerskin is a fairy tale retelling about a princess who is raped by her father. If you demand that your fairy tales be lighthearted, or your rape/trauma stories 100% realistic, this may not be the book for you. For what it’s worth, I think it’s a fantastic book, although there were times I put it aside for something more cheerful.
Lissar is the princess of an unnamed country, but she grows up neglected, as her parents are utterly absorbed in their fairy-tale love for each other. It gets worse when the queen dies and the king begins to lust after Lissar. That’s the first quarter of the book; 3/4 of it details Lissar’s initial reaction to her trauma (blocking out everything) and her slow journey toward recovery. Another reviewer put it well by saying that the rape isn’t physically graphic, but it’s emotionally graphic, and the aftermath even more so. (Well, the aftermath is sometimes physically graphic too, actually.)
But for all that, it really is a beautiful story. Deerskin is very well-written; McKinley has such a way with words that the book does feel like a fairy tale, but at the same time honest and real. And there is hope and optimism to balance out the gloom. You probably have to at least like dogs to truly enjoy this book: Lissar’s dog Ash gets a lot of page time. A couple years ago I criticized another McKinley book, Spindle’s End, for its numerous talking animal characters, but she does an excellent job with the animals here: rather than putting dialogue in Ash’s mouth, she shows us a dog behaving like a dog, and she keeps the canine cast small, which allows the reader to visualize Ash and get attached to her (and, to a lesser extent, to the puppies). Actually, just about everything I disliked about Spindle’s End is not a problem here. The romance is sweet, too.
I found the book to be compelling reading throughout, and was certainly glad for Lissar when her life started to improve, but it’s worth noting that Ossin’s kingdom, where she winds up, is probably the biggest fairy tale in this book. (Apart from some fun asides, like the unique take on dragons.) Everyone is welcoming and generous and there’s almost no class consciousness at all. People in real life can be so ugly to rape survivors that I’m not sure how I feel about the book’s putting all the ugliness from people besides Lissar's father before the rape and having everyone who appears afterwards be so nice. That’s not an illegitimate way to write such a story, but it is a choice that merits more attention than it seems to have received.
At any rate, that’s not why I took off a star: that’s for the climax, which is one of those high-magic showdowns (in an otherwise relatively low-magic book) that makes very little sense. A lot of fireworks come apparently out of nowhere. It did not work for me at all, although at least the ending did.
Finally, then: this is an adult book, and a very good one, but it’s not just another pretty fairy tale retelling. Read it only if you’re willing to go to the dark places where it will take you.
Lissar is the princess of an unnamed country, but she grows up neglected, as her parents are utterly absorbed in their fairy-tale love for each other. It gets worse when the queen dies and the king begins to lust after Lissar. That’s the first quarter of the book; 3/4 of it details Lissar’s initial reaction to her trauma (blocking out everything) and her slow journey toward recovery. Another reviewer put it well by saying that the rape isn’t physically graphic, but it’s emotionally graphic, and the aftermath even more so. (Well, the aftermath is sometimes physically graphic too, actually.)
But for all that, it really is a beautiful story. Deerskin is very well-written; McKinley has such a way with words that the book does feel like a fairy tale, but at the same time honest and real. And there is hope and optimism to balance out the gloom. You probably have to at least like dogs to truly enjoy this book: Lissar’s dog Ash gets a lot of page time. A couple years ago I criticized another McKinley book, Spindle’s End, for its numerous talking animal characters, but she does an excellent job with the animals here: rather than putting dialogue in Ash’s mouth, she shows us a dog behaving like a dog, and she keeps the canine cast small, which allows the reader to visualize Ash and get attached to her (and, to a lesser extent, to the puppies). Actually, just about everything I disliked about Spindle’s End is not a problem here. The romance is sweet, too.
I found the book to be compelling reading throughout, and was certainly glad for Lissar when her life started to improve, but it’s worth noting that Ossin’s kingdom, where she winds up, is probably the biggest fairy tale in this book. (Apart from some fun asides, like the unique take on dragons.) Everyone is welcoming and generous and there’s almost no class consciousness at all. People in real life can be so ugly to rape survivors that I’m not sure how I feel about the book’s putting all the ugliness from people besides Lissar's father before the rape and having everyone who appears afterwards be so nice. That’s not an illegitimate way to write such a story, but it is a choice that merits more attention than it seems to have received.
