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    Deerskin
    Deerskin
    Deerskin
    Audiobook11 hours

    Deerskin

    Written by Robin McKinley

    Narrated by Xe Sands

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The only daughter of a beloved king and queen, Princess Lissar has grown up in the shadow of her parents' infinite adoration for each other-an infatuation so great that it could only be broken by the queen's unexpected passing. As Lissar reaches womanhood, it becomes clear to everyone in the kingdom that she has inherited her late mother's breathtaking beauty. But on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Lissar's exquisite looks become a curse . . .

    Betrayed and abused, Lissar is forced to flee her home to escape her father's madness. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, Lissar finds refuge in the mountains, where she has the chance to heal and start anew. As she unlocks a door to a world of magic, Lissar finds the key to her survival and begins an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 15, 2018
    ISBN9781541487352
    Author

    Robin McKinley

    Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown, a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature for Sunshine. Her other books include the New York Times bestseller Spindle’s End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; Deerskin, another novel-length fairy-tale retelling, of Charles Perrault’s Donkeyskin; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson; three dogs (two hellhounds and one hell terror); an 1897 Steinway upright; and far too many rosebushes.

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    Reviews for Deerskin

    4/5

    956 ratings53 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      Such a beautiful fairytale. Dark and horrible but also hopeful. Warning ⚠️ this book does contain rape and that event is referenced throughout the book.
    • 1/5
      Endlessly depressing and lonely story, it just hurt to listen to the entire thing and it barely got better
    • 3/5
      I thought the recording quality was scratchy and the reader did not project as well as she could have, so therefore I couldn't listen.
    • 5/5
      Great book. Starts slow but kept me listening until completed.
    • 3/5
      Spoilers below.

      McKinley filters the dark subtexts of a fairy tale through the lens of what feels like a contemporary "adult child" graduate of the recovery movement. She mostly succeeds, but the collision of archetypes and pop psychology gets a bit heavy- handed near the end. I wish McKinley had opted to not depict the actual rape until Lisslar herself recovered her memory of the event; the source of her trauma would have been obvious to the reader, and giving privileged access to something Lisslar herself must struggle to face kind of dilutes the sense of dread we feel as she approaches full awareness. Also, while I appreciate and respect McKinley's vision, I wish she had played a bit more on the expectations handed down from the fairy tale form itself. I liked that Ossin the handsome prince was a bit schlubby and awkward and occasionally splattered with puppy diarrhea. But it would have been better if Lisslar had left him dissapointed in the end and run off instead with Lilac, the butch stable hand, something I thought was actually going to happen for a while. A thoroughgoing rejection of patriarchy, feudalism, and all forms of hetero-normative oppression: Now, that would have been a journey of empowerment fit for the Moon Woman!
    • 5/5
      4.5 stars rounded up because even among the darkness and the heinousness of the catalyst of Deerskin’s tale, I was glued to this story, the titular character and some of the most interesting dogs I’ve ever read about. Superb writing.

      Some things grew no less with time. Some things were absolutes. Some things could not be gotten over, gotten round, forgotten, forgiven, made peace with, released.
    • 5/5
      Magical , healing, and breathtaking.
      I recommend it . Heartwrenching and in places a little slow. And yes, convenient at times. Enchanting story and one that. Had. Me on. The. Edge. Of. My seat at times and desperately feeling the girls emotions okay

    • 5/5
      This book is one of the most beautifully written, beautifully heart wrenching books I have ever been blessed enough to listen to. I plan to read it now again too, when I’m good and ready to go on so astonishing a journey again.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful feminist fantasy, best for readers who like a slow, character driven story. Similar to Juliet Marillier.
    • 2/5
      Deerskin is based on a fairytale, a pretty disturbing one in which a father decides to marry his daughter, because she is the only one equal to his dead wife in beauty. McKinley's version is darker, because of the detail of it. I found it desperately uncomfortable to read, and the pay-off really wasn't worth the discomfort -- for me, anyway. I read somewhere about a therapist suggesting a client of hers, who had been raped, read it, and that it was helpful in that case. But for me, reading it on my own, it... probably wasn't a good idea.

      I might read it again, someday, when I'm more comfortable with the themes. I love stories based on fairytales, particularly less well known ones, and I like McKinley's writing in general, and her writing is a joy to read normally. But... this book wasn't a good idea for me.

      I can't even think how to rate it, because it's so tinged by how I felt about the events and themes. So, bear in mind that my rating is based on my personal reaction, and not on any objective judgement. (All my ratings are, in fact, but this more than any.)
    • 3/5
      I really liked this retelling of Cinderella's predecessor. I found that while it had a couple of moments of deux ex machina, these were rarely enough to make me cringe, and I found Lissar a believable heroine. She's not super-tough (most often her strategy with a problem is to run from it), but this can be a plus, as it makes her more real and a little "out of the box" from our uber-feisty fantasy women. I also liked the book's soul; it was often difficult to read, but it had heart and depth. I enjoyed it, and recommend it to those who are looking for something a little out-of-the-norm in the Fairy Tale genre.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book.
    • 3/5
      Spoilers below.

