Beast

Name: Beast
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: Donna Jo Napoli
ISBN: 9781436188487

Author: Donna Jo Napoli

Narrator: Robert Ramirez

Unabridged: 6 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/31/2008

Categories: Children's Fiction, Children's Social Themes, Fairy Tales

Synopsis

Young Persian Prince Orasmyn lives a peaceful life of quiet duty and thoughtful obedience. Tending his fragrance garden gives him much more pleasure than the bloody royal hunts staged by his father. But a single wrong decision sets in motion an ancient curse that changes Orasmyn's fate forever. Told he will be killed by his own father, he is transformed into a lion on the day of a great hunt. The prince has no choice but to flee beloved Persia and his precious family. Balancing his fading human memories with his new beastly impulses, he makes his way to Europe-where his destiny awaits in the person of a French beauty named Belle. Donna Jo Napoli once again weaves the magic she has shown in books like Crazy Jack and Zel, transforming a well-known fairy tale into an unforgettable epic of duty, love, and redemption. Robert Ramirez's narration captures all the anguish and struggle of Orasmyn's quest to regain his humanity.

About Donna Jo Napoli

Donna Jo Napoli is the acclaimed and award-winning author of many novels, both fantasies and contemporary stories. She won the Golden Kite Award for Stones in Water in 1997. Her novel Zel was named an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, a Publishers Weekly Best Book, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon, and a School Library Journal Best Book, and a number of her novels have been selected as ALA Best Books. She is a professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sara on September 16, 2019

This book was weird, disturbing, uncomfortable and wrong on so many levels. Just thinking about it now makes me cringe. I'm furious, yes, but mostly, I feel severely creeped out. My mind is a jumble but there is a lot I have to say, and I want to say it as coherently as I can. There will be a lot of......more

Goodreads review by George on March 18, 2023

It had escaped my notice when I picked up this book that it is intended for younger readers. Do I need to go into my reasons for reading this book? A man who is a beast is surely a storyline that appeals to all of our inner desires, no? No. Napoli is a linguistics teacher, and loves to use Persian and......more

Goodreads review by Katie on August 05, 2017

I received an audiobook copy of this book through Audiofile Sync's summer reading for teenagers program absolutely free of charge with no strings attached. This is my honest review. I loved this take on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. The blend of old and new elements was smooth and made p......more

Goodreads review by David on May 27, 2015

This is probably the best book about bestiality I've ever read. Probably. Okay, just kidding, it's the only one (so far). Yeah, I really don't know what to say for myself here. I'm not a fan of romance novels in the slightest. I grabbed this off my girlfriend's shelf (she hasn't read it) basically o......more

Goodreads review by Kirsten on March 15, 2008

A truly original take on Beauty & the Beast. Prince Orasmyn is heir to the throne of Persia, and is deeply religious and gentle, though intensely proud. When he makes a foolish mistake, he is turned into a lion by a pari, and will remain in that shape until he is loved by a woman. Napoli treats the......more