At any rate, that’s not why I took off a star: that’s for the climax, which is one of those high-magic showdowns (in an otherwise relatively low-magic book) that makes very little sense. A lot of fireworks come apparently out of nowhere. It did not work for me at all, although at least the ending did.
Finally, then: this is an adult book, and a very good one, but it’s not just another pretty fairy tale retelling. Read it only if you’re willing to go to the dark places where it will take you.
March 27, 2024
Este libro disimula el tema del que trata, la violencia sexual contra las mujeres y la superación del trauma, con el tono de un cuento de hadas. Se basa en el cuento de Piel de Asno, que ya de por sí tiene un subtexto sexual muy poco disimulado, pero en este caso el subtexto es texto. Ni siquiera el tono poético consigue tapar una escena de agresión sexual
Me costó entrar y el tema es duro, pero si se persevera y se llega al final, el final deja un buen sabor de boca.
Me costó entrar y el tema es duro, pero si se persevera y se llega al final, el final deja un buen sabor de boca.
April 22, 2017
4.5 STARS
This was so different and so good. Fantasy, magic, tragedy and a bit of romance rounds out this beautifully written book. I've read 'Sunshine' by this author and liked it, but this was on a whole other level.
The circumstances of Lissar's escape were heartbreaking and brutal. There is incest here, so if that's a trigger then avoid this. However, if that's something you can handle in the context of an amazing story of resilience, hope and new beginnings, then read this book.
This was so different and so good. Fantasy, magic, tragedy and a bit of romance rounds out this beautifully written book. I've read 'Sunshine' by this author and liked it, but this was on a whole other level.
The circumstances of Lissar's escape were heartbreaking and brutal. There is incest here, so if that's a trigger then avoid this. However, if that's something you can handle in the context of an amazing story of resilience, hope and new beginnings, then read this book.
February 11, 2017
I've been wanting to read this for SO LONG and finally bought it. Read like a fairy tale and was a slow fantasy, but I really did enjoy it. Ash is the best dog and I want one.
Kind of wished for a bit more time seeing the Ossen and Lissar interact and a bit more after the wrap up for ship reasons. Also ended rather abruptly. I kind of wanted more answers about the Moonwoman and exactly how/ why Lissar's appearance changed, as well as a bit more explanation about what exactly happened during some of the confrontation scene (it was a massive wtf moment)
Kind of wished for a bit more time seeing the Ossen and Lissar interact and a bit more after the wrap up for ship reasons. Also ended rather abruptly. I kind of wanted more answers about the Moonwoman and exactly how/ why Lissar's appearance changed, as well as a bit more explanation about what exactly happened during some of the confrontation scene (it was a massive wtf moment)
April 28, 2017
DNF. Waaaaaaaaay to wordy, I lost interest after she made it through Winter, met the magical lady, and just finds civilization again. I tried skimming, but the descriptions and inner monologues went on for pages.
July 1, 2023
A story of transformation and becoming.
Do not read this if younger than 18.
Do not read this if younger than 18.
August 19, 2013
I genuinely feel at a loss for words when it comes to Robin McKinley, not because her work inspires speechlessness, but rather because it doesn't. After finishing The Blue Sword last year, I realized that much of McKinley's charm was lost on me. I found one of her best pieces of work to be dull and in need of desperate polishing. Thus, I didn't really intend to read Deerskin but the premises sounded too intriguing to pass up.
A beautiful princess, largely ignored for much of her life, comes to the attention of her father, the King, after her mother passes away. The Queen, known to be the most beautiful woman in all the Seven Kingdoms, makes her husband promise not to marry a woman who is of lesser beauty than she, which shockingly causes the King to announce his intentions to marry his daughter, just two years later. After beating and raping her violently, leaving her for the dead, the King leaves Lissra to her fate.
