Posts
Author: William Goldman
Title: The Princess Bride
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, & Comedy
Pages: 398
Published: 1973
Where I Got It: My Shelf (B&N)
What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.
Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.
What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.
In short, it's about everything.
I had read this book eons ago. I barely remember much about it, but I LOVE the movie so I knew I had to buy this and give it a re-read.
This is for sure a MUST read book especially if you like the movie. There is so much more story plot, character development, background, and hilarity. Simply fantastic writing and story-telling.
I do go back and forth about how I feel about the author's "narration" mixed in. It did add some humor and complexity, but in some parts, it ruined the flow of the story. It is genius of the author to make it seem like an abridged version of the "classic", but it is his own classic. Clever, but if the reader doesn't know what is going on, then I can see how it is confusing. The movie did something similar and a part of me thinks it was done better.
There is so much going in this story: love, revenge, sword fights, giant rats, hilarity, torture, miracles, and etc.
*swoons* Ooooh Westley. I always forget how much I love him. Buttercup is a super snot at the beginning and I wanted to kick her, but she does get better. I still don't understand why she decided to marry that Prince. Maybe I am just a tragic person, but I would've just died alone in my own pool of misery. So yeah - I get why Westley was POed.
Now, the ending was brilliant. It does have that romantic POW, but it also spreads a serious message about how life really isn't a fairy tale all the time. What I loved about the book is the more "realistic" message it gives. Yes, it is a fairy tale but a realistic one. Hard to explain, but it was great.
Overall, I love this story. I love this book. I love the characters. A must read for everyone. I'll stamp it with 5 stars.
Loved the movie! I am reading this one!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm the only one in my family not to have seen the movie. Maybe I'll give the book a try. Loved your review.
ReplyDeleteI'm so out of it - I've never seen the movie and didn't even know there's a book.
ReplyDeleteI love the movie, but never tried too read the book. I just requested the audio from my library. I will tackle this soon. You've convinced me. :-)
ReplyDeleteMelanie @ Hot Listens & Rabid Reads
I loved the movie, I've just never read the book.
ReplyDeleteSimply Angela
I haven't read the book or seen the movie. I should probably change that.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I have never read this book, but now that you have brought it to my attention, I feel like it needs to be remedied ASAP.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I'm glad you enjoyed this so much.
I need to read this! I've seen the movie and enjoyed :D
ReplyDeleteOh sweet! This is one of those books I have wanted to try because of the movie. So glad it really enhances what I already loved. Totally sold me. :)
ReplyDeletestrangely enough despite the fact that i LOVED the movie and watched it way too many times to count, have not read the book
ReplyDeleteYou're making me want to re-read this one. I love the movie too :)
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteThis is a book that I know I really should make some time for. I adore the movie so the book should prove to be just as much fun. I am glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteYou remind me that I need to read this at some point. I do love the movie.
ReplyDeleteOh I've never read The Princess Bride! Love the movie. I always thought the narration/ abridged version thing wouldn't work as well for me in a book, but doesn't sound like that's the case if you know it going in. I need to get to this!
ReplyDeleteoh that's nice! many things in this one
ReplyDeleteI loved the movie...you have wanting to read this!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I've never read the actual book - I guess I didn't realize there was a book. But it's set up like the movie, in that the "narrator" is "reading" the story to someone else?
ReplyDeleteOh. I've not read the book. But I loved the movie! And that reminds me I have to make sure I got that movie back from a friend I lent it to. :O
ReplyDelete