Deerskin

By: Robin McKinley

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1993 Robin McKinley (P)2018 Tantor

A beautiful story!

This book is beautifully written and narrated. I will read again and I never do that. The writing drew me inand I saw everything. I walked and ran with Deerskin. This book will haunt you.

Beautiful storytelling

The imagery was beautiful and I felt like I was there, witnessing the story as it unfolded

Classic McKinley beautifully read

Classic McKinley beautifully written and read. One of my favorite adult fairy tale books read the way I’ve always heard it in my mind.

Warning!

There is an episode of rape / incest that is intense.
If you can get past the sexual content then the story was very good.

stellar story and narration

I first read this back in high school and it always stuck with me. Robin McKinley has a way with words, with a very strong layer of whimsy for this novel. And the narration in the audiobook shines! The delivery of such whimsy is perfect, and you really feel the essence of the scenes come through Xe Sands' voice.
That being said, major content warning for r*pe and incest. I will say though the subject matter is so dark, that this is the most effective description of the aftermath of something so brutal that I have ever encountered and I really love the amount of care McKinley takes with Lissar's dissociation afterwards.

Magical

Xe Sands is my new favorite narrator! she did a perfect job of telling this story!! The story was lovely and haunting. I loved it, but wish for a bit more in the ending. Still totally enjoyed the experience!

This book is breathtaking

I cannot say enough for the beauty in this book. I felt that at first the narration was a little slow, but it only added to the quality of the book by the end. Masterfully written, and the feeling and emotions brought forth will stay with you long after the book as finished.

Lovingly read

A strange and beautiful story, lovingly read. Though perhaps better read than to have read to you, regardless of the accomplished reading.

Gorgeous story

This is now one of my favorite stories. It’s an original, rich, beautiful, and triumphant fairy tale.

My one complaint is with the performance. The narrator has a very nice normal speaking voice with an American accent, which she uses for the narrative. However, the “character” voices she uses for dialogue are mumbly, inconsistent, weirdly lilting, and sometimes incoherent.

It’s distractingly bad. Each character has a heavy, seemingly-arbitrary fake accent that is inconsistent and difficult to understand. A single character’s accent often changes multiple times throughout the book without apparent reason. This happens repeatedly with the main character and several of the side characters. Fortunately, you can tell by the context who’s talking. However, the fake accents are so thick and strange and mumbly, they can be nearly incomprehensible. There are entire sections where I had to rewind repeatedly to understand the words.

It didn’t ruin the story for me, but it interrupted and detracted from the listening experience.

Beautiful story of survival and life after trauma

I love almost all of Robin McKinley's books, and this one does not disappoint. It's much in the vein of The Hero and the Crown and Sunshine, which are about women who heroically, but still with honest pain, survive trauma. The parts about the trauma aren't explicit, but they are very emotional, so be warned if violence against women troubles you. For me, those brutally honest and honestly brutal parts were worth it to stick with Deerskin through her journey.