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What are readers saying about The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (A Del Rey book)?
| Reviews of The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (A Del Rey book) - Page 1 of 36 |
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-09-07 01:29:36.
(Language: English)
 
It is inconceivable that you haven't read this book! Have fun storming the castle!
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-24 01:43:40.
(Language: English)
Its a really great rewite of the original. William Goldman really puts his own thoughts through out the book. I was glad that most of the nightmare section was taken out of the movie. But I wouldn't recommed reading the only and only chapter of Buttercups baby. I agree with Willie (Goldman's grandson) about how the first chapter has too many unsolved questions and the events that happen couldn't really happen without those questions solved. But I still will give it a 10 out of 10.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-12 04:53:45.
(Language: English)
A strange case when the movie was better.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-25 12:37:03.
(Language: English)
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.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-11-19 02:58:53.
(Language: English)
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.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-25 09:15:11.
(Language: English)
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...
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-06 04:00:55.
(Language: English)
I picked up this book after seeing the movie, I must say I liked the movie more. This abridged version is almost the same as the movie there are a few extra things thrown in but over all it's like reading the movie. The commentary is by far the most annoying thing about this book, I really don't care about your bitter feelings about your ex wife Goldman and they really take away from the story. I'd like to find a copy of the whole story because it seems Goldman cut way too much out.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-16 10:41:48.
(Language: English)
Awesome!! The book is so much funnier than the movie. I read it multiple times, but I still laugh out loud all the time while reading.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-05 09:51:18.
(Language: English)
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 posted a review at 2008-02-12 10:02:14.
(Language: English)
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.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-07-01 04:46:55.
(Language: English)
Amazing book. Amazing movie. What else is there to say about a silly fantasy book about love. true love.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-04 08:08:50.
(Language: English)
"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.
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christina posted a review at 2012-01-03 07:55:42.
(Language: English)
If you love the movie, don't waste your time.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-10-04 06:59:10.
(Language: English)
ok so this book is friggen awesome. It isn't profound. By the end you don't go "whoa" and sit back and contemplate your life. Appreciate it for what it is - which is a really intelligent and humorous satire of the roles of men and women in these perceived times, expression of word play, narrative that makes it feel like an old friend wrote you a letter and reminded you of fun times and characters that you feel really close to by about the second chapter. Somethings always happening. Its plot and character driven with a powerful engine of humour the entire way through. Look, if you enjoyed the movie, you'll probably enjoy the book. They aren't so much different. I have this thing for fairytale adaptions so its a personal love of mine. Almost on an unhealthy level really. But anyway, read it. And jesus christ if you have a choice between this an the alchemist read this.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-27 07:38:15.
(Language: English)
This book has been sitting in my bookcase for years, untouched. I think I got it for a birthday present when I was twelve. I don't remember. But I needed to grab books for the airplane, and I grabbed this one too. Everything about it made me feel kind of skeptical--the flowery cover, the dual "princess bride" title sending be back 11 years to remember when my younger sister wanted to be both a princess and a bride for Halloween and would not budge until she had her wish. Plus the woman in the illustration had a poorly drawn nose. This book is written by a man named William Goldman. However, Mr. Goldman thinks it's awfully witty to pretend that some other man, S. Morgenstern wrote this book. so witty, in fact, that Mr. Goldman feels it's necessary to interrupt the flow of the story to write in unprofessional, obnoxious italics all about how S. Morgenstern wrote a scene, or how Mr. Goldman feels it is in his right, as the one who "abridges" the novel, to omit, alter, or otherwise mutilate prior-existing text "S. Morgenstern" wrote before. This is by far, the most obnoxious, OBNOXIOUS thing I have ever encountered in a book, ever. Not only did I have to sit through over thirty pages of dreary "This is my life--do let me tell you all about it, in explicit detail, more than you could ever want to know" delivered from Mr. Goldman, about Mr. Goldman, but the charade he keeps up pretending to be merely the one abridging the novel and not the writer himself grows stale and irritating come the 100th page or so. By the end of the book I was sorely tempted to just ignore every time he fell into italics, except for the fact sometimes I needed to read them to know what was happening. Maybe some people find this cute, fun, and witty, but I thought it was obnoxious and outright stupid. There's no way some bygone writer from a century past wrote this--it has all the quirky makings of a contemporary novel, simply set in a different era. And that remark made by Goldman about Miracle Max and the exchange between his wife sounding too Jewish? Excuse me? What was that all about? Now that I've got the complaints out, if you ignore Mr. Goldman's self-absorbed chatter, it's a rather nice book. It's about a maiden (duh) living on a farm, and she and the farm boy are in love, but he goes off and is separated from her. She, believing he is dead, is forced to marry the king of the land, etc, etc, but he comes back for her, faces unlikely adversaries, teams up with unlikely foes, and so on and so forth. It's clever and quick-moving in spots. Westly is lovable for the most part, and his devotion to the girl he loves is at points completely heart-breaking because the heroine is not really much of a heroine at all... in fact, she's almost as annoying as Mr. Goldman at points. But if you ignore Mr. Goldman's chatter, then this book would get five full stars! The story is quirky, the dialogue amusing, and the villains quite villainous indeed. Most assuredly worth reading from start to finish! (We won't tell anyone if you skip the italics!!)
