The Princess Bride

William Goldman
"Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants.
Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all
natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men.
Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." Said by Williams father.

Yes. All of them were definitely there.

What happened was just this: I got hooked on the story. Said by William.

Yes. I did too. Definitely, absolutely hooked

But what happened to me was this: I got bored to the maximum while I was
reading the first part of the novel. The part where William was making the narrative,
quite frankly, appallingly boring. Oh, the 18 pages of misery (with an occasional
joke very occasional). What Id do to fast forward it. But then it was just those 18
pages. Nothing else in that book was even close to boring, except perhaps the ending
(trust me, I am quite no, very much anal about novel endings. I just need them to
be perfect. NEED. So you can understand if I dismiss almost all endings as
uninteresting, right?).

The Princess Bride there are three words Id describe the novel in (my way):
Unpredictable, Funny and Phenomenal (except the beginning and the end.
Obviously). Why those three words? Heres why:

People just dont die when you expect them to, or say the right things when
you expect them to, or do the things you expect them to. Nothing is as I predicted. I
never predicted that Westley would be Buttercups first love. The author made him
seem soordinary at first. No hint at all. When Westley died the first time, I
thought, O.K. So he died. Big deal. And I totally forgot about him in the next parts
of the novel. Buttercups first love and I forgot he existed. Great. And then I thought
that Prince WhatsHisName (actually its Prince Humperdinck. But, seriously?
You want me to spell that every time? No way!) was her next love, even though the
Morgperson (the author. S.Morgenstern was his name. Again, no way!) said that
she never loved again. And I thought that Prince Humpwhatever was good. And I
never would have guessed who the Count was or that Inigos story would be of any
importance. (I appreciate it now, that I was wise enough not to have skipped any
paragraphs. Almost any paragraphs...)

I was wrong all those times. Everything was so unpredictable, especially the
Count thing and Prince Humpdick thing (excuse my language, but I really believed
that he was a good man. So you must understand my frustration and amusement
when I found out the truth). This was the unpredictability I was always talking about
and that lacked in most of the novels I read.

And funny? I really dont need to say that. It truly was. No matter how many
times I read some lines in it, in the same day, I would end up with at least a smile on
my face. Like the way Goldman says (sorry Helen.) whenever he completely insults
her by saying this book is the single best thing that has ever happened to me. (Sorry
about that Helen. Helen is my wife). And I don't know if I love anything truly any
more beyond the porterhouse at Peter Luger's and the cheese enchilada at El Parador's.
(Sorry about that, Helen.). And then this My son Jason is this incrediblelooking
kidour kid can roll faster than he can walk. And this: "I need your advice," she
interrupted. "What can I do to improve my personal appearance?Start by bathing,"
her father said.

Thats how it goes. You know, I never thought it would be like that when I
started it. I know, I keep saying that, but its true. I loved this.

The moral? Several, actually. But the one that got my attention is this:
Goldman gives us several endings to the same story his fathers, Morgguys, and
his own. What does this denote? Well, I think that, endings are not necessarily the
endings confusing. Let me explain. Dont like an ending? You can create one for
yourself. Sure, one has to appreciate the authors endings, but, hey, its you thats
going to suffer with that. I mean, what if in the ending, someone you like dies? Like
Westley here, the second time. I hate it. I like Goldmans dads version because I am a
romantic. Not an adventurer like Goldman or sadistic like Morgguy. So yeah, you
can frame your own ending. Not your your ending but your story ending. Same
applies in life too. If you have a choice, make it a happy ending to any circumstance.
Another one: Life isnt fair. Its just fairer than death. Thats probably the best truth
Ive ever heard or should I say I remember?
REVIEW

Rating: 5/5

Major tags: Um, lets just safely say everything major.

Good stuff:

1. Funny. Very.
2. Unpredictable. Totally.
3. Heavy twists.
4. Neat descriptions.
5. Awesome work at the abridgement.

Nongood Stuff:

1. The beginning (18 pages, remember?).
2. The ending.

Favorite character(s):

1. Westley, when he was the man in black.
2. Inigo and Fezzik.
3. Domingo Montoya, father of Inigo. Very wise man. But he diedbecause
he was very wise. Hey, I never said life was fair!
4. Willy Goldmans father.
5. Of course, last but not the least, William Goldman, though he almost killed
me with boredom in some parts at the beginning.