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From the Bookshelf of Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)…

The Princess Bride

William Goldman

Start date: June 1, 2019

Finish date: June 30, 2019

Discussion: New School Classics- 1915-2005

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf June 2019

Previous Group Reads
July 2015 New School Group Read
[close] Revisit the Shelf June 2019

Previous Group Reads
July 2015 New School Group Read

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New School Classics- 1915-2005

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What Members Thought

Nov 14, 2014 Maggie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, romance, fantasy, childrens, humour, satire, british

I read this five years ago, when I was 17, and I gave it 5 stars. I just finished reading it for the second time, and I am completely underwhelmed by it.

In this book, Goldman pretends to be abridging a story by S. Morgenstern, a fictional author from the fictional country of Florin. Morgenstern, according to Goldman, wrote an excellent action-fairy tale, but destroyed it by making it satirical, and Goldman's aim is to abridge the story so only the "good parts" are left. What we get is a story o I read this five years ago, when I was 17, and I gave it 5 stars. I just finished reading it for the second time, and I am completely underwhelmed by it.

In this book, Goldman pretends to be abridging a story by S. Morgenstern, a fictional author from the fictional country of Florin. Morgenstern, according to Goldman, wrote an excellent action-fairy tale, but destroyed it by making it satirical, and Goldman's aim is to abridge the story so only the "good parts" are left. What we get is a story of beautiful but brainless Buttercup and multitalented but poor Westley. Westley goes missing out at sea and Buttercup is forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, ruler of Florin. Of course, this being a fairy tale, Buttercup and Westley end up together in the end, but not before we meet Inigo, a Spaniard and master swordsman on a quest to avenge his father, Fezzik, a dumb but strong strong Turkish giant, and Count Rugen, the prince's sidekick with an obsession over torture. Interspersed in the narrative are Goldman's comments in italics, in which he talks about the parts he has cut out and his reactions when his father first read the story to him as a kid.

I can see why I liked this the first time I read it. The main story itself is entertaining, with fast-packed action, plenty of suspense, and the promise that everything will work out well at the end. But the cherry on top is the back story that Goldman creates for it, and his italicised comments that make you feel that you are reading something for adults, especially when he rants about publishing houses in America. Fezzik and Inigo are endearing characters, and I particularly like how Fezzik is a giant who loves rhymes.

This second time round though, I saw the flaws in the book. Buttercup though beautiful is dumb, and the Prince was probably more deserving of her than Westley was. And what is up with Westley? He's perfect, so perfect that he defeats death, whereas I like characters to have some weaknesses. Then there's the back story, which though it adds an extra dimension to the story, is too unbelievable to fulfill the purpose of grounding the story in reality. And although it is fictional, it is essentially Goldman's autobiography, which makes him come off a bit full of himself.

The book is still entertaining, but it's probably most suited to teenagers. ...more

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