Quick Take
- Narration: Jenna Augen reads the novelization with warmth that suits Belle’s interiority, bringing the 2017 live-action film’s expanded characterization to life in audio form.
- Themes: A love built on recognition rather than appearance, books as portal to wider worlds, the cost of pride
- Mood: Enchanted and literary, nostalgic but with new emotional depths
- Verdict: A faithful novelization of the live-action film that delivers real emotional texture, best for Beauty and the Beast devotees who want more time with these characters.
I have a particular fondness for Beauty and the Beast that dates back to the 1991 animated film, which I watched so many times as a child that I can still recite the dinner scene dialogue in order. When Elizabeth Rudnick adapted the 2017 live-action version as a novel, I was curious about what the format could add to a story I knew thoroughly. The answer, it turns out, is quite a bit: character interiority, expanded backstory, and the particular pleasure of following Belle’s inner life as she moves from the village she cannot quite fit to a castle she cannot quite leave.
The synopsis for this audiobook version leans into the original Villeneuve fairy tale roots rather than exclusively the film framing, opening with the merchant father, the six children, the house fire, the lost cargo, and the famous moment when Beauty asks only for a rose while her sisters demand furs and jewels. That passage is one of the most beautifully constructed bits of character shorthand in Western fairy-tale tradition, and Rudnick preserves it with care. The novelization works from the film’s plot and dialogue while drawing on the older fairy tale for the structural and moral architecture.
What Rudnick Adds to the Story You Know
One reviewer noted appreciating the depth added to the characters, especially Belle, who in the novelization becomes more than just a bibliophile who can see past appearances. Her grief for her mother, her specific longing for something larger than her provincial life, and the way her relationship with the Beast develops through genuine intellectual exchange rather than imposed proximity give the story emotional weight that the film suggested but the page can fully develop. At five hours and seventeen minutes, this audiobook has room to breathe in those moments.
The Beast’s Library and What It Represents
The famous library scene lands differently in audio than it does visually, which is worth noting for listeners making this choice. The 2017 film made the library a spectacular set piece, a visual gift that the Beast presents to Belle as a gesture of understanding. In audio form, the power of that scene depends entirely on Jenna Augen’s ability to convey Belle’s emotional response, and she handles it well. The scene becomes about recognition rather than spectacle: here is someone who knew what a room full of books would mean to her, and that knowledge is the beginning of love. That shift from visual to emotional register is one of the things audio does well when the narration is right.
Jenna Augen’s Warmth in the Role
Jenna Augen narrates with an accessibility that serves the story well. She is warm without being saccharine, expressive without overplaying the emotional peaks. Her Beast carries enough roughness to feel dangerous before the softening, and her Belle has enough wit to feel like a genuine intellectual equal to the character’s literary reputation. For a five-hour novelization aimed at readers ages ten and up, though adult fans of the film will find it equally satisfying, Augen’s delivery keeps the pacing comfortable and the emotional investment steady throughout.
One reviewer who finished the print edition in an hour suggested the book reads very quickly; the audiobook naturally takes longer and benefits from that extended time with the material. The story’s emotional rhythms need a little space, and at over five hours, this version provides it. The print novelization can feel rushed; the audio lets Rudnick’s expanded character work register properly.
Who should listen: Fans of the 2017 live-action film looking for more time with these characters and their backstories, Beauty and the Beast devotees of any age who want the story in literary rather than visual form, and parents looking for something to share with children ages ten and up who loved the film. Who should skip: Listeners expecting a strict fairy-tale retelling rather than a film novelization, and anyone who found the 2017 film itself unnecessary, this is firmly in that tradition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the novel of the 2017 live-action film or the original fairy tale?
This is Elizabeth Rudnick’s novelization of the 2017 live-action Disney film, though the synopsis draws on elements from the original Villeneuve fairy tale. It follows the film’s plot and characters while adding novelistic depth that the format allows.
How does this audiobook compare to the original 1991 animated film in terms of storyline?
The 2017 film, and therefore this novelization, expands the story significantly, giving Belle a backstory involving her mother, deepening the Beast’s character, and adding new narrative elements. Listeners familiar only with the animated film will find meaningful differences and additions.
Is this appropriate for young children, or is it aimed at older readers?
The book is appropriate for a wide range, from middle-grade readers around ages eight to ten through adults. The emotional complexity suits older readers better, but younger children who love Beauty and the Beast will follow the story without difficulty. One reviewer noted her ten-year-old loved it.
Does Jenna Augen do different voices for different characters, or is this a single-narrator read?
This is a single-narrator audiobook. Augen does differentiate characters vocally, with the Beast carrying a different register than Belle, but this is a narrated novel rather than a full-cast dramatization.
