Deerskin

An excellant retelling of a childhood fairytale in a manner that makes sense for adults. Really people can be as crazy this girl's mother was. But even as vain as she was she did care for the potential spouse of her husband that she would leave a widow. He also seemed to really care for her and that was what made his basically a good person until he commited such an evil act on his own daughter. Evidently they were pretty attentive to the people they ruled but had no idea how to be parents.

Was it the moon goddess/lady or the spirit of the girls mother trying to be maternal in spirit after her death who helps her daughter through the tramatic act of viloence? Love how the author leaves you wondering. The princess proves she is a strong and worthy character in the manner she grows and learns. I love stories where sexually abused women can recover and find their soulmates and learn to love and enjoy the sexual act again. To me this represents a very strong and enpowering journey.

This is a beautiful disturbing and ultimately healing book. The dreamlike prose and the journey from trauma to the beginning of recovery makes this worth reading time and again. Robin McKinley is master of fairy tales fir grownups.

I've adored this book from first reading. I recently purchased the book, somehow managed to forget it at a bus stop, and was then overjoyed when my girlfriend purchased a replacement for me. I will never tire of it. Deerskin has a place of honor on our shelf.

This is a memorable read. It is a haunting tale. It begins with a barbaric rape, twists and turns through realization of worth to another, self worth, and healing and finally, love. It is like nothing you've ever read. I have read this time and time again and always find something new.

This book was simultaneously my favorite of Robin McKinley's books and one of the most disappointing and dissatisfying books I've ever read. After this, I've decided that I will not read any more of her books. I've read about 5 others and mostly enjoyed them, but this one really punched up the same flaw in all of her books, which is the ending. She always starts strong and gives you a great read, until somewhere, usually towards the end though in Deerskin it started in the middle, everything seems to go downhill. I am always left dissatisfied at the end of her books. They end with characters just sort of ending up together with no real feelings about it, or random magical happenings that rush to a final conclusion that doesn't really make sense or resolve anything.

In Deerskin, the first half of the book is SO well done that I stuck through the last hoping it would get better. I think it was really brave to take on a story with such painful events and themes, and I admire her ability to transition it from a fairy tale into a story of real human pain and perseverance, but all of that suddenly dropped away halfway through and the main character ended up wandering back and forth for no reason or purpose with random (and as far as I can tell, pointless) magical powers, with a final confrontation with the villain that went on and on and still made no sense and an end that fizzled at best.

When I first began reading McKinley's books I wondered why she wasn't a better known name and a bigger deal in the literary world, and now I see why. As a writer she's fatally flawed, and this book epitomizes that flaw.

I thought the book Deerskin was good very well written and not the typical book you normally read. It was very different but a good different but then I am partial to Robin Mckinley books. It had a good story line and though confusing in parts very good i loved it!

Robin McKinley is extremely talented at creating characters, worlds, and situations that make you race through her pages. Unfortunately, there's just too much unresolved in this book. Why was her mother so beautiful? How did her father accomplish impossible tasks? Did one or both of them strike an unholy bargain? What spell was embedded in the painting? Who was the lively young lady? What ever happened to Viaka? Is Lisslar really the moon woman, or not? Too many unanswered questions and unresolved plot points.

This is my first read from Robin McKinley, and the beautiful cover with the hound really drew my eye. Deerskin was first released in the early 1990s, but is just now being brought to audio by Tantor Audio. The narrator, Xe Sands, did a great job with the performance, pacing and characters.

This is the story about the coming-of-age of Princess Lissla Lissar, a quiet child largely ignored by her larger-than-life parents. The King and Queen were beloved by their people, seemingly more for their beauty and fairytale origins than for any good deeds or benevolence. When the Queen's beauty fades and passes away, Lissar is thrown more into the spotlight than she has been in the past. This draws some horribly unwanted and incestuous attention from the King, which leads to a series of tragic events. Trigger warnings weren't the thing back in the 90s, but this story probably warrants one with today's societal trends.

As you can imagine, there are lots of emotional moments with our young heroine. There were many times when I thought she would give up, but she persevered. Though she had help, and I don't know that she would have made it on her own. This is where we see slight touches of magic come in. I felt that this aspect was quite understated and subtle in the scope of the whole book. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of a magical theme, as I felt like what we did have was intriguing and caught my interest.

