Road to a Classic

THE PRINCESS BRIDE:  S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure            By: William Goldman                                      4 Stars

 

I have wanted to read more classics lately. They are stories I have known forever and seen in movies in various forms. Yet, I have a desire to learn how those stories originated. The Princess Bride hasn’t been around as long as most stories that are considered classics, but I believe this one will stand the test of time. Even the author believes this as the title clearly states it is a classic tale.

When I started to read this book I was slightly confused. Apparently, the book was an abridgement of the original book which was quite a bit larger than the book we know of 300 pages (450 pages if you add Buttercup’s Baby and Goldman’s multiple introductions). Morgenstern’s version includes a more detailed history of Florin as well as pages on trees and princess training and other drawn out information.

On top of all the information I learned about S. Morgenstern, it seems that there is even a museum. What wouldn’t I give to visit that!  Fortunately, I decided to do a little research in this area as I was confused about my complete lack of knowledge on the subject. It turns out the reason I was oblivious is because this is all just part of the story.

Goldman decided to write the book as if he abridged an out of print book from his childhood instead of actually creating the story himself. Even in all of the introductions used for multiple year milestones, he still keeps up the ruse. While doing so he creates a fake wife and son. In addition to that, he talks about how he is not allowed to include certain information within the story such as the reunion scene between Buttercup and Westley. The reason behind the missing information will be blamed on such issues as disagreements with the publisher or problems with the Morgenstern estate. You can view examples of the letters you would receive when you write in to request the missing information here.

Goldman shows his personality and sense of humor by setting up the book in this format. While I found it entertaining throughout most of the book, I had to wonder if I would still be as entertained when I find time to read the book a 2^nd time. The closer I got to the end of the book I decided that upon rereading the book I would skip all of the Goldman commentary and just focus on the story. By the time I read Buttercup’s Baby, I had enough of the game. I became annoyed that the story doesn’t end because the “Morgenstern estate” wouldn’t allow Goldman to abridge anything else. Goldman is starting to get up there in years now, so I can image how frustrated all of his readers will be if he never completes the story.

Now, let’s focus on the content of the story. The reason I wanted to read this book is based on my love for the movie. Without all of the Morgenstern distractions, the book is close to the movie, but that isn’t really surprising when you learn that Goldman wrote the screenplay to the movie as well. The book does go slightly into more depth with each character, while the movie does give you the reunion scene between Buttercup and Westley.

An interesting thing about the book is that you learn about each of the characters when you need to. For example, you learn the names and back story of Inigo (as well as the remaining trio) as the man in black is about to fight him. This allows more sympathy for Vizzini’s team. It is a shame that I did see the movie first because now it is hard to discern if I would have thought that man in black was trying to save the princess or, if I should have had the same fear that is instilled in Buttercup, think he was even more dangerous than her original captures.

All in all I liked the book as much as I like the movie. The only downfall was the fact that I did get tired of the Morgenstern back story by the end of the book and I didn’t at all feel that Buttercup was worthy of Westley. In the book she wants others to think she is more than just beautiful, she is smart when in fact she could use a little education. I never had that feeling while watching the movie.

Another thing that did grate on me after a while was the way Goldman portrayed women. I believe it was all part his joking personality, but after a while it too got old. Additional warning, the chapters can be extremely long for those like me who prefer short chapters. For these few downfalls the book goes from a 5 to a 4. I still love it though!