Author: William Goldman
First published: 1973
Add it: Goodreads, The Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★★
Another choice for Coursera Fantasy and Sci Fi book club has quite unexpectedly become a huge success with me. It's rather surprising, because really, if you read the premise it sounds like a typical Disney story. Don't let it mislead you! Even though “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.” are all present, as promised, it's also very, very funny.
The book is subtitled as "S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love and high adventure. The "good parts" version abridged by William Goldman", and it starts with an introduction in which the fictionalized Goldman explains how he came to love this book and why it needs abridging. The problem with the "original Morgenstern" is that he was writing a satire, and some satirical parts are better left out if the reader is not particularly interested in Florinese history and politics. So Goldman is doing what his father was doing when he read his son from the book - skipping the boring stuff. He actually substitutes it with his own commentary, justifying his omissions and commenting on their content. Sometimes the commentary also tells the reader about Goldman's experience when he was first read the book by his father. So, this way, with the additional awesomeness of Morgenstern's and Goldman's commentary, the story is told.
And the story itself is rather potent: not only does it have all the elements of a great narrative (fencing and true love, dudes!), it is also very ironic, with some twists of the plot rather unthinkable and some purely ridiculous. Yet, all of them pertaining to the style.
With all this complexity, the story holds together surprisingly well and is read in one breath. It took me only two nights, and that with all the impending exams. That says something about it!
In my book:
A great story: engaging, humorous, comforting. An unusual format adds to the appeal and doesn't distract :)
I loved this book when I read it as a teenager. Maybe a reread is in order. :)
ReplyDeleteIf I read it in my teens I'd probably have totally doted on it! I'm much calmer now, but it's still great!
DeleteI read this book years ago and loved it! The story of the father skipping the boring parts is so sweet and just adds to the book's charm. Have you seen the movie?
ReplyDeleteOf course I watched the movie as soon as I finished the book, and I think it's a wonderful adaptation!
DeleteI've heard this title mentioned a lot, but I knew zero things about this book - and now I'm totally curious! Maybe this is going to sound weird, but it's one of those books I haven't considered picking up because to me it has a bit silly/not appealing name... (I have a small list of such books - there is no rational reasoning behind the dislike of the title other than... I just don't like them :) )
ReplyDeleteYes, I also had my reservations about the title, but the book is NOT stupid, so don't be afraid! :)
DeleteI'm with Emily, time for a reread for me too. I grew up with the movie (when the movie was new and out of print books were harder to come by) and it wasn't until I reached college that I realized that The Princess Bride actually *was* a book.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it happens to me too: I know the movie and like it, and then somebody tells me there's a book! And I'm all like "HOW could I not know? I NEED to read it" :) It was much easier when I was small and my parents were making sure that I always read the book first. Sometimes what I read depended on the TV program for the week, because there was no Internet and good movies were not aired that often :)
DeleteWonderful, simply wonderful. I'm glad to know you gave the movie a chance too. See, I told you he was dead and undead, and inconceivable! I need to read it again someday.
ReplyDeleteHeh, actually your spoilers added to the excitement :)
DeleteI LOVED this book...as well as the movie, of course. It's a classic fave.
ReplyDeleteYes the movie is as great as the book! It's one of the most well-made adaptations I've ever seen :)
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