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-11-06 09:19:58.
(Language: English)
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Hehe, so many classic lines. Love this book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-28 08:57:39.
(Language: English)
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
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-08 08:01:44.
(Language: English)
Two things first: 1) I came in knowing that S. Morgernstern was not real and 2) I loved the movie as a child. Unlike alot of reviewers, I enjoyed the prelude and the framestory. The main story is not romantic and magical like the movie - that is fine because it's a satire. It's strange because the movie is faithful to the book and yet the feel is so different. However, I personally could not appreciate the satire. I did not enjoy the conversational and rather contemporary writing style of the book. It reads as though it is badly written. It works if you realise that it's meant to be read out loud and as a bedtime story. He's actually a good writer, as shown in the prelude, but the purposefully conversational style did not work with the story. The story of course is quite fun and there are some funny parts to it. What I enjoyed and this is just my view is that: sometimes it looked as though the characters may actually want to be realistic and practical but were forced to labour under idealised views of romance and justice. Admittedly, it's a fun page turner of a read and I read it in one sitting. It did leave me with that 'unsatisfied' feeling though.
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Emily posted a review at 2007-09-18 06:36:10.
(Language: English)
There are so many times whilst reading this book that I just wanted to roll my eyes like no other... but then again, that's part of the charm of this nearly surreal, satirical fairy tale that still manages a heart of gold. The set-up is that this is an abridged version of a much longer, much more serious novel (not true, but it makes it a lot of fun). We get the "good parts", a wonderfully melodramatic story of piracy, princesses, murder, and the like. The humor is off-beat, hilarious, and surprisingly sweet. The characters are quirky, vibrant, and always endearing. Even the tongue-in-cheek notes-of-the-"editor" are a must-read. It's a conspiracy with a great story, and is definitely a modern classic.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-30 04:56:46.
(Language: English)
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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A Reader posted a review at 2012-08-28 08:46:40.
(Language: English)
I love the movie with Cary Elwes!
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Ketutar posted a review at 2010-06-23 05:44:50.
(Language: English)
The movie is better
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-11-21 07:34:58.
(Language: English)
"This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it" Actually, I've read it in excess of 15 times since discovering it in 8th grade. I own multiple copies, one for each re-issuing with a new introduction. It's the kind of book that grows with you; a fun, action-packed adventure/romance for the novice reader and a cleaver piece that takes jabs at everything from the publishing and entertainment industry to the divide of social classes to historical events (some current at the time of publishing) for those who are more widely read. ("You've fallen victim to one of the classic blunders, the first is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia...'" Hmmm... Land wars, Asia, 1970s American author....) I also thoroughly appreciated that along side time-tested fairy tale morals (true love always wins, revenge is sweet) Goldman peppers the piece with less popular inevitable (life is not always fair, you have to learn to deal with it rather than complain). Like any good book, however, researching into its origins is a lot like pulling back the curtain in the land of Oz, things are not as they are presented. Any search for the "original Morgenstern" text is in vain, as there is none. Similarly, Goldman's "autobiography" woven through "the abridged version" is as much fiction as the rest of the book. I like this. It's a more complicated dance than straight forward storytelling. And, you've got to admire a guy who calls his own book a "Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure"
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eva posted a review at 2011-05-07 04:06:21.
(Language: English)
Cute. The movie makes you want to smile. Almost makes you long for a fantastical life.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-25 04:09:47.
(Language: English)
Goldman really did a great job when he wrote this book. The narrative style - with commentary - at first seems disjointing and annoying. However, as the plot develops, we see how skillfully Goldman can weave a plot with imperfect characters in a realistic fashion, and yet still make it so wonderfully full of fantasy. Especially useful, is the fact that, for all the trial in the world, evil can still prevail, or not. After all, the ending is yours to decide.
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