We first see Lissar lose herself and identity, then slowly put herself back together piece by agonizing piece. During this time, she relies only on herself, her hound companion, Ash, and a mystical force at work in the woods. Then we see Lissar transition into Deerskin and re-integrate herself with people and palace life. Dogs continued to play heavily in Deerskin's development and healing. The dogs were probably my favorite aspect of the story. I liked that each had their own personality and part to play in the story.

By the end, Deerskin/Lissar has come full circle. She has grown from a scared girl to a courageous young woman. Her path forward is full of potential and love and acceptance. Overall, I did like the story - it was just not what I was expecting. The bulk of the story was sad and somewhat dreary. That overshadowed the ending to the extent that I didn't really feel like it was a happily ever after, but more of an accepted path forward for a broken girl. A happily ever after in progress, if you will.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Tantor Audio.

First, a trigger warning for rape. This is an incredibly dark tale, and it isn’t for everyone. It contains a stunning exploration of dissociation, repressed memories and flashbacks that flattened me. McKinley’s voice wanders and meanders with a lyrical loveliness; it’s rescued from being potentially slow by a magnetic, engrossing, terrifying plot. I’m still reeling from reading it.

The characterization is striking. Side characters come to life, and the major characters contain great depth. I particularly like the friendship that develops between Ossin and Lissar, which isn’t at all a stereotypical fantasy relationship. The ties between Lissar and her dogs likewise entranced me, despite the fact that I’m not a dog person.

The magic present in the tale has a fierce, mystical touch to it. It’s an occasional thing–no spells, sorcerers or mystics–but powerful when it shows its face. The Moonwoman has chosen to shine her light on Lissar, and her loving touch informs everything.

I am not ashamed to say that I shed more than a tear or two as I approached the climax of Deerskin. It enthralled me as it swept toward its powerful conclusion. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone, as long as they’re ready for the subject matter.

This is probably my favorite book of my favorite genre. Since I fist read it over a decade ago, I have re-read it at least four times. As I revisit many books I read in high school (I am now 27), many have fallen flat with time. Deerskin is a rare book that has withstood the test of time - while it is a fantasy with a romantic subplot, I find something meaningful with every reading. A great and powerful book for older teens and adults.

As a girl who grew up watching disney's princess films, I've always been fascinated by the original fairy tales that inspired them. Deerskin is based off of an older and darker Cinderella variant, Peau d'âne (Donkeyskin). Following the old fairytale, The reason for the heroines flight from her home kingdom (rather than being a whim to spend a night not cleaning the house) is that her father swore an oath to his dying queen that he would never remarry until he found a bride as lovely as her. Being the most beautiful woman in all the world, the only choice of bride for the king was his own daughter.

The suffocating reality of Lissar's life before she flees her father is difficult to get though, but it is emotionally relevant to the story. Themes of victim-blaming, emotional vulnerability and coping mechanisms are explored with care. That being said, this is probably not a book for everybody: gut-wrenching scenes of violence are dream-like as the Lissar detaches from her horrific reality, making the pace of the book too slow for readers expecting something more action-packed. Lissar must heal and grow before she can avenge herself, but I found this realistic and truthful. Even though Lissar's detachment though much of the book can make her difficult to identify with, I still found her to be assertive and intelligent even in her most broken state - she is a much better and more realistic role model than the contemporary heroines who's draw is that they deal swift justice and unexplainably charm every man within 50 square miles. As a mainstay in any Cinderella retelling, there is a prince, but his draw is not that he is dashing, rich, and instantly besotted with Lissar.

An excellent book for someone fascinated by a deeper exploration of the universal themes present in fairytales and folklore, or someone looking for something different than the warrior goddesses plagued by love-triangles littering contemporary fiction.

I actually have read this book several times. It is a beautiful experience every time. For me, it's tale of brutal pain, loss of knowing yourself, and the way she becomes nothing but the instinct to survive hits home. I have survived my own variation of hell and this book and the beauty of this one character helped my healing so much. If the author has never had something happen that rewrites her whole life and everything she is, then she is amazingly perceptive to what happens when it does happen to someone. This is ,for me , the strongest, most raw, and beautiful character I've ever read. I cry every time I read her journey. This story is extremely emotional, so if your looking for a light read ...this is not it. If you want something that hits your heart and makes you in awe of human will then give it a shot. There is no room for shallow thinking in this novel. You connect or you don't. Thank you for putting your heart into this story Robin McKinley.

