Beagle tends to write his fantasies for grown-ups, not young adults, but like Out of the Silent Planet (1938) by C. S. Lewis and The Time Machine (1895) by H. G. Wells, his works appeal to many young readers. Part of the appeal of The Last Song of Sirit Byar lies in its rich portrait of a society whose customs echo those of real societies both past and present but do not necessarily exemplify ideal ways of living. For instance, Mircha Del mentions that some farm men near where she lives have children by their own daughters; she also mentions that she is ugly and unappealing but has a sexually active life on the boats where she works, the boatmen not being picky about how a woman looks. Some grown-ups do not like the idea of youngsters reading books in which these topics are discussed, but such earthiness...