      McKinley filters the dark subtexts of a fairy tale through the lens of what feels like a contemporary "adult child" graduate of the recovery movement. She mostly succeeds, but the collision of archetypes and pop psychology gets a bit heavy- handed near the end. I wish McKinley had opted to not depict the actual rape until Lisslar herself recovered her memory of the event; the source of her trauma would have been obvious to the reader, and giving privileged access to something Lisslar herself must struggle to face kind of dilutes the sense of dread we feel as she approaches full awareness. Also, while I appreciate and respect McKinley's vision, I wish she had played a bit more on the expectations handed down from the fairy tale form itself. I liked that Ossin the handsome prince was a bit schlubby and awkward and occasionally splattered with puppy diarrhea. But it would have been better if Lisslar had left him dissapointed in the end and run off instead with Lilac, the butch stable hand, something I thought was actually going to happen for a while. A thoroughgoing rejection of patriarchy, feudalism, and all forms of hetero-normative oppression: Now, that would have been a journey of empowerment fit for the Moon Woman!
    • 4/5
      So back in the 1990's there was a trend in fantasy to rewrite fairy tales. Either it was retelling of a well know story, or something new in the style of a fairy tale. This is a retelling of a story (although how well known might be contested). Most of these books fell short of the mark. This is one of the better ones. This isn't to say its a great book - but it pulled me in. McKinley is an excellent author - she knows restraint. As a result, magic is kept to a minimum, but there are still Goddesses. The Princess is written as down to earth, and her ability to survive a cold winter with only her dog and her wits, a bit far fetched, but within the bounds of who Lissar is. The book is darker than most of this type (there is a really horrible rape scene). It doesn't shy away from some of the more horrible aspects of surviving (such as gutting animals).This isn't a perfect book. At times, there is too much "Mystical Woman" type sentences. The city she eventually ends up traveling to is way to nice - she doesn't have to work at finding a job, or place to live. The ending was strange, and really is why this isn't a 3.5 star book.
    • 3/5
      I liked Deerskin and I disliked it. I enjoyed the story as a whole. I loved the style in which it was written, almost like a Grimm fairy tale. The story is very dark in places and a bit too realistic in others, but what can you expect considering the book's synopsis. What I didn't like was the author gnawing on a topic worse than a dog with a bone. The heroine, Lassar, can't remember something and we have to read about that one particular incident for page, after page, after page. Their are several instances like that pertaining to several subjects. I almost gave up at one point. I think if those annoying entries were omitted from the book it would have been half the length and minus the headache. The end of the story was kind of confusing and gruesome. I don't know why the blood was necessary. I'm guessing it's supposed to be symbolic?
    • 5/5
      It's predictable. But, well written stories will make up for so much of that, and Robin McKinley is fantastic.
    • 1/5
      **SPOILER**I found this book to be a disappointment, but if I had known there was rape/incest (same action), I never would've read it.
    • 3/5
      Hmmm... beautiful writing, some lovely passages and powerful ideas... but, hm - it read as if the author was inexperienced, or rushed, or distracted. The first part slogged, the second part was almost a pagan feminist cult favorite, the short third part was almost a (good) genre romance. It probably would be beloved by teen girls and women who haven't read as much as I and aren't as fussy and unforgiving. I did like how the dogs were both 1. dogs, relatively intelligent companion animals and 2. metaphors for unconditional love.
    • 1/5
      This was painful to read. Very graphic and bloody in places, definitely NOT for children. I'm not even sure I'd recommend it for young adults. Her other books have been much better.
    • 3/5
      I read this book when I was 12—much too young to understand and analyze the contents of this book. It horrified me for years. Then a few years ago I went back and read it again. This time I could appreciate the story. It's still not a favorite, but if I had first read it when I was more mature—maybe even 18 or maybe older since the themes of rape, incest, and unwanted pregnancy are very heavy—I imagine I would have liked it more.

      So as a note for others, it's a worthwhile book, but I would suggest it for adults or mature teens.
    • 3/5
      This book has been warming my shelf for quite some time. Robin McKinley has long been one of my favorite fantasy writers and her book The Hero and the Crown is one of the dog-eared paperbacks that I still pick up to read from time to time when I feel like trodding familiar ground and getting lost in a story that I know well.