Ugly, entrancing, vivid, and quaint, this is a tough book to handle and a tough book to put down. Most of it seems to take place in a dream state, anchored by celebrations of mundane hard work. There are heartrending and awe-inspiring scenes that make you wish for a moment that it could be real, and the story leaves a lasting impression. McKinley is particularly deft at changing the tone of writing to match Lissar's emotions; languid and descriptive when inquisitive, short and unemotional when in shock, and so on. Multiple sections are written in a staccato stream of consciousness, where details start to blend together just as Lissar's days do. You become invested, you feel as if you are present, experiencing everything as she does. It truly feels as if McKinley is exorcising demons here.

This dreaminess is central to the fairy tale feel, particularly in its romanticization of laborers and their work. Time passes in a haze of day to day mundaneness, spiced up enough to keep the interest going, punctuated by sharp events in clear focus driving sudden change. Ash and the other dogs are as integral to the story as the daemons of His Dark Materials trilogy, they are extensions of Lissar herself, and most of her healing comes from them, not from the love interest. The deft handling of so much pain and trauma and the difficult but realistic road to (partial) recovery is the greatest part of Deerskin.

Personally, I felt that the last quarter was particularly weak and didn't include nearly as much story or character development as before, trying in vain to recreate the endless journey of the second part, with the ending wrapping up a bit too neatly, with a bit too much foreshadowing... but it is a fairy tale, after all, and you can only pack so much horror into a book without channeling V.C. Andrews. The product of fatigue, maybe?

There are parts where the angst almost overwhelms the story - the ceremony immediately following the ball interjects pages of unspoken condemnation of our plucky heroine during a few seconds of speech. The final confrontation is likewise seen from the observers; that rare perspective change, when nearly the entire book is Lissar, disconnects me in a way that might not if they were more common. The case of the ball ceremony above is the most angsty, but the final few pages - when pov suddenly switches into the head of someone for the first time, then back - is particularly jarring.

On the whole, it is a great book, and the use of poetic imagery in all the right spots really elevates the entire experience. The uneven parts do pass back into awesome soon enough. Unless you're particularly sensitive to rape or monotony, it's a worthwhile read.

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.

Princess Lissar, daughter of a handsome king and the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms, has little interest in the court. But her mother's death brings a gift and a curse: Ash, her dog and loyal companion; and her father's lust which forces her to flee her kingdom for a journey of survival, self-discovery, and healing. Deerskin is a fairy tale in the form of a novel, finding every benefit in both of these aspects. From the first page the book reads like a fable: the fairy tale (based on Perrault's "Donkeyskin") provides premise and archetypes, the bare bones of a tale which, complimented by McKinley's austere and romantic narration, give the story a sense of timelessness and a magic that far exceeds simple dragons and princely tasks. But McKinley is never content with a fairy tale's simplicity of characterization and narration: in the length and breadth of a novel she finds nuance and detail for every aspect, creating complex characters, realistic emotion, and above all a finely-wrought uncertainty which touches each aspect of the book, denying easy categorization and resolution, insisting instead on the unsettling authenticity of imperfection.

As a result Deerskin is at once dreamy and harsh, at once archetypal and intensely personal, and suffused always with a subtlety that brings life to the protagonist and strength to her story--especially in the book's conclusion. Which is not to say that the book is without fault--Ash, Lissar's canine companion, is touched by a little too much magic and so sometimes seems unbelievable, and the pacing in the final third of the book grows swift, throwing the imagery and magic of the conclusion into a tummult--but a book need not be faultless to be sublime, and any concerns grown as the book comes to a close are assuaged by the beauty, strength, and imperfection of the last few pages. Deerskin is absorbing at its onset and compelling throughout its length, a beauty and a delight without ever shirking its darkest and most difficult aspects, and I enjoyed it utterly. I recommend it to all readers--and perhaps most to those that love a fairy tale retold with all the depth that can be built upon an archetype.

The Setting -- is an old style kingdom, where magic is rumored but never seen. It begins in the court of Lissla's father who rules the largest, most powerful and rich country and is defined by being married to the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms. But not all of the kingdoms are like his. There are the smaller, more personable kings who rub elbows with their people and endear them by their good hearts and honest concern. I loved the nod to her other books, namely The Blue Sword, which connects her other books and this into a sort of McKinley fairy tale world.

The Characters -- are not always alive on paper. Lissla as the featured character and narrator was alive. You felt her struggle. You knew her and you cheered her on. Ossin is the prince who falls in love with her because of their mutual love for their dogs, and while I will always treasure his character for that last, final chapter and his unfailing acceptance of what happened to her, I wish there was more chemistry on paper between them. Many of the characters though were merely defined by their office, such as doorkeeper, etc.