But she survives. And as a survival tale of courage, this book excels. Lissra is poignantly written and her brutal rape is delicately handled. Furthermore, despite its darkness, I enjoyed this tale. It is beautifully written in a gripping, fairy tale style, and the relationship between Lissra and her faithful companion, the dog Ash, is beautifully depicted. Even the eventual romance with the plump, but kind, Prince Ossin is sweet. I was willing to forgive the slow passages in-between in favor of a 4 Star rating as well - that's how well this book was shaping up - but it seems I am doomed to give McKinley's novels no more than a mere 3 Stars.
Unfortunately, where this book lost me was in Lissra's ultimate healing. While her mind buried the events of her past and she gradually came to know the truth, I was disappointed by the heavy guidance of a magic that dictated her actions. Lissra finds help in the form of the Moonwoman who heals both her mind and body, but throughout the story - and especially during those last scenes - the Moonwoman helps Lissra to confront her father. For me, this lacked the strength of Lissra's own courage and will to stand up to her oppressor.
Additionally, the romance that gives Lissra a new life was paced slightly abruptly. I found that the line between trust and love, friendship and romance, was drawn too faintly and that jump made far too quickly. I cannot deny, however, that Deerskin is a beautiful novel. For once, I have no real qualms with McKinley's writing and have come to admire the deft manner she dealt with the more complex issues in this story. And yet, no matter how much I wish to embrace McKinley as a fellow fantasy lover, I seem unable to fall in love with her books. Maybe Beauty or Rose Daughter will change my mind yet.
A beautiful princess, largely ignored for much of her life, comes to the attention of her father, the King, after her mother passes away. The Queen, known to be the most beautiful woman in all the Seven Kingdoms, makes her husband promise not to marry a woman who is of lesser beauty than she, which shockingly causes the King to announce his intentions to marry his daughter, just two years later. After beating and raping her violently, leaving her for the dead, the King leaves Lissra to her fate.
But she survives. And as a survival tale of courage, this book excels. Lissra is poignantly written and her brutal rape is delicately handled. Furthermore, despite its darkness, I enjoyed this tale. It is beautifully written in a gripping, fairy tale style, and the relationship between Lissra and her faithful companion, the dog Ash, is beautifully depicted. Even the eventual romance with the plump, but kind, Prince Ossin is sweet. I was willing to forgive the slow passages in-between in favor of a 4 Star rating as well - that's how well this book was shaping up - but it seems I am doomed to give McKinley's novels no more than a mere 3 Stars.
Unfortunately, where this book lost me was in Lissra's ultimate healing. While her mind buried the events of her past and she gradually came to know the truth, I was disappointed by the heavy guidance of a magic that dictated her actions. Lissra finds help in the form of the Moonwoman who heals both her mind and body, but throughout the story - and especially during those last scenes - the Moonwoman helps Lissra to confront her father. For me, this lacked the strength of Lissra's own courage and will to stand up to her oppressor.
Additionally, the romance that gives Lissra a new life was paced slightly abruptly. I found that the line between trust and love, friendship and romance, was drawn too faintly and that jump made far too quickly. I cannot deny, however, that Deerskin is a beautiful novel. For once, I have no real qualms with McKinley's writing and have come to admire the deft manner she dealt with the more complex issues in this story. And yet, no matter how much I wish to embrace McKinley as a fellow fantasy lover, I seem unable to fall in love with her books. Maybe Beauty or Rose Daughter will change my mind yet.
May 30, 2024
Trigger warnings:
This book was... a lot.
The plot (in a nutshell) is about when Princess Lissar's drop dead gorgeous mom (I mean like the WHOLE fucking country is absolutely enamored with this bitch) dies and her father becomes obsessed with her, as Lissar looks like her mother. Lissar and her dog Ash escape the castle and find a cottage in the middle of the woods. After surviving the winter there, they stumble upon a nearby kingdom and find work in the castle stables. The prince of the kingdom begins to befriend Lissar, now calling herself Deerskin, and begins to tell her the story of the dead princess of a nearby kingdom… It's a darker retelling of Donkeyskin, my favorite fairytale because fucked up is apparently my aesthetic. (◕‿◕✿)
Though it takes the plot almost 100 pages to go anywhere, it deals with a lot of heavy themes. It was hard to read about these things but in a good-bad kind of way. Reading about Lissar's adventure overcoming her grief and trauma to self discovery was very uplifting. Though all the other characters seem to take the backseat most of the time, but they were cool too.
