Perhaps
it was the close proximity between when I last saw the film version of The Princess Bride, but the book read a
lot like a screenplay. In fact, it was while watching the movie version that
one of my roommates planted the idea in my head that I should read the book.
So, after finishing Tree of Smoke, a
large and dense novel, which I reviewed earlier this week, I decided to try
something a little lighter. The book version of The Princess Bride was fast paced, the dialogue was well-thought
out and designed to provide comic relief (this is a comedy after all) and to
move the plot along. That the author is also a screenwriter came as no shock to
me. (Goldman has worked on Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid, All the
President’s Men, and The Stepford
Wives, the latter two of which were adapted from books.) There were a few variations
between the movie version and the book, but for the most part, the book and
movie were strikingly similar. In fact, they were so similar, that I’d feel
safe telling any school kid that they could write their book review without
ever reading the book (of course, I would never suggest that or condone such
behavior).
The Princess Bride is a frame narrative.
It begins with a semi-autobiographical version of William Goldman trying to
track down a book, The Princess Bride
by S. Morgenstern, for his son’s birthday. As a child, Goldman came down with
pneumonia, and while he was bedridden, his father had read the book to him. He
searches frantically, calls literary agents and used book stores, and is
finally able to track the book down. To his disappointment, the book is not the
fairytale that his father had read to him, but rather a cumbersome satire on
the country of Florin. His father had only read him parts of the tale. Goldman
sits down, with the book in hand, and recreates the book as his father had read
it to him. Goldman’s recreation, along with his interjections and running
commentary, forms the majority of the novel The
Princess Bride.
The
novel is an outstanding piece of creativity. S. Morgenstern’s version of the
text exists only in the fictional realm of Goldman’s novel (as does the country
of Florin, and probably a good amount of the “autobiographical” parts). As a
whole the novel is engaging and fast-paced, though at times it can be too
abrupt. There are a few weaknesses in the tale, things that are not explained
well enough to make sense, instances where the fictional and fantastical world
that Goldman creates does not feel well-enough fleshed out.
The
layers of irony and satire run deep throughout the book. Morgenstern’s
fictional text is ostensibly a satire on Medieval Florin. Mirroring this, Goldman’s
fictionally pared down version of the tale is a tongue-in-cheek satire on
publishers, the film industry, and American family life in the 1970s. His
satire is witty and mild biting (maybe “nibbling” would be the best way to
describe it). Sometimes it is difficult to determine if Goldman is deriding his
subjects or simply having a little fun with things that he knows well and holds
dear.
Overall,
The Princess Bride is a fun book that
is certainly worth the read if you are in the mood for fantasy, comedy, and
tongue-in-cheek satire. If the film version is well-ingrained in your mind,
however, don’t pick up the book, because you will gain little further delight
from reading it than you have already gained from seeing it played out on
screen.
JCM
16 January 2014
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