The Plot -- Deerskin for me is not an easy read. It's no secret I rarely read books that feature abuse of any kind as primary plot devices. But Deerskin is not just about the great evil that happened to Lissla, it's about how she conquered what happened to her through her love and devotion to the one creature that loved her unconditionally: her dog Ash. Lissla's relationship with the dogs teaches her to care again for others, and that is how she can begin the long process of learning to love another person.

Deerskin is a wonderful, adult, fairy tale. I read this in high school and remember being very uncomfortable with it. I reread it now and loved it for the growth and struggles.

*SPOILERS* Everything I have read I have been able to relate to and care about the character. I have never been in her situation but I can still understand. When she recovered from her attack Mckinley transported me there. The descriptions were so vivid and real that it was almost like I was there, and I was experiencing it. This book had an affect on me . At times I almost cried. I liked reading about how she survived in the cabin. NOTE :Yes there are some taboo parts of this book, and Mckinley handles it very tactfully,but I would not recommend this to children.This book is also good for dog fans. Not everyone will like it, but I certainly did and I recommend it. This book will always have a place in my heart.

If you know your fairy tales, then you've probably already read some of the inspirations for this story, most notably Perrault's "Donkeyskin." But McKinley does something really different, brave, and (to my mind) far more interesting here with this story, giving her characters far more believable reactions, motives, and resolutions.

It's a great book, although it's much darker and more melancholy than many of McKinley's other works. It is also NOT for young children, so those reviews here screaming hysterically about inappropriate or dark themes in a kids' book -- well, it's NOT, in any way, a kids' book, although I do think it is perfectly appropriate for more mature teen readers. (So please note: while a terrific story, its elements include rape, violence, madness, and other trials that are simply not for young kids.)

For those expecting something along the lines of "The Hero and the Crown," "Deerskin" is the moon to that book's sun. It's darker, sadder, more violent. Yet it's riveting stuff. Lissla is a markedly different protagonist from Aerin, and far more passive, at least in the beginning -- a trait that will soon cause her to endure a horrifying and brutal attack, and send her out into the world alone except for her faithful fleethound. Yet she does find protection, a life, and even love.

The story is beautiful, and resolves in a surprising and satisfactory manner. I loved the ways in which the colors white and silver recur throughout the book -- a mysterious protector, a moonlit night, a magical snowfall, etc. And as always, McKinley's romantic interest for Lissla isn't some blah cookie-cutter prince, but a wonderful person who lives and breathes and has his own insecurities. And as with "Crown," she yet again paints a beautiful and believable portrait of the close friendship between people and animals -- this time, between Lissla and her faithful fleethound.

An excellent read for any mature reader of fantasy or fairy tales (and far superior to the shallow and unsatisfying story by Perrault).

The editorial review above, while it derides _Deerskin_ as fluff, does summarize the plot pretty well, so I won't waste bandwidth on that. What I will say is this: _Deerskin_ is not fluff. And Robin McKinley sure knows how to use the English language.
We are in her spell from the beginning. The book commences with Lissar's nurse telling her a fairy tale--but the fairy tale is the story of how Lissar's larger-than-life parents met. She is told from the very cradle what paragons her mother and father are, and yet she herself is ignored by them. McKinley seduces us with the the magical kingdom's rarefied beauty and glamour--and also the coldness and rot at its core. When Lissar flees, we are shown, with the same deftness, an inhospitable wilderness. And when she finds the kingdom of Cofta, we can't help but notice the difference between it and Lissar's old home; it is more pompous in its architecture, but filled with human warmth. McKinley is equally at home in the throne room and in the dog kennels, and she makes all of it real for us, as Lissar, with the help of the Moonwoman, heals and begins to imagine a new life for herself.
I knock off half a star because of a little peeve of mine. McKinley's imaginary world is very similar to our own in terms of flora and fauna. People own dogs, ride horses, and hunt deer and rabbits. But then McKinley feels obligated to point out that this is an imaginary world by also populating the forests with "ootag" and "toro". These words are bandied about constantly, but never quite explained, except that they're animals. I still don't know what an ootag is. As for toro, my guess would have been a wild bull (given my knowledge of Romance languages)--but guess what--it's more like a giant stag. Why couldn't she have just said "stag"? I don't know. The made-up words are jarring. Also, the climactic scene is somewhat overdone. Other than that, splendidly done.

