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Feb 25, 2009

Chris rated it:

If you haven't read this book, then all I can tell you is to go out, get it, and read it. Now. Don't bother with the rest of this review, you'll thank me later. It has:

Fencing.
Fighting.
Torture.
Poison.
True Love.
Hate.
Revenge.
Giants.
Hunters.
Good men.
Bad men.
Beautifulest ladies.
Snakes.
Spiders.
Beasts of all natures and descriptions.
Pain.
Death.
Brave men.
Coward men.
Strongest More...

18 comments like (191 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2010

Zosia rated it:

“I love you,” Buttercup said. “I know this must come as something of a surprise, since all I’ve ever done is scorn you and degrade you and taunt you, but I have loved you for several hours now, and every second, more.”

Everyone has seen the movie The Princess Bride, and the book version sat on my shelf for about six years before I actually got around to it. I guess I expected I wasn’t going to enjoy it as much as the movie – and I was correct.

The movie is no masterpi More...

26 comments like (46 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2008

Echo rated it:

I feel the need to gush. I've set aside the many books I want to read for the moment in favor of rereading this one. I loved it when I read it way back in about the sixth grade, so I thought it was time I give it another shot.

As much as I loved it as a kid, I love it more now. Maybe because I can appreciate it on different levels. I'm only about halfway through on my reread, but I've come to the conclusion that Goldman is a genius. The story, characters, and dialogue are impress More...

13 comments like (37 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Icarus rated it:

I am one of the few people in the world who does not think the book is better than the movie here. There is an undercurrent of bitterness in this book that I find off-putting. I am given to understand by a friend that those elements--i.e., the autobiographical stuff in Goldman's own persona--are actually fictional. But I found that they soured my enjoyment of the story they framed. I couldn't enjoy the writing of a writer who seemed as misanthropic and hateful as Goldman came off to me. TPB is s More...

12 comments like (42 people liked it)

May 25, 2008

MacK rated it:

I'm a little biased when it comes to this book. Yes, I saw the movie first and it made me happier than anything I've ever seen before or since. Yes, I do consider how much a person likes The Princess Bride before determining how good a friend to be with them. (I don't insist on it, but it can queer a good friendship)

I'm not alone in this, but I do share a similar affinity for the book, despite discrepancies that may make others blanche. And even for me Fezzik will always be a Frenchm More...

2 comments like (29 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2009

Robin rated it:

What a charming read. This is one of the few books where I saw the movie first then read the book. I think William Goldman's book was largely "unknown" until the movie came out.

Like Shawshank Redepmtion and Stand by Me (Based on the novella The Body) this is one of the most accurate book to screen apdaptations. It is almost verbatium from the book and the few variations (Zoo of Death rather than Pit of Despair) have no real impact on the story.

Being as I edit f More...

12 comments like (19 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Tortla rated it:

I can't believe I thought Morgenstern was real. Not for long, really. But still. When I discovered he wasn't I hated this book for a while. But then I reread it and it was awesome in an entirely new way. I'm still not a huge fan of the fake little tidbits that the "abridgment" offers, especially the allusions to Florin as a real place, but I generally just skip over those. Also, I find the story of Goldman and his fat kid vaguely depressing. And I didn't like the part about Westley wea More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Apr 14, 2011

Cheryl in CC NV rated it:

I loved this as a child, and one of things I love best, then and now, is the conceit of all the layers, Goldman's claim that Morgenstern was real, that M. wrote a socio-political satire that needed to be trimmed to the story G's father read to child Goldman....

I liked that this time I read it, as an adult, I realized that G himself was the satirist, and that one of the things he was digging at was fantasy stories with iconographic heroes and villains (note that the richer characters More...

4 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 05, 2011

Ash rated it:

It’s incredibly hard for me to write a review for this book because I had such high expectations for it. At the same time though it was entertaining and had everything it promised: high action, revenge, miracles and most importantly true love. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that bothered me. What kept from loving it.
At first I thought maybe it was the fact that the main characters didn't always seem to do the noble and honorable thing (sometimes I questioned if Westley and Butterc More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

This book has its moments, but I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. It's all very clever and playful and a little bit silly. But for all the originality in the telling, it really doesn't end up anywhere worth going. I did enjoy it on the whole, but I found my mind straying quite a bit thanks to a lot of "device" and not enough story. Said device being the premise that the story is an abridgment of a very old classic, with the "abridger" insinuating himself into the st More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2009

Sandi rated it:

I'm probably spoiled because I have seen the movie version of "The Princess Bride" about a gazillion times. As I read, I just pictured Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patikin, et al. as the characters. I even heard their voices in the dialog. That said, "The Princess Bride" is a brilliantly executed concept. It's really a novel within a novel as Goldman tells a fiction story about his relationship with S. Morgenstern's "The Princess Bride" and his path to abridg More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Jordan rated it:

I possess the wherewithall to assert that this book is even better than the movie. I laughed out loud many times. I love his writing style.

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 20, 2010

David rated it:

So this is the second book that I've read on my roommate's recommendation, the first being Jurassic Park. With both of these, he told me that the book was better than the movie. With Jurassic Park, I just flat-out disagree. With this, I am much more on his side.

Most of the really funny lines in the movie are taken verbatim from the book (yes, even down to Peter O'Toole's charmingly impedimental wedding ceremony). The only alterations made to the actual story are slightly better in the More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 13, 2008

Margaret rated it:

If you only know THE PRINCESS BRIDE from the film, turn off your computer immediately and find a copy of the book. The film is a thing unto itself and enchanting on its own terms, but because it's a movie Goldman had to redesign his novel in a way that de-emphasized one of its most compelling themes: why books matter, what we learn from them about life and about being human, and why certain books stay with us in the way that they do -- why, in fact, we are all on this website.

