Review: The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The Princess Bride is obviously a great classic tale, so I wasn’t sure what to expect reading the book when I’ve seen the movie many times. What I found was that I was basically watching the movie in my head, as scenes and lines were often identical. The excellent, witty dialogues that are so memorable are undeniably the best parts of the book, and I enjoyed them very much as the movie was reeling in my head.

I found the parts that were left out of the movie boring and I ended up skimming those a lot. Especially the narrator remarks - they are way too long and digress a lot on insignificant details that are probably supposed to be clever. I think the movie dealt with the 'asides' quite well considering the original. Since I never really cared for the plot device that interrupts a story anyway, I kept skipping to the actual story.

Honestly, I think this is a clever book worthy of the classic label, but the movie takes the best of the book and immortalizes it. If you haven’t watched the movie, the book is probably great. But if you have, the movie is better and I’m not sure you need to experience the book. Actually, I now feel that I need to go watch the movie again.



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