This book's writing has an air of nonchalance that I really vibed with, almost like someone was telling you a fairytale they've told for the 100th time. Some sentences were absolutely gorgeous, while others were the most pretentious shit I have ever read and had to resist the urge to press the 30 second skip button on the audiobook 12 million times. Yet, I didn't DNF it and kept going back for more.
Audiobook thoughts: Straight up 🔥🔥🔥! Xe Sands really caught the fairytale tone and nonchalance of the story.
My favorite quote on self healing:
"αsh ís lσσkíng fσrwαrd tσ runníng thrσugh mєαdσws αgαín; cαn чσu nσt gívє чσursєlf lєαvє tσ run thrσugh mєαdσws tσσ?" 🌻
Where to get a copy: 📚
Amazon* - Barnes & Noble - Books-A-Million
ℹ Disclosure:
*This review contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. All proceeds will be donated to a local animal shelter at the end of the year. Thanks. :)
This book was... a lot.
The plot (in a nutshell) is about when Princess Lissar's drop dead gorgeous mom (I mean like the WHOLE fucking country is absolutely enamored with this bitch) dies and her father becomes obsessed with her, as Lissar looks like her mother. Lissar and her dog Ash escape the castle and find a cottage in the middle of the woods. After surviving the winter there, they stumble upon a nearby kingdom and find work in the castle stables. The prince of the kingdom begins to befriend Lissar, now calling herself Deerskin, and begins to tell her the story of the dead princess of a nearby kingdom… It's a darker retelling of Donkeyskin, my favorite fairytale because fucked up is apparently my aesthetic. (◕‿◕✿)
Though it takes the plot almost 100 pages to go anywhere, it deals with a lot of heavy themes. It was hard to read about these things but in a good-bad kind of way. Reading about Lissar's adventure overcoming her grief and trauma to self discovery was very uplifting. Though all the other characters seem to take the backseat most of the time, but they were cool too.
This book's writing has an air of nonchalance that I really vibed with, almost like someone was telling you a fairytale they've told for the 100th time. Some sentences were absolutely gorgeous, while others were the most pretentious shit I have ever read and had to resist the urge to press the 30 second skip button on the audiobook 12 million times. Yet, I didn't DNF it and kept going back for more.
Audiobook thoughts: Straight up 🔥🔥🔥! Xe Sands really caught the fairytale tone and nonchalance of the story.
My favorite quote on self healing:
"αsh ís lσσkíng fσrwαrd tσ runníng thrσugh mєαdσws αgαín; cαn чσu nσt gívє чσursєlf lєαvє tσ run thrσugh mєαdσws tσσ?" 🌻
Where to get a copy: 📚
Amazon* - Barnes & Noble - Books-A-Million
ℹ Disclosure:
*This review contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. All proceeds will be donated to a local animal shelter at the end of the year. Thanks. :)
May 21, 2021
I know I came across this book in my early teens. I can describe exactly where I saw it, and the cover (not the Kindle edition, I don't think e-readers existed then: it was the 1994 Ace mass market paperback, not in the best condition) came back to me instantly when I was browsing Goodreads, but... its contents? A total blank. I couldn't remember anything about the plot or characters or memorable scenes out of context. Was it so bad I threw it out of my memory banks? Was it too mediocre to waste brain cells on? Or was it the opposite, where it went over my head and thus disappeared into the fuzzy mists of forgetfulness? What the fuck, brain! Which was it!!
And then I (re)read it, and it still didn't jog any memories loose, but I'm gonna go with "good job protecting me from disturbing content, brain," because hoo boy that was rough. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it - . I also don't know that I want to read it again, ngl. (I found the overt fantasy elements the most headscratchy; probably I still am not smart enough to Get It. The more things change, etc.)
And then I (re)read it, and it still didn't jog any memories loose, but I'm gonna go with "good job protecting me from disturbing content, brain," because hoo boy that was rough. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it - . I also don't know that I want to read it again, ngl. (I found the overt fantasy elements the most headscratchy; probably I still am not smart enough to Get It. The more things change, etc.)
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