      Deerskin is set in the same world as The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword, though at a totally different time. It tells the story of Lissla Lissar (I think perhaps I selected this book because the main character's name is close to my own), the daughter of the most beautiful King and Queen in all of the land. As a child, she is ignored by her parents, but after her mother dies, her father looks at her with a different eye. Following a rather violent scene, Lissar runs away from home with her dog, Ash. Due the traumatic events with her father, Lissar forgets who she is and takes the name "Deerskin" as her own. She is touched by magic, and given time to heal her wounds.

      Much of the rest of the book follows an extremely predictable, though enjoyable, path. I thought that the book started a bit slowly - I found myself getting bored with the long backstory on the King and Queen and impatient for the actual story to really start. But once the ball got rolling, I found myself more and more immersed in the story. This isn't a book that I would read again and again, but I feel like it was worth my time. It entertained me.
    • 5/5
      Lovely story. Rather quiet, but compelling.
    • 4/5
      I finished this a few weeks ago, and I kind of wish that I had written my little review immediately on finishing, because the effect that this book has is powerful. This is a gorgeous retelling of a fairy tale, but it is an intense and sometimes very violent one. My connection with the heroine became much stronger by the end that I thought it would be. The terrors are real, the heroine is strong, and the prince is good. A wonderful story.
    • 2/5
      Loved the protagonist, loved her love interest. Loved the much of the story. But I can't get over the setup of the beginning of the novel. To expand the fairytale so much, giving new and interesting voices to the story, and to leave the beginning mired in the fairytale trope and nothing else--it just didn't work for me. Why does the queen exact that promise from her husband? Where is the motivation? I count Robin McKinley among my favorite authors, period, but this one just didn't do it for me.
    • 4/5
      Excellent! This story is Robin McKinley at damn near her finest, and I couldn't put it down.
    • 4/5
      This is an exquisite story - but not for children. I would recommend this only for older teens and adults.
    • 5/5
      I had heard about Deerskin, of course, all the reasons not to read it or to be careful reading it. I finally got around to reading it for myself - and wow. Yes, there's a rape in it - a real rape, with all the pain - physical and mental - and terror and horror accompanying it (though Lissar gets some help in dealing with the physical damage, at least). But aside from that - no, not aside from it. Through that, because of that, there is a magnificent story here. Robin's usual - a romance, but one made of two equal partners; a woman who goes beyond the roles expected of her and builds herself a life and a person that truly fits her, and then finds a man who can appreciate that. No rescued princesses here (well, Camilla, I suppose. But Lissar did the rescuing, there). And the tight bond with Ash, and the only-less-tight bond with the puppies, and real friends made even while Deerskin was still hiding from herself...I repeat, wow. And now I need to read some more Robin - she's addictive. I'll be reading this one again, though not soon.
    • 3/5
      It’s horrifying, the breaking of the most basic of all human taboos. A story full of moon blood dreams and isolated cabins in the snow. Winters that last five years and moon maidens fleeing what they would not know.This a McKinley story that I don’t often revisit. It’s too uncomfortable.And yet, I love the non-linear flow of the story. The inevitable and great tide that is the ultimate conclusion to the story.It’s less of a novel and more of a poem in prose.Thus, I suppose it’s inevitable that I like it.
    • 5/5
      "Deerskin" is above all a meditation on the strength of the human psyche. McKinley has said that she wanted to explore the common fairy tale plot device wherein a young girl is saved from a "fate worse than death," as is the original Charles Perrault heroine on whom "Deerskin" is based. But, what if she isn't saved from that fate? Is "fate" really what this is? Is she lost forever? Is her worth somehow less than the girl who is magically whisked away from the act of violence? In McKinley's version, Lissar is "whisked" only after the fact, and on her own two feet (sometimes aided by the four feet of her loyal dog, Ash, who is possibly one of the best dogs in all of fiction.) This book is heart-breaking and heart-repairing. The characterization of Lissar is complete and the reader is carried into the depths of her pain and also her rejuvenation. "Deerskin" moved me deeply and continues to do so every time I re-read it.
    • 5/5
      Not sure why I was in the mood for this very dark fairy tale adaptation (Donkeyskin is the original, often told in a bowlderdised fashion, aka without the incest), but I raced through it in two days. The language is beautiful though the events are horrific. Lissar is the only daughter of a glittering king and queen. The queen is the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms and her father did an impossible task to win her. But then the queen fades and dies and the king goes mad at the loss. He fixates on his daughter, who has grown to look like her mother, and announced that he's going to marry her. Lissar is almost killed, the only reason she struggles to live is that her dog, Ash, survived the attack. They flee, leaving behind the horror, the castle, the city, the kingdom, trying to survive, to heal from their injuries, to build a new life somehow. There's a bit of magic, a lot of mental darkness, and a litter of puppies to save. The light and dark intertwine, like the Moonwoman that people mistaker Lissar for. The tale takes place in the far future of Damar, when dragons are only pony sized nuisances, and there are some slight echoes of Aerin in Lissar.