Hardcover, 450 pages
English language
Published Jan. 1, 2013 by Harper.
The Princess Bride is a timeless tale that pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. This incredible journey and artfully rendered love story is peppered with strange beasties monstrous and gentle, memorable surprises both terrible and sublime, and such unforgettable characters as...
Westley, the handsome farm boy who risks death (and much worse) for the woman he loves; Inigo, the Spanish swordsman who lives only to avenge his father's death; Fezzik, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bear hands; Vizzini, the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he's foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck, the eviler ruler of Guilder, who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen, the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max, the King's ex-Miracle Man, who …
The Princess Bride is a timeless tale that pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. This incredible journey and artfully rendered love story is peppered with strange beasties monstrous and gentle, memorable surprises both terrible and sublime, and such unforgettable characters as...
Westley, the handsome farm boy who risks death (and much worse) for the woman he loves; Inigo, the Spanish swordsman who lives only to avenge his father's death; Fezzik, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bear hands; Vizzini, the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he's foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck, the eviler ruler of Guilder, who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen, the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max, the King's ex-Miracle Man, who can raise the dead (kind of); and, of course, Buttercup... the princess bride, the most perfect, beautiful woman in the history of the world!
The movie is so delightful and the book is so often tedious. And soooo much fat shaming.
This is a romantic story about true love, fights and insidiousness, magic and wonder, staged in a ruritanian fantasy country somewhere in Europe.
I've read this book quite late in my live (and have not seen the film until now), so maybe some of the magic got lost in my immortal cynicism (this was written after I took the red pill).
Buttercup, a beauty living on a farm, finds her True Love in Winsley, the farm boy, who plans to go to America to succeed before he wants to come back - for her. And then Winsley is said to be killed by the dreaded Pirate Roberts. Buttercup - thinking that her loved is killed - surrenders to the courting of Prince Humperdinck. Before the marriage she gets kidnapped by Spanish fencing master Inigo Montoya, Fezzik the gigantic wrestler from Turkey and the smart Sicilian criminal Vezzini. But they get …
This is a romantic story about true love, fights and insidiousness, magic and wonder, staged in a ruritanian fantasy country somewhere in Europe.
I've read this book quite late in my live (and have not seen the film until now), so maybe some of the magic got lost in my immortal cynicism (this was written after I took the red pill).
Buttercup, a beauty living on a farm, finds her True Love in Winsley, the farm boy, who plans to go to America to succeed before he wants to come back - for her. And then Winsley is said to be killed by the dreaded Pirate Roberts. Buttercup - thinking that her loved is killed - surrenders to the courting of Prince Humperdinck. Before the marriage she gets kidnapped by Spanish fencing master Inigo Montoya, Fezzik the gigantic wrestler from Turkey and the smart Sicilian criminal Vezzini. But they get overwhelmed one by one by a mysterious man in black (this was before the science fiction comedy film of that name).
It is beyond question a damn prototype of a Damsel in Distress Book (this was before emancipation glanced Hollywood or after a bitter divorce). Buttercup is mostly subject, not object to kidnapping, murder and fights. Of course she is beautiful, devout and loving. One gets to like Inigo Montoya and Fezzik. The light told naive story lives from its exaggerations, its interspersed brackets with funny comments and of course of the frame narrative. The author tells us that the story was written by someone else and he only did the abridgment, since his father read "only the good parts" to him as child. He rants about his wife, makes fun of film making and book writing.
To my (later) edition there is also an attachment "Buttercups Baby" which is superfluous, it might have been the try to do start a second book which was not finished or whatever.
Key Sentence: "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya; you killed my father; prepare to die!"
My rating: Four of five stars (this is because of dormant damsel in distress and superfluous chapters (with a strong female lead and more discipline in ending the book I'd say six stars of five (which would be beyond logic ) ) ) ( yes, I do count my brackets, I've learned LISP in early days).
(Review written 2015-04, shortly after reading the book. Haven't read it again)
Having watched the movie several times throughout my life, I was only recently made aware that it was adapted from a book. For the scenes that existed in both book and movie, I could clearly visualize the characters and their voices. It was great to get more details and backstory of the world and its characters.
I liked the meta style of writing with the author jumping in here and there to explain various edits, additions and cuts. But I wasn't so much invested in the author's family life.
I can't believe it took me this long to read the book of one of my favorite movies. The narration style is as entertaining as the dialogue and characters themselves.
