The Princess Bride - “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!”
The Princess Bride is very funny. That’s my review. If you want a chuckle go read it. If you want more details, read on.
Probably more famous for the 80’s film adaptation, I found the book to be something of a pallet cleanser for me, a real lemon sorbet of a book. I squeezed it in between some pretty dense fantasy volumes, and found it utterly charming.
The Princess Bride is a story written as if it were an abridgment to a fictional, much longer version of the The Princess Bride, by a fictional author. The real author, William Goldman, tells the tale whilst interrupting occasionally for some amusing side-notes. It’s a wittily written swashbuckling fantasy-comedy-romance with a short but sweet plot.
The colourful cast of characters are presented with enough background to make them interesting, the style of the writing tending more towards fairytale-like simplicity. This isn’t a bad thing at all. The story is short, moves at a quick pace, and with plenty of action.
I’m not going to waffle on about this one because I really can’t say anything other than ‘it’s a great, fun book’. It’s got sword fighting, death, life, good guys, bad guys, monsters, giants, and most importantly, True Love. It’s full of fantastic lines, such as “Cynics are simply thwarted romantics,” and “Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death.” So just go and read it. If not:
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