The Princess Bride by William Goldman (ISBN:0345348036)

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		The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (A Del Rey book)
	
				(917 reviews)			
(29182 Readers)

			William Goldman		
	
First published well, in 1973 actually, this book spawned the Rob Reiner-directed  cult film of the same name. It's a tongue-in-cheek fairytale of...more
 First published well, in 1973 actually, this book spawned the Rob Reiner-directed  cult film of the same name. It's a tongue-in-cheek fairytale of love, life, action, death and life  again. Featuring the obligatory handsome Prince and supremely beautiful princess, it also boasts  a Spanish sword wizard, the Zoo of Death, a chocolate-coated resurrection pill and lots of villains,  who span the spectrum from evil, through even more evil to (gasp) most evil. And then  there's Fezzik, the gentle giant addicted to rhyming.  William Goldman--who's won two Oscars for his screenwriting (Butch Cassidy and the  Sundance Kid and All the President's Men), and has endeared himself to dentists and  their patients planetwide through his novel Marathon Man--has always claimed he merely  abridged this text, extracting the "good parts" from an inventive yet wordy classic by Florinese  literary superstar, S Morgenstern.  It has, however, been whispered in certain circles that Morgenstern himself is a figment of  Goldman's ultra-fertile imagination. Read Goldman's original and special Anniversary  introductions and make up your own mind. Oh--and don't forget his explanation as to why he's  only "abridged" the first chapter of the sequel Buttercup's Baby--which appears here for  the first time--and why it took him so long to get round to it.  Completely delightful, suitable for cynics and romantics alike. Suspension of disbelief optional. -- Lisa Gee   less

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
The version I read is the 25th Anniversary edition which includes a lovely anecdote about the making of the film (it involved Mandy Patikin and Andre the Giant), the first chapter of Buttercup's Baby as abridged by Goldman and the story of why it was only the first chapter (13 lawsuits, son of Florin Stephen King and the beautiful Karloff Shog). As mentioned by other reviewers, Goldman butts into...more
 The version I read is the 25th Anniversary edition which includes a lovely anecdote about the making of the film (it involved Mandy Patikin and Andre the Giant), the first chapter of Buttercup's Baby as abridged by Goldman and the story of why it was only the first chapter (13 lawsuits, son of Florin Stephen King and the beautiful Karloff Shog). As mentioned by other reviewers, Goldman butts into the narrative often, but rather than detract from the story, I thought it was charming to know how he heard the tale as a young boy. What did it for me was the knowledge that he had never actually read the book - he had only ever heard it as told by his father, complete with the skips. Heartstrings well and truly tugged, I got pleasantly suckered into Goldman's story of the story of the making of the Princess Bride. Well worth the hours but I hesitate about buying.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
A strange case when the movie was better.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
This book happens to be one of my favorites. If your not into reading the movie is just as good.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I was one of those people who didn't know the Princess Bride until I was in university.  "What do you mean, you've never seen it?  Inconceivable!"

Watched it and was delighted and amazed.  Now I'm the one converting people.

As for the book, I didn't realize there was a book until I saw it on my boyfriend's bookshelf.  "What?!?!  There's a Princess Bride BOOK?!?!"  

Can't help but love...more
 I was one of those people who didn't know the Princess Bride until I was in university.  "What do you mean, you've never seen it?  Inconceivable!"

Watched it and was delighted and amazed.  Now I'm the one converting people.

As for the book, I didn't realize there was a book until I saw it on my boyfriend's bookshelf.  "What?!?!  There's a Princess Bride BOOK?!?!"  

Can't help but love it...this is one of the very few books that I don't automatically say "It's so much better than the movie"  because it isn't.  Bill Goldman crafted a beautiful tale of true love and high adventure and he made sure it was done right on page and screen...   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I saw the movie before I can remember, then read the book when I was about thirteen, and proceeded to spend the next year or so of my life searching for an unabridged copy.  My horrible disappointment at the lack thereof aside, this book IS love.  It is not a book I love.  It is love.  And as for Westley . . . there are no words.  Suffice it to say I've spent many an hour wishing to be...more
 I saw the movie before I can remember, then read the book when I was about thirteen, and proceeded to spend the next year or so of my life searching for an unabridged copy.  My horrible disappointment at the lack thereof aside, this book IS love.  It is not a book I love.  It is love.  And as for Westley . . . there are no words.  Suffice it to say I've spent many an hour wishing to be Buttercup.

One complaint: the Buttercup's Baby teaser in the back - just don't even read it.  The quality of writing A) is bad and B) doesn't sound consistent with the rest of the book, and the storyline itself is A) unsatisfying and B) unrealistic.  Now, I know that the rest of the book can't precisely be called realistic, but Buttercup's Baby crosses the line.  DON'T READ IT.

Other than that, though, the unadulterated text of The Princess Bride is the best book ever written, bar none.  And I've read most of them, so I'd know =P   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I read it after seeing the movie, and was astonished at just how well it translates to the screen. Goldman did a wonderful job of creating characters that you can beleive. The apathetic prince, the gentle giant, vengeful swordsma,and of course, our hero. This book makes fun of several traditions, including the air-head damsel and the perfect man  charging to the rescue. Funny and dark at the same...more
 I read it after seeing the movie, and was astonished at just how well it translates to the screen. Goldman did a wonderful job of creating characters that you can beleive. The apathetic prince, the gentle giant, vengeful swordsma,and of course, our hero. This book makes fun of several traditions, including the air-head damsel and the perfect man  charging to the rescue. Funny and dark at the same time, I'd recomend this book for almost anyone over ten years old.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Just as charming and idiosyncratic as the movie. Vizzini, Fezzig and Inigo Montoya are more fully fleshed out in the book, and the story of Inigo's father's sword shop is particularly well-realized. I was struck by how perfectly cast the actors were for their parts. It's important to note that the author, William Goldman, pretends that he's editing a text by another author, S. Morgenstern. It...more
 Just as charming and idiosyncratic as the movie. Vizzini, Fezzig and Inigo Montoya are more fully fleshed out in the book, and the story of Inigo's father's sword shop is particularly well-realized. I was struck by how perfectly cast the actors were for their parts. It's important to note that the author, William Goldman, pretends that he's editing a text by another author, S. Morgenstern. It sounds dumb, but it works out, I promise. You should realize that there's no S. Morgenstern (something I didn't when I first read the book), and that he's not having his work stolen and capitalized upon by this Goldman fellow.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
"What happens when the most beautiful princess in the world marries the most handsome prince in the world... and he turns out to be a son of a bitch?" Even more entertaining than its theatrical adaptation, The Princess Bride is magnificent, overflowing with magic, giants, swordfights, escapes, true love, and shrieking eels. Goldman wrote it as if it was a much older book written by...more
 "What happens when the most beautiful princess in the world marries the most handsome prince in the world... and he turns out to be a son of a bitch?" Even more entertaining than its theatrical adaptation, The Princess Bride is magnificent, overflowing with magic, giants, swordfights, escapes, true love, and shrieking eels. Goldman wrote it as if it was a much older book written by someone else, and he had simply cut out the "boring parts." In truth, all of it was written by Goldman and arranged that way. This book is a classic and a treasure.   hide

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							Ketutar
						
							few weeks ago						
The movie is better

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Love it and hate in equal parts - some of it is fantastic, other parts of it irritate me immeasurable - especially when the fictitious author is wittering on about something... but the overall feel is of great fondness for this book - again, not to harp on about films/books, but I thought it took the best sections and created a fantastic film from it!

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