First things first: In a lot of ways, the movie sets it up to be better and more interesting narrative. Instead of being told by the author (as you are in the book) what's he's doing, you have a grandfather telling the young boy the story. The connection between the person 'reading' the story to someone else (grandfather to sick grandson versus 'abridging author' to novel reader) makes a lot of it more compelling and interesting.
Second: I know when it was written, but the constant jokes on fatphobia and the misogynist marriage are frustrating. It's kind of 'tongue-in-cheek', but it's also really quite infuriating to keep seeing something where Goldman's 'wife' is thrown under a bus for every minor thing. I wasn't expecting that, and it's probably what made the movie feel much better (even if Westley and Buttercup's relationship, in any form, isn't the healthiest).
Genius Work.
The core (original?) novel was wonderful. The movie mirrors it quite closely. The edition I obtained, however, offered a lengthy preface and epilogue that were, to my mind, 'boring and useless'.
Loved the movie, though it's been a long while since I watched it. The book follows very closely to the movie. I almost accidentally skipped the beginning author's note before realizing that it is actually part of the overall story.
This was delightful. The similarities to the film were as interesting as the differences. I loved it.
A delightful read that expands dramatically on concepts you might love from the movie. However, it's also surprisingly melancholy at the end, with some ruminations by the author about the nature of why stories are important, to combat the depressive narrative of life.
Pretty much the movie, verbatim. But with fun little intrusions and a couple extra scenes. I'm glad I bought this book and even happier I made the time to read it.
I, like many people, watched The Princess Bride before I knew it was a book, before I was old enough to really care. It is a classic movie, and I don't know anybody who dislikes it.
I have wanted to read the book ever since discovering that one exists. I read it for the 2015 Reading Challenge as my classic romance because, of course, The Princess Bride is principally a romance.
As the author is also the movie's screenwriter, it is not surprising that the books is practically a book version of the movie. That's what it is. And in that respect, it is delightful.
I have mixed feelings about Goldman himself. I read the prologue in which he talks about why he abridged The Princess Bride the way he did, etc, with some stuff about his life. I found myself relating to him but also feeling like it wasn't …
I, like many people, watched The Princess Bride before I knew it was a book, before I was old enough to really care. It is a classic movie, and I don't know anybody who dislikes it.
I have wanted to read the book ever since discovering that one exists. I read it for the 2015 Reading Challenge as my classic romance because, of course, The Princess Bride is principally a romance.
As the author is also the movie's screenwriter, it is not surprising that the books is practically a book version of the movie. That's what it is. And in that respect, it is delightful.
I have mixed feelings about Goldman himself. I read the prologue in which he talks about why he abridged The Princess Bride the way he did, etc, with some stuff about his life. I found myself relating to him but also feeling like it wasn't entirely true. As The Princess Bride is not in fact an abridged version of anything, but is entirely his work, I feel like everything he says is a lie. [I have since read up on wikipedia about this and all of his life as he writes about it in the prologue is made-up. He is a big fat liar and therefore an unreliable but amusing narrator.]
Nonetheless and author quirks aside, I really enjoyed this book. The story is exciting and fast-paced, though Goldman interrupts at times to explain why he has "left out" certain parts. I was unsure how I felt about it. It correlates excellently back to the movie, but it also takes some of the continuity away from the story. That said, Goldman is a wondrous story-spinner and The Princess Bride is a delightful read with no shortage of action, adventure, and romance. It is very funny and quick to read, and I believe could be enjoyed by readers of many different preferences and ages.
I read this hoping it might grant me some insight into why people seem to love the movie so much. It was not a successful experiment.
Just like the movie, the overarching plot is insipid as best, though you can (and I, of course, would greatly like to) read it as a sort of cynical meta-commentary on adventure stories as a genre. The author's asides and digressions are tiresome (not to mention full of casual sexism and fat-shaming, so that's fun). There are certainly moments where it is oddly charming. But on the whole... meh.
I think this is just going to be one of those things that I never really "get".
Saw the movie first and I think I like the movie better. Not that the book was bad in any way, it was funny, had swords, love, all the good stuff. But there were elements in the movie that I liked better, what can I say. Goldman's method of writing this book was great, found it very funny and interesting. Recommend and if I had to rank:
1. Movie
2. Cough drops
3. Book
4. Love
