I saw the movie before I read the book. I was disappointed with the movie. My friends ranted and raved about it, quoted it like crazy, and insisted I watch one of the best movies ever. Because I was expecting it to be all that, I was greatly disappointed to find out it was just “good”. However, upon reading the book, I found a new love for The Princess Bride.
There is only one fitting word to describe the book: humorous. There is the continuous joke the author plays on the readers, the frequent parentheses explaining that this took place before this thing, but after another thing, and the witty one-liners from Westley, and some other characters as well.
The big joke can be found in the complete title: The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure. Several of my friends thought that William Goldman only abridged an old classic. They even searched the Internet like crazy, trying to find the original Princess Bride. In the prologue, the author has the joke continuing as he explains how his father had read S. Morgenstern’s classic to him at the age of ten, and how after his own son refused to read past the first chapter, he discovered his father had only read the good parts, so he then decided to “abridge it”. And throughout the novel, he keeps up the act by commenting at the parts he “cut out”.
Along with the prank, “S. Morgenstern” has frequent explanations in parentheses, such as “This is before Europe…but after America” or “This is before France…but after Paris”. Goldman says the supposed Morgenstern probably did this so the reader would know it was fictitious.
And, of course, there is the hilarious, satire filled dialogue between the characters. From the infamous line of “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” to the much repeated line of “Inconceivable!” This book keeps you chuckling to yourself throughout.
If I had to pick something dislikable about this novel, I would have to choose Buttercup. Could one create a weaker, dumber, more oblivious lead woman? Her helplessness peeved my frustration and made me wish I was in the scene, doing things right.
Overall, it is a well-written work, past paced and flowing. I would definitely recommend it. ( )

Adventure, pirates, true love...what's not to like? This is one book where I feel the movie did it justice, but probably because Goldman's prose was so cinematic. A great read that I highly recommend for any hopeless romantic who enjoys a great adventure. ( )

I read it before they made it into a movie. When they made the movie, I wondered how they could keep the tone of the book, but they succeeded.

I really wish I had read this book prior to seeing the movie. Oh well. Duffy mentioned having read it and really enjoyed the book. I began it as a read-aloud for the boys. I think that it really wasn't a the best choice as a read-aloud because of the writing style. I think that if I'd not tried to read the book aloud I'd have given it at least 4 stars, 1/2 a star higher than I ended up rating it. The author did something very interesting in having attempted to write the book as if he had found a very old manuscript and had just edited it for modern readers, acting as if 'Florin' is a real place. I think that if I had read it to myself from the beginning the story would have gone much more smoothly. (I had to edit a lot of it to make it relevant to kids the age of our boys.) I have to say that in the final bit of the book (Buttercup's Baby) I think the author completely lost me at one point; I still think I am confused about what happened there for a bit. Anyway, it was written very creatively and I did find that interesting. I love the movie adaptation. It is one of my favorite movies! ( )

Great fun, and I love all the comments in italics. One of the few instances though, where I prefer the film to the book. ( )