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published 1993; hardback 1993; paperback 1994, Ace Books
Startlingly dark and brooding, yet with an underlying sense of hope, Deerskin is Robin McKinley's most remarkable work. It tells the riches-to-rags story of a sheltered princess, Lissla Lissar, who triumphs over unspeakable trauma and establishes her own life.
The fantasy genre has traditionally been devoted to sagas of ancient royal families, whose members possess an innate nobility that allows them to overcome evil. Ironically, Lissla Lissar's royal status provides no solutions to her problems. Her mother is the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms, and her father crossed the world to bring her a leaf from the Tree of Joy and an apple from the Tree of Sorrow, before they could be married. Their love story forms the foundation of Lissar's world, and indeed, of the entire kingdom.
Unlike most of McKinley's other heroines, who possess a certain degree of self-sufficiency, Lissar is timid and biddable. Invisible in the radiance cast by her famous mother and father, she is ignored by the court. Lissar has only a nursemaid for company until she receives a dog, Ash, as a birthday present from the prince of a neighboring kingdom. Ash becomes Lissar's best friend.
Lissar's mother dies, plunging her father into despair. With surprise, Lissar realizes she is the only person in the kingdom who does not mourn the Queen. She also notices, with horror, that as she gets older and begins to resemble her mother, her father is taking a new and sinister interest in her.
Though the story is dark, Deerskin still has a dreamlike, fairytale quality. Like the unDisneyfied fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, in which unfortunates dance in red-hot shoes until they die or cut off bits of their feet to fit the Prince's glass slipper, Deerskin doesn't pull any punches. A lesser writer would manipulate the reader's sense of outrage; McKinley portrays Lissar's suffering starkly, without sentimental appeals to emotion. Instead of feeling for Lissar, the reader is her, and the sensation is very disturbing.
Note: McKinley's earlier books are suitable for readers of all ages. Deerskin, however, calls for some parental guidance.
Review by Sara Lipowitz
Reviewed July 14, 1997
ISBN 0-441-00069-X
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