Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Fiction - Fantasy
1994 Del Rey (first published in 1973)
Finished in January 1998
Rating: 5/5 (Excellent!)
Publisher's Blurb:
What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.
Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.
What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.
In short, it's about everything.
My Original Notes (1998):
Excellent! So much better than the movie. I loved all the asides that Goldman makes. I laughed so hard. Wonderful book. Wonderful entertainment.
My Current Thoughts:
I've read this book a couple of times now and it really is a classic and highly entertaining. If you've only seen the movie, you really need to read the book. It's delightful.
Favorite Quotes:
Inconceivable!
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.and
My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!and
As you wish...and
The Impressive Clergyman: Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… So tweasure your wuv.
Prince Humperdinck: Skip to the end.
The Impressive Clergyman: Have you the wing?
Ah, yes! And I've not ever read the book. Don't shout at me! Ha! I dearly love the movie and watched it over and over. My favorite characters include Miracle Max and his Valerie. Who can beat Carol Kane shouting at Billy Crystal - Liar, liar.... - or he's only mostly dead.
ReplyDeleteKay, I love Billy Crystal in this one, too! "Have fun storming the castle!"
DeleteOh! Now, I must read the book! Our family knows the film by heart! Of course, our son shares the same name as the actor who plays the six fingered man! (He was in Spinal Tap, another one of his movies!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post!
Hello, Kay G.! Yes, I know you don't read a lot of fiction, but this is one I think you'll enjoy, especially since you love the movie.
DeleteI can't believe I've never read this book - I love the movie so much!
ReplyDeleteLisa, I think you'll love the book if you loved the movie. Go for it!
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