Friday, March 13, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: The Princess Bride by William Goldman

This is a book review for The Princess Bride by William Goldman. I read this as part of my TBR Pile Challenge

William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that's thrilling and timeless. Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions.”

It is inconceivable that I have not read this book until now, especially since I love the movie so much. I know that the book is typically better than the movie, but since I adore the movie I honestly didn't have very high expectations for the book. Shame on me. This book had me glued from the first pages. Oh goodness, how I loved Westley and Buttercup. Yes I know, it was an instantaneous kind of love and usually I hate that. I am sorry, but in this fairy tale world, I welcomed it. Their romance made me swoon. 

"I have loved you for several hours now, and every second, more. I thought an hour ago that I loved you more than any woman has ever loved a man, but a half hour after that I knew that what I felt before was nothing compared to what I felt then. But ten minutes after that, I understood that my previous love was a puddle compared to the high seas before a storm. "

"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches."

"I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids . . . Is any of this getting through to you, Buttercup, or do you want me to go on for a while?"

"Westley took her in his arms. 'Child; sweet child. I have a knife. I have my sword. I did not come across the world to lose you now.'"

How can you not swoon with quotes like that? But this book wasn't just about romance. Oh no, it was about the evil Prince Humperdink, the fierce Spaniard out to avenge his father's death and the strong, but lovable, giant. I held my breath during a few rocky moments with Buttercup and Westley. Yes, obviously I know how it ends since I have seen the movie but the writing was just that good. I loved the sword fights between Ingo and, well, pretty much anyone he came into contact with. I forgot how funny (and arrogant) the Sicilian was. I loved every single character, yes even the evil ones. I think this is my new favorite book. I have this one on my Kindle, but now I feel the need to own the print version. Since I only own print versions of my favorite books, that is high praise indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go watch the movie again!

Buy/Skip/Borrow: Buy!!!

18 comments :

  1. Aw happy for you that you loved it. I don't think Iv'e ever finished watching the actual movie. Huh!

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    1. Oh you need to Anna! The movie is so great!

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  2. I love the movie but I haven't read the book. I have it on my kindle th though so I really should!

    Cayt @ Vicarious Caytastrophe

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    1. YES, you need to Cayt! I had the book on my Kindle for a while before reading it too. It is so good!

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  3. I read this last year for the first time and I LOVED it! I couldn't believe I hadn't read it yet either since I loved the movie so much. :)

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    1. Lois, I am glad you loved it too! I am fangirling all over the place. Ha!

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  4. You SOLD me with your words and those quotes. I haven't read the movie which might be good so I can create the characters with my own imagination before I see the movie.

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    1. Adriana, I would recommend reading the book first. I kept seeing the characters when I was reading it. But they are both pretty amazing. So read the book and then watch the movie!

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  5. YAY! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this! This is one of my favouritest book ever. I re-read it pretty often, haha. (It also makes me super happy when I see The Princess Bride get referenced in books and movies!). Great review!

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    1. Thanks Cyn! I LOVED this book so much and it has definitely been added to my list of all time favorite books.

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  6. I did read half of this book, but sadly, the writing was not my type and I ended up getting really confused. I want to check out the movie before trying again, since it'd be a shame not to finish this. :)

    Aimee @ Deadly Darlings

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    1. Aimee, aww I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it! You should at least watch the movie. Some people get confused by the abridgments. Just to let you know, it is an abridgment of a fake story. I know that sounds weird, but it's just part of the story. Ha

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  7. I NEED TO READ THIS. I absolutely love the movie...like I love it an astronomical amount! SQUEEE. and my sister read the book but I never got around to it. (She said the movie was better *shrugs* So obviously I need to read and see for myself, right?!)

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    1. Cait, I ADORE this movie and can't believe it took me so long to read it. You NEED to read this!!! I actually thought the book was pretty comparable to the movie. They are both pretty damn amazing.

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  8. ooh I need a print version of this too! … wait a minute I think I actually picked this up used.
    ahh I do have it lol. I need to reread this I haven't read it since I was in like middle school. :D I love the author though. She has a new book coming out called Stolen Magic that is up on EW!

    -Diamond @ Dee's Reads

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    1. Diamond Cronen, I plan on rereading this again soon, that is for sure. I am just sorry it took me so long to read it. I will have to check out Stolen Magic!

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  9. Oh, I'm so glad you liked this one! I have a terrible confession: I totally bought the conceit that it was based on a "real" story. A friend of mine had to kindly pop that happy little bubble, haha.

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    1. Bahahaha. Oh don't feel bad. I did too!! It wasn't until I did the research to try to find the "real" story that I found out the truth. I really fell for it too.

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