I read this having loved the movie as a child, and I am glad the movie was such a well-done adaptation. For the most part the plot is the same, just having left out a few moments. The story's themes are explored deeper in the book, predictably, and so it was wonderful to get what was already beautiful expanded.

Due to the style, the characters do feel distant, and it's harder to connect with them in the way the more direct, modern style of fantasy allows. They are more in line with characters in a fairy tale, filling their fairy tale roles, which is intentional, as Schmendrick remarks on it himself. The very atmosphere of this story is beautiful, a gorgeous and melancholy fairy tale on the nature of impermanence, immortality, choices and regret. The unicorn's final speech is haunting. I can't quite name the atmosphere of this story, this specific blend of nostalgic melancholy, but it's one that hits deeply.