Having read many of the other reviews, I feel the need to respond to them first. I agree that this is not a children's story (although I read it as a young teenager, and feel that many, perhaps most teenagers could handle it quite well). I also recognize that it deals with some of the darker sides of life. However, I personally enjoyed that; I get tired of reading about happy, cheerful stories or great traumas that are instantly healed. It was good to get a look at a rather painful issue, and in a way that did not gloss over it or make light of it.
I have always appreciated the ways in which Robin McKinley can describe her characters and settings so realistically and yet so magically. I felt that she did an especially good job here. Lissar is a realistic character. Like many other victims of abuse, she doesn't know how to escape or what to do (to the person who complained that she took so long to leave, I would like to point out that in a situation where she has never been allowed to be a strong individual, where her father has complete and total authority over her, and where her world has been completely torn apart in the last two days, her shock and numbness are understandable). For quite awhile she manages only to survive. Yet in the end she comes to peace with her past and is able to move on. This comes with the help of many of her friends, but it is also a tribute to the amazing strength that she has in herself, strengh inherited from her mother but used to totally different ends. She is another in the long, noble line of Robin McKinley heroines who begin as timid, thinking little of themselves, yet discover amazing depths of strength to help those around them. She has her faults, and makes bad decisions, but ultimately she manages to come to grips with her past. She seems a believable character. Ash and Ossin especially are also believable, and have an amazing depth of personality and development (especially Ash, who doubles as someone who would willingly sacrfice anything for her friend, and as a humorous character who brings a bit of levity to the book). Having known many people who have endured similar hells, and having been given the privilege of being to help support some of them in their healing, this book really rang true for me. It echoed what my abused friends had said, and many of the responses of Ossin and Ash echoed what I myself had felt.
This book also has many different levels. The only way that I've found to understand them is to read it, reread it, and so on, over and over again. This is one of those books where each time I read it I discover something new. I had the chance to analyze this book for a class I took, and it was one of the best academic experiences of my life. I highly recommend this book to anyone willing to openly and honestly deal with some of the tougher issues in life.

Deerskin is a very different sort of book from what Ms. McKinley normally writes. True most of her novels are her version of popular fairy tales, and indeed Deerskin is her version of Donkeyskin. As with her other novels Ms. McKinley again writes of fantastic adventures, of a daring heroine trying to find herself, of the love the characters happen upon along the way, and of the bond between animal and hero (think of Talat and Aerin, in this one it is Ash and Lissar). But that is the end of the similarities. Deerskin is a very dark novel, and it's very much more a psychological battle with herself that the heroine Lissar is fighting, rather than the typical `bad guy' vs. `good guy'. I think this novel was fascinating beyond belief, as it delves more into the psychological aspects of characters, rather than their actions. Things like why the perfect queen faded away and died, what the perfect king was like after his queen's death, how he dealt with it, the trauma after a personal violation, trying to recover, trying to trust in love again, and the ghosts that haunt us all. Those are some of the things I found most captivating. Ms. McKinley's writing is very poetic, as with all her novels. There is a great amount of description and I suppose it does add a lot of depth and feeling to the novel. However by reading the book within two days all the description was almost overwhelming, though to me it stopped just short of taking away from the richness of the text. Overall this book was an interesting and absorbing read. I devoted two days of constant reading in order to get through it and I think it was worth it. The characters are interesting and actually have depth and humanity to them, the writing was elegant, the plot was not too complex so as to let the focus rest on psychological aspects, and it was a beautiful, if haunting, read.

This is my favorite author in the world, so naturally, when the audiobook became available for this book I had to have it. The narrator is perfect for Deerskin and was read exactly the way that I heard her in my head. I have listened to this audiobook several times now and enjoy every reading.

I will not pass judgment on McKinley's writing ability. I will simply state that what I believe she attempted to create with this book was definitely worth the attempt. She took a subject that is difficult to write about without becoming vulgar or obscene, and wrapped it thinly in fairy tale symbolism to bring us the emotional content without delving into grotesque detail. While some say that this book is hyper-feminist and poorly written, I enjoyed the story's dreamlike quality without being bothered by any socio-political statements the author might have been pushing through the tale.

Deerskin is not fantasy the way many people think of the genre. The wizards and warriors, trolls and dragons do not find a place in this book. It is, perhaps, an obvious allegory, but its story is told with a faraway perspective that gives the feel of a celtic fairy tale, more than a standard fantasy/sci-fi story that fans like myself would normally apply to for entertainment. McKinley plot walks hand in hand with her chosen style of storytelling, since dark and disturbing themes were not unheard of in the un-disneyfied fairy tales of medieval times. McKinley has created a fairy tale that is, in spirit, linked to the earlier, more raw, more bloody, more horrifying, and more compelling versions of many of the tales we watched flicker across silver screens while songs about true love and happy cleanup times rang in our ears.

