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The Princess Bride

William Goldman

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Mar 07, 2012 Janelle rated it really liked it

This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wor...

The Princess Bride has long been one of my favorite movies, especially the satirical nature of the story, and of course the romance and the humor. When I found out about the book I knew I had to read it to see how different the movie was from the original story.

Set in the fictional country of Florin, The Princess Bride follows a beautiful young woman named Buttercup who lost her true love Westley to the Dread Pirates. Even t This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wor...

The Princess Bride has long been one of my favorite movies, especially the satirical nature of the story, and of course the romance and the humor. When I found out about the book I knew I had to read it to see how different the movie was from the original story.

Set in the fictional country of Florin, The Princess Bride follows a beautiful young woman named Buttercup who lost her true love Westley to the Dread Pirates. Even though she has vowed to never love anyone again, she is coerced into marrying the odious Prince Humperdink. After their pending nuptials are announced to the country, she is kidnapped by a group of three men, who have been hired to start a war between Florin and the neighboring country of Guilder by murdering her. However, their dastardly plans are foiled when the man in the black mask catches up to them and manages to rescue Princess Buttercup from their clutches. When the identity of this mysterious individual is revealed Buttercup is forced to make a decision between true love or the prince and the consequences that soon follow after her decision.

The Princess Bride is definitely a modern classic that has withstood the decades since it was published back in 1973. For many who read it, they are probably already familiar with the story because the movie based on the novel. However, they are also in for a shock when they discover that almost 50 pages is used to describe how William Goldman came to abridge the “original” novel and why he felt that it was necessary to do so. I did like the sentimentalism behind it, but it still seems to take up far too much time that could have been dedicated to more details about the epic love story between Buttercup and Westley. This framing narrative is interesting, however it can also easily bore readers before they actually get to the story that they want.

The actual plot of the novel is pretty good and it is easy to see how Goldman satirizes the typical fairy tale and turns it on its head. Fans of the movie will be delighted that the plot is very close to that of the novel and that a lot of their favorite quotes (e.g. “Life is pain, and anyone that says otherwise is selling something.”) were in the novel which makes it a lot easier to picture the characters and even hear their voices, which brings the story even more to life. I also liked the “original” author’s parenthetical explanations like “this was before Paris” it made it even more humorous because some of his explanations made absolutely no sense. Goldman’s interjections for the most part were entertaining, especially when he comments on things that Morgenstern chose to include in the novel, however there were a couple of sections where they seemed unnecessary.

Even though I really did enjoy the book, I found Buttercup to be even more insufferable than in the movie, and I honestly don’t understand how Westley can stand her when he returns. And then there is Westley, he is swoon-worthy, but he also does certain things that are misogynistic, for instance when he slaps Buttercup before he reveals himself to her. But I think that is the point of his character is to show that no one is perfect, even the hero of the story. Then there is Fezzik and Inigo, they are just as they appear in the movie and definitely add some humor to the story. Also, how great is that Inigo finally gets justice for the unjust murder of his father at the hands of the evil Count Rugen. And I think Vizzini should be acknowledged for his attempt at trying to be an evil mastermind who starts wars, however he is just too pompous for his own good and that is why he ends up dying udner the clutches of iocane powder.

I could go on about The Princess Bride but it is definitely a fairy tale that turns all other fairy-tales on their heads. It has love, action, pirates, etc. It has a little something for everyone, even horrible death scenes where someone has the life sucked out of them from a weird suction machine, if that is something you are into. 4/5 Stars. ...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It was a good story, however if you are looking for a romance I would not recommend it unless you have a lot of patience. There is so much build up to the love story which is great but just when you want those good romantic scenes they just weren't there. It felt like a whole story of buildup and there never really was that lived happily ever after ending. However, the story was ok if you do not mind reading all the little subplots here and there and are able to be patient for certain elements o ...more

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Jun 10, 2013 Amanda marked it as to-read

I made it to page 44 with this one. I think I'm in the mood for something more real and I really want to enjoy this book so I am putting it on my try again later list. ...more

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