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A review by kelseyr713
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Second time I've read this, the first being sometime in high school so somewhere between 15-19 years ago.
The story of The Princess Bride itself is great. I think the movie version is even better, one of the rare cases this applies. The best subplots that don't make it to the movie are Fezzik's backstory and even more of Inigo's. The Zoo of Death is a little tedious.
I mostly like the commentary by Goldman, who is not himself in the book but rather another character. But I don’t understand why he portrays "himself" so unsympathetically and would appreciate more context into the parts where he talks about "his" life. Some of it is real, but he invents a different wife and a different child, among other things, and isn't nice to either of them. The asides during the book are mostly funny though, and every time Stephen King pops up is great. He clearly has a lot of thoughts on the abridgment process, and this is an interesting way to explore those.
I also think it's interesting that the overall theme of the book, which he overtly mentions a few times, is that life isn't fair. Subverting a lot of fairy tales and perhaps inserting some of his own outlook.
Content warnings: a lot of fatphobia, a homophobic slur, an ethnic slur towards a Spanish person.
The story of The Princess Bride itself is great. I think the movie version is even better, one of the rare cases this applies. The best subplots that don't make it to the movie are Fezzik's backstory and even more of Inigo's. The Zoo of Death is a little tedious.
I mostly like the commentary by Goldman, who is not himself in the book but rather another character. But I don’t understand why he portrays "himself" so unsympathetically and would appreciate more context into the parts where he talks about "his" life. Some of it is real, but he invents a different wife and a different child, among other things, and isn't nice to either of them. The asides during the book are mostly funny though, and every time Stephen King pops up is great. He clearly has a lot of thoughts on the abridgment process, and this is an interesting way to explore those.
I also think it's interesting that the overall theme of the book, which he overtly mentions a few times, is that life isn't fair. Subverting a lot of fairy tales and perhaps inserting some of his own outlook.
Content warnings: a lot of fatphobia, a homophobic slur, an ethnic slur towards a Spanish person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Body shaming, Torture, Fatphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia