Deerskin - Robin McKinley

I am a romantic so I love a good fairy-tale with princes and princesses and true love which conquers all. This is what lead me to pick up the book Deerskin by Robin McKinley who has done some great retelling of traditional fairy-tales (often found in the teenage collection). So when I saw this in the adult fiction, I prepared myself for a good read and I wasn't disappointed.
The book begins where most books leave off. The Prince has found his Princess, they marry and take over ruling the kingdom. Yet there is no happily-ever-after. The new King and Queen are caught up in their all-consuming love and have little room for their daughter, Lissla Lissar. She is left to grow up alone in a kingdom that adores her parents until tragedy strikes. The Queen, "the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms," dies and her father is thrust into madness.
During this time Lissar receives her first friend as a gift - a fleet-hound puppy called Ash from a Prince from a nearby country. Lissar is unaffected by palace life and her blossoming beauty, and spends all her time training the puppy. As she grows more into the beauty of her mother, Lissar must flee from her father's madness and lust.
Wounded in body, mind and spirit by her father Lissar flees her palace live, with her faithful dog Ash, to the mountains where she must recover. She makes a new life for herself living among a people where she finds love and acceptance but no peace.
There is a dream like quality to McKinley as she writes yet she leaves vivid pictures in the readers mind of Lissar struggling to survive, running barefoot through the countryside with her dogs. Central to the story is the love that Lissar and Ash share as it is in this relationship that she finds the strength to finally recover, confront her father, and regain the memories of her life as a princess.
For those who love fairy-tales, this is an adult version as it addresses issues of incest and rape. It is at times painful to read because it is full of brokenness, but there is joy and healing, and of course a love that triumphs!
Highly recommended 9/10