The princess bride

This is a romantic story about true love, fights and insidiousness, magic and wonder, staged in a ruritanian fantasy country somewhere in Europe.

I've read this book quite late in my live (and have not seen the film until now), so maybe some of the magic got lost in my immortal cynicism (this was written after I took the red pill).

Buttercup, a beauty living on a farm, finds her True Love in Winsley, the farm boy, who plans to go to America to succeed before he wants to come back - for her. And then Winsley is said to be killed by the dreaded Pirate Roberts. Buttercup - thinking that her loved is killed - surrenders to the courting of Prince Humperdinck. Before the marriage she gets kidnapped by Spanish fencing master Inigo Montoya, Fezzik the gigantic wrestler from Turkey and the smart Sicilian criminal Vezzini. But they get overwhelmed one by one by a mysterious man in black (this was before the science fiction comedy film of that name).

It is beyond question a damn prototype of a Damsel in Distress Book (this was before emancipation glanced Hollywood or after a bitter divorce). Buttercup is mostly subject, not object to kidnapping, murder and fights. Of course she is beautiful, devout and loving. One gets to like Inigo Montoya and Fezzik. The light told naive story lives from its exaggerations, its interspersed brackets with funny comments and of course of the frame narrative. The author tells us that the story was written by someone else and he only did the abridgment, since his father read "only the good parts" to him as child. He rants about his wife, makes fun of film making and book writing.

To my (later) edition there is also an attachment "Buttercups Baby" which is superfluous, it might have been the try to do start a second book which was not finished or whatever.

Key Sentence: "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya; you killed my father; prepare to die!"

My rating: Four of five stars (this is because of dormant damsel in distress and superfluous chapters (with a strong female lead and more discipline in ending the book I'd say six stars of five (which would be beyond logic ) ) ) ( yes, I do count my brackets, I've learned LISP in early days).

(Review written 2015-04, shortly after reading the book. Haven't read it again)

How do you rate a book 4 stars when that brings down the average rating? A dose of high expectations and a dash of weak female characters (hello, 1973), along with a dollop of dialogue that is flatter on the page than in the mouths of the film cast. This book just wasn't amazing.

As you know, the film glosses over the story within a story part, using it both humor and character growth (a reader is born). The book goes much further, with a third character (the author) interjecting (frequently and parenthetically). The added humor in these parts is fun. The stories of Fezzik and Inigo are both told through flashbacks instead of actor dialog, which greatly adds to the story. Of course, Goldman also wrote the screenplay, so as you expect, the best bits were all brought in.

It really was a blessing to find actors who brought the dialog to life. Miracle Max has good points, but Billy Crystal made them sing (along with hilarious ad-libs). The intensity of Mandy Patinkin gives the oft repeated phrase a memorable life. I wonder what it was like to read the book before seeing this? The roundabout complaint here is that most of the words don't sing for themselves. Westley is the exception, getting many of the best lines, with Domingo Montoya a close second.

All-in-all, a five star book is one I will gladly read again. This was good, but I've cracked the cover for the last time. Now the film - get the popcorn, will ya? The film has it all...

Fencing.
Fighting.
Torture.
Poison.
True Love.
Hate.
Revenge.
Giants.
Hunters.
Good men.
Bad men.
Beautifulest ladies.
Pain.
Death.
Brave men.
Coward men.
Strongest men.
Chases.
Escapes.
Lies.
Truths.
Passion.
and Miracles.