I read this book first when I was in high school and was captivated by the first chapter. Where else can you find a book that has it all? True Love, Adventure, Sword Fighting, etc, etc. Okay, I was so enraptured with this book that I began searching for the original. I began hunting S. Morgenstern. As the new cover on the paperback edition may tell you, there is no S. Morgenstern. William Goldman thought this one up all on his own. A novel that used editting notes as plot advancement. A "good parts" only book.

The book begins as William Goldman narrates his frantic search on the west coast for a bookseller on the east coast to send a copy of The Princess Bride to his son for his birthday. He explains that when he was a kid, he was a sports addict. Maybe not good, but an addict for any kind of sport there was. It wasn't until a serious illness forced him into bed for weeks of recovery and his immigrant father began reading this to him, that he became hooked on written adventure.

At this part of the book, William Goldman plants autobiographical information in with some fantasy so you are not really sure what the truth is. The truth doesn't really matter though in this book. It is not Goldman's autobiography that he has written, but a bridge to the actual book itself.

Goldman's son doesn't really like the book and a much deflated man sits down to read it and discovers the truth--his father editted much of the book. What was supposed to be a dry treatise on Florin-Guilder politics was turned into a good adventure tale. Goldman eventually talks his editor into a re-write--an abridged "good parts" version.

The Princess Bride tells the love story of Buttercup and Westley. Two beautiful people who fall madly, deeply in love. Upon Westly's death by the Dread Pirate Roberts, Buttercup eventually winds up affianced to Prince Humperdinck--a man who is anxious to marry as his father appears to be dying.

There are more twists to this tale than any I've read before. The writing (even Goldman's italicized comments) is truly fresh and inspired. The satire is golden and the dialogue very witty with truly memorable characters. There is Fezzik, a slow giant who likes rhymes and his partner, a Spanish swordsman who has been lost in a bottle over his failure to avenge his father's murder. And who can forget Miracle Max and his witch wife?

Besides terrific writing and brilliant characters, I love the satire involved with this book. Goldman's commentaries as he weaves the story really help bridge the 'good parts'. I have read thousands of books and could tell you where the plot is going by the third chapter; I could not imagine what would happen next in this book. You'll laugh and cry and when Buttercup walked out of the fire swamp and re-joined Prince Humperdinck, I even threw the book across the room. Of course, I picked it up and kept reading.

If you have only seen the movie, the book offers much more depth and much better dialogue. It is a must read, suitable for just about all ages. But a warning, buy two copies. This is one of my more 'replaced' books (where you loan a book out and end up having to buy a new copy).



Recommended: Yes