The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True
Love and High Adventure by William Goldman
Publisher: Harcourt, Inc. ®
Summery:[From back cover]
A tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts—The Princess Bride is a modern storytelling classic.
As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and rescued once again by the very crew who absconded her in the first place. In the course of this dazzling adventure, she’ll meet Vizzini—the criminal philosopher who’ll do anything for a bag of gold; Fezzik—the gentle giant; Inigo—the Spaniard whose steel thirsts for revenge; and Count Rugan—the evil mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Westley, Princess Buttercup’s one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate.
Introduction:
Many people have grown up on the beloved movie adaptation of this book. They will tell you how they first watched it as a child, and continued to enjoy it as they grew up. I didn’t have the pleasure of growing up with this wonderful story. I only discovered it a few years ago, but I fell in love with this tale of true love immediately. It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. I reacted very much like the young boy at the beginning: “Is this a kissing book?” I thought it was just going to be another sappy, romantic fairytale retelling. I was very glad to find out that is was much more, and quite hilarious to boot. I enjoyed it so much that I bought it for my sister that Christmas. I had heard her mention that she also enjoyed it, but the main reason was because I wanted to have it at home so I could watch it more. (Yes, I bought a present for my sister so I could use it.) I found out about the book after watching the movie, but didn’t get the book right away. In fact, when I first picked up the book, I was confused by the way the author chose to write it, so I put it back. I couldn’t figure out if it really was an abridged story or not, and what was with the author notes cutting in during the story? It wasn’t until a few years later that I decided to give it another shot. It was one morning after watching the movie again that I just had an urge to know how the book compared.
Characters:
The main character is the Princess Bride herself, Buttercup. She is the most beautiful woman in the world, and is the envy of her town. People come from miles around to just get a look at her. She is actually pretty clueless about things, but not to the point of being entirely stupid. It’s all for the humor of the book, really, and Buttercup is quite an enjoyable character. She’s actually more than she seems, as I found out later on in the book during the climax, which was refreshing and unexpected. Westley is her true love, and he is strong, skilled, and intelligent, but also has this sarcastic sense of humor I really enjoyed. He braves everything, and risks everything, to get her back from the evil Prince Humperdinck. In the book, we get inside the prince’s head a bit more than what was shown in the movie, and we see he is an excellent tracker, like it showed in the movie, but he also loves the hunt. He actually enjoys it to the point of obsession, and the movie just barely touches on that aspect.
How about the other characters? Fezzik and Inigo Montoya! These two were absolutely great characters, and completely lovable. There is more back-story for them that the movie couldn’t have gone into, and that was really the main reason I got the book. I wanted to know more about these characters and how they got to where they were in the movie. There was also a great scene with Inigo and Fezzik which wasn’t in the movie at all. It’s when they traveled through Humperdinck’s “Zoo of Death.” I got to see them interact more and even face dangers that each of them in turn had to use their own strengths to make sure they both got through alive. I was on the edge of my seat, eager to find out what they were going to have to face next. It was a part I really wished had been included in the movie, but hey, it gives an extra flare to the book which sets it apart from the movie adaptation.
My thoughts:
I started into this book to compare it to the movie, but found out that wasn’t fair for both book and movie. Both are incredible, and I would highly recommend them, but they are each amazing in their own unique ways. Yes, the movie did follow the book faithfully, but I suppose that is expected, since the author of the book also wrote the screenplay. I do wish that I had read the book before I saw the movie though, so I could have created the characters in my mind the way my imagination would see them. But because the actors in the movie really do fit their roles so well, I couldn’t imagine them any other way. I started the book expecting it to take itself seriously, but the mood of the book was so different from what my preferences in books are. It doesn’t take long to get used to the author’s style and the way he chose to tell the story, however, just remember the whole thing is a satire. But a very good, attention grabbing satire. If I had a star rating system, it would get a five!
Warnings:
There is some language in the book in a few places, but it is like a word here and there, nothing much worse than what is in the movie. They can be easily overlooked, or even blotted out if you wish to do so. There are also a few scenes which could be considered slightly graphic or disturbing, and near the end of the book, in the section entitled “Buttercup’s Baby” there is mention of a more mature situation, but it is not described. I wouldn’t recommend the book for young children, but more teen to adult.
My Age Rating: 14 and up
Cya!
