From the Archives: Book 19: "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
Verdict: Read it, it's strange, but awesome.

The Princess Bride has always been one of my favorite movies. I, like many others, have every line memorized. So I decided I needed to read the book. The book is a strange experience; it really just kept me thinking that William Goldman is a genius and probably mad.

If you love the movie, you'll love the book. As Goldman wrote the screenplay for the movie, it is perhaps the most accurate adaptation I have ever seen, with direct dialogue from the book. What makes Goldman mad? The fact that he has created another author to give an added narrative element, S. Morgenstern. This alone is awesome, but his introductions are what give him the crazy element. In his introductions to the novel, he adds another layer mixing real events with fictional, changing his family structure and acting as though Morgenstern, Gilder and Florin are actual places. So you end up needing to read the introductions to the 30th, 25th, and original printings of the book, since with each publication he adds to the storyline. Not of the actual novel itself, but more to the fan culture this has created. Even, as I try to describe it, it doesn't make sense. So to understand you're just going to have to read it.