Despite the strident negativity of a minority of the reviews (or maybe because of it), I feel the need to say that this is one of my all-time favorite books. Some may not like it for it's dark tone or it's themes, but I feel they are missing the point: Deerskin is about survival, about finding yourself again and recognizing in yourself the ability to love and even exist after heinous trauma and betrayal.

Deerskin survives some of the worst things that can happen to a human being, and yet she regains her strength and discovers herself through this pain in a way she never had before- she gains wholeness. McKinnley tells Deerskin's story unflinchingly, and yet with dignity. Reading Deerskin is what brought McKinnley to my attention and she is (and remains) a favorite author.

If you are a squeemish type, you might not enjoy some of the more "real" looks at Deerskin's suffering. BUT, I must say, you are missing out on a wonderful story about a woman's surival and self-discovery.

Not a book dedicated to "emotional masochism" (as one reviewer put it), Deerskin is a story about strength, determination and the power of love. Give it a chance. You won't be disappointed.

This novel is like a dream: things happen that don't always make sense, it starts very simplistic and turns horrific very quickly, and you find yourself unable to wake up or turn away because you have to know how it ends. I was originally a little put off by the incest and rape aspect of this book (two things I don't like to read about-- who does?) but McKinley is a master and handles this very well. The actual assault scenes are dream-like and not told in painful, exacting detail (thankfully) which make this novel all the more compelling. Lissar is in a sort of dream as well: her dreamy, isolated childhood, her nightmare after being betrayed by her father, and then she finally wakes up. This novel is so powerful and incredible that I suggest it to anyone and everyone. McKinley is one of my favorite writers and this is one of my favorite books from her.

Lissar is not a shrinking violet character, nor is she brash or outwardly strong: she is forgotten about most of her life and lives quietly with her dog. She grows to find strength she never knew she had and becomes an incredible character that I wish I heard more of. The scenes of dog raising add to the humanity of this book. I can't reccomend it enough!

I absolutely love this book. Its one of my favorites and I've reread it several times. Deerskin is such a heartbreakingly tragic character that at times I was moved to tears by her pain. McKinley handles the topic of incest and rape in an appropriate manner that isn't too graphic, but nonetheless conveys the point. The romance that develops between Deerskin and prince Ossin is poignant and heartwarming. When Deerskin reveals her true identity and what happened to her, Ossin isn't disgusted. In fact he's outraged and appalled on her behalf. He wants nothing but her love and to love her in turn. My only problem with this book was the ending. It seemed vaguely unfinished to me. I wish Ms. McKinley had provided an epilogue or something that told us what happened to Deerskin and Ossin. Did they marry? Did Lissla Lissar manage to accept and overcome what happened to her and thereby accept Ossin's love? At the end of the story she does stay with Ossin but she stills seems a bit flighty and I can't help but wonder if she doesn't panic and leave him again. But in spite of that minor flaw this book is an incredible story that I highly recommend to anyone. The plot is original as well as heartbreaking in its sadness and joy.

Probably the single most distressing book Robin McKinley ever wrote -- it's an adaptation of the fairy tale more commonly known as Donkeyskin. A princess grows up ignored by her self-absorbed parents and the courtiers until her mother wastes away and dies of a mysterious illness. Her mother extracts from the king a promise that he will marry no woman who is not as beautiful as she was. On the princess's 17th birthday, the king realizes his daughter is as beautiful as her mother was and, with chilling logic, decides to marry her. She understandably objects. The king rapes his daughter. The rape is not physically graphic. Instead, it's emotionally graphic. The reader feels everything the princess feels; not only the physical violation but the betrayal and terror and loss of control.

The first third of the book ends with the princess and her faithful dog running away, traumatized physically and mentally. The rest of the book is her recovery, her finding the ability to love and trust other people, and her taking her revenge. As a reader, however, I never really recovered from the rape. Perhaps that is McKinley's point. But it's a hard read.

It's a well-written book. There are moments of startling beauty and wonderful turns of phrase. The highly dysfunctional and self-aborsobed "romance" of the princess' parents with each other and with their kingdom plays with the dark implications of classic fairy tales. But it's a hard read.