Most More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2008

veronica rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

2 comments like (19 people liked it)

May 22, 2008

Abigail rated it:

I have always been a bit of a "literal Libby," and subtle (or not-so-subtle) irony and satire has a tendency to fly right over my head... So it is that when I first read Goldman's introduction to The Princess Bride, in which he discusses the difficulties he encountered in procuring and then revising a copy of S. Morgenstern's "old" classic, I believed him implicitly.

The nascent textual scholar in me was agog, and I simply longed to read the "boring" vers More...

12 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2010

Nicole rated it:

LOVE this story and I just dig that William Goldman put all the ridiculous backstory in just to cater to his own humor! That man put the smart in smartarse!! Hilariously written as an instant classic, it has everything that a fairytale should have and I love, love, love it! Didn't get a chance to read the Buttercups Baby story before I had to take it back, but I was only after the story from the movie that has been a favorite for years. I officially have a crush on William Goldman even though h More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 13, 2008

Liesl rated it:

Har har har har har har har I LOVE THIS BOOK!

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2011

Stephen rated it:

5.0 stars. HOW AMAZINGLY GOOD IS THIS BOOK YOU ASK?....so good it is almost

This is a literary treasure and one that I can not recommend more highly. Let me start by saying that prior to reading this book I had probably seen the movie version a dozen times or so and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! I only mention this so that you know where I'm coming from in case you are not a fan of the movie as I think if you like one you will like the other and, conversely, if you didn’t like the movie, More...

26 comments like (64 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2008

Hannah rated it:

I didn't set a high expectation for this book as I've never even heard of William Goldman, let alone read any of his works before. However, upon finishing The Princess Bride, I felt glad that I DID buy it as I think that it would be such a shame to miss a story as good as this.
If you read this book solely for the true love concept that is supposed to be one of the themes of the book, you'll probably be quite dissappointed. I'm not saying that there's no romance at all in there. True, there More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Jul 24, 2008

Krista rated it:

Does anyone not love the Princess Bride?

The first time I was exposed to the story, I was in single digits, and my parents were watching the movie. I couldn't quite follow the plot, and all the elements got mixed up. I'm pretty sure sure I thought the Albino was a witch. It scared me out of my wits. My dad had a copy of the book in a cupboard by his bedside, and knowing what a terrifying story was contained within, I wouldn't even glance at the harmless cover art (Buttercup on her hor More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 24, 2008

Gwen rated it:

This review will be filled with confessions.
The first one is that the first time I read this book (about 15 years ago) I really thought it was recounting actual events in the author's life. I thought there was an S. Morganstern and a place called Guilder and Florin. At least I hoped there was.
I grew up watching the movie and when I realized that the film was based on a book, I knew that I had to read it. I've come back to it a couple of time since then and it never disapoints me. I c More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2009

Jane rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. Yes it is very similar to the movie, but it was still good to read on its own - I liked finding the few subtle differences between them.

My copy did have Butercup's Baby in it and while some people warned me not to read it I did. Wow - that is some pretty horribly written stuff. I wounder if he is trying to fake us out again by writing something so bad. In any case it has been a long time and it has not come out so I doubt it ever will. I hope not - le More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jun 03, 2007

Christina rated it:

Okay, it wasn't amazing, but nostalgia kicked in, and suddenly I was six years old again. It is a great book.

The story is wonderful, but what made this book not 100% amazing is that Goldman butts into the story with little asides in his special italics. Sometimes they are useful; pages are cut out and described in concise paragraphs instead. This was great, but much of the time, the asides were annoying. Still, it is so completely worth the read.

Addendum to Review*
More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2008

Siria rated it:

I first saw the movie when I was about six or seven and fell instantly in love. I didn't read the book until much later, and when I began it, I was sceptical as to whether or not it could take the place of the movie in my affections. It far surpassed it. The book has an edge that the movie was never let have: far wittier, far sharper, and with a much more subversive ending.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 01, 2008

Liahni rated it:

Sometimes you just have to pick up a book that will make you laugh out loud and will bring back childhood memories. Learning to read, finding a great fairy tale, and being drawn in by adventure. This book has it all - a princess, a hero, a jerky prince, love, adventure, a giant, pirates, and loads of laughter. Love it mucho!!!

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

Jason rated it:

Let me make it clear from the start that S. Morgenstern is a fictitious character created by William Goldman. I was confused about that at first because Goldman (the narrator) acts as if Morgenstern were real. In this 30th anniversary edition of the book, he even details his hassel from being sued by the Morgenstern Estate, so I just had to check it out.

I would give the original version of this book (the 1973 one) 4 stars because it has just 1 introduction and the story of The Prin More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 19, 2008

Lisa rated it:

I saw the movie in high school and thought I'd try out the book. Yes, I was one of the duped idiots that tried to find the Morgenstern "original text." The movie brings out more humor than the book but I like both equally.

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 01, 2008

MsDanaE rated it:

One of the best movies I've ever seen... then, when I read the book, I realized how genius Goldman is. I love the character development in the text version. As youuuu wishhhhh!

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2011

Nina ♥ marked it as to-read

Oh, my sweet Westly, I'm totally falling for you... *sigh*
I just saw the movie. OHMYGOSH IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I'm so gonna read this!
So here are some of my favorite quotes:

(From the movie.)

Fezzik: Why do you wear a mask? Were you burned by acid, or something like that?
Man in Black: Oh no, it's just that they're terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.

Inigo Montoya: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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