Let’s talk for a moment about The Princess Bride. I have seen this movie so many times, I can not only quote every line; I can also act out each scene – from each character’s point of view. I know, I had far too much free time as an adolescent. Surprisingly, I did not read William Goldman’s version of the book until about 6 years ago. It is SO wonderful! The cover of my copy of the book says, “What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince in the world–and he turns out to be a son-of-a-bitch?” Let’s just say this isn’t your typical romance novel. It’s a story about love surpassing death, revenge, loyalty, deception, pain and so much laughter!
The book begins with an introduction, of sorts, by William Goldman. To be brief, he speaks of how S. Morgenstern’s version of the book is long, drawn out, and boring; so in 1972, Goldman decided to write an abridged version of it. He even jumps in throughout the book to humorously describe why he’s abridging a section, and compares it to the original. How can I express to you how awesome this book is? Okay, this is how Buttercup (THE princess bride) describes the boys in the village she lives in, “The beef-witted featherbrained rattleskulled clodpated dimdomed noodle-noggined sapheaded lunk-knobbed boys?” Also, this is one of my favorite parts – where Buttercup confesses to Westley near the beginning of the novel – “I love you…I know this must come as something of a surprise, since all I’ve ever done is scorn you and degrade you and taunt you, but I have loved you for several hours now, and every second, more.” Folks, it only gets better from there; every page a work of linguistic art.
Look, just go read it. Trust me, you’ll love it! Really, go, now. We have two copies currently available in adult fiction upstairs – and after this amazing review, they aren’t going to last long. 🙂
Stefanie
