From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

The Princess Bride

William Goldman

Start date: September 29, 2010

Finish date: November 24, 2010

Discussion: 2010 Reads

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What Members Thought

May 06, 2019 Brenda rated it really liked it

I've seen and loved the movie so many times, and actually thought I had already read the book. Even while I was reading, there were some parts I could swear I've read before, but I don't have it marked on goodreads, so I guess maybe not.

I've debated about 4 or 5 stars for the book, but honestly, if I rated it 5 stars, it would be because of my love for the movie. I really enjoyed the book, but the long chapters William Goldman made up about himself were not very interesting to me, and definitel ...more

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Aug 29, 2013 Stephanie rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013reads, fiction, fantasy, romance, action-adventure, 100-books-list

Format:Kindle
Narrated By: N/A
Original Publication Year: 1973
Genre(s): Fantasy
Series: N/A
Awards: None

Like many others, I love the movie version of The Princess Bride. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin as a result and I’m one of those annoying folks who can quote large sections of the movie. So I approached reading it’s literary source with excitement and trepidation. How would it measure up to the film?

First, the easy part. The film very closely follows the fai Format:Kindle
Narrated By: N/A
Original Publication Year: 1973
Genre(s): Fantasy
Series: N/A
Awards: None

Like many others, I love the movie version of The Princess Bride. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin as a result and I’m one of those annoying folks who can quote large sections of the movie. So I approached reading it’s literary source with excitement and trepidation. How would it measure up to the film?

First, the easy part. The film very closely follows the fairy tale portion of the novel. Even much of the dialogue remains the same, probably as a result of William Goldman writing the script and playing a major role in its production. There are a few minor changes (the book has a Zoo of Death!) but it reads much like a script of the movie. If you are unfamiliar with the movie or the book, it presents a basic fairy tale romance but with many quirky twists and an absurdist and unique humor. In this world, pirates are good guys; princes are bad guys but true love and happily ever after are still the end point even if the road that gets you to the end point is littered with R.O.U.Ss (rodents of unusual size) and a giant who loves rhymes. It is presented as if the story being told is actually an abridgement of an existing “history” written by an S. Morgenstern.

Beyond this initial evaluation things get a little more complicated. The movie is framed by the device that the fairy tale is being read by a crusty grandpa to his sick baseball- obsessed grandson. This device exists and is expanded in the book. In fact, half of the book could be said to be a, perhaps partially fictionalized, memoir of the author. It’s rather rambling and written as the author directly addressing the audience. I found these parts a little jarring and at times pretty self-indulgent but not un-enjoyable. Probably why the narrative part of the book worked so well as a movie was because it was basically novella length while the rest of the book not present in the movie is filled with asides and stories of the author’s childhood and life as a script writer.

Overall, the reading experience was good but perhaps… uninspiring. If you’ve seen the movie the book will add little. The structure and framing is interesting but didn’t really elevate the book above a light and funny romantic fantasy.
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