William Goldman - The Princess Bride

[Kell]

Author: William Goldman

ISBN # 0345418263

 

I've been a fan of the movie ever since I first saw it - who wouldn't be? After all, it has everything - Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Revenge. Giants. Monsters. Chases. Escapes. True love. Miracles. High Adventure - it does everything it says on the tin.

 

And so does the book.

 

Like many, I believed the story that the movie was made & shot in the way it was because the writer had been read the book by his father when he was sick as a young boy. Complete with interruptions ("She does not get eaten by the eels at this point..." except in the book, it's sharks!), it made for a touching & believable tale in itself.

 

Here's where I got the surprise - the book is actually written that way. It's written supposedly as an abridgment of a lengthier novel, apparently penned by someone by the name of S Morgenstern.

 

And I completely bought into that.

 

Then I got a little suspicious, as I was fairly sure that there was no such real location as Florin - that both it & Guilder were pre-Euro cash from the Netherlands. I did a little research &, hey presto, it conspires that the whole thing is a myth. But it's a bloody clever one!

 

The wit & dark humour of Goldman is the thing that strings the whole tale together - his satirical style brings moments of wonderful drama & hilarious comedy completely to life & I found myself completely engrossed in the story. In both stories actually - the story of The Princess Bride, & the story of this wonderful tale being told in stilted English, being lovingly abridged, by a father to entertain his son with "the good bits" while he is sick in bed.

 

I have completely fallen in love with this book & I can see it being read & re-read over & over in the future.