My Name is Inigo Montoya...

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I know there are people who LOOOOOOOVE the film, "The Princess Bride." While I thoroughly enjoy the movie, I think I may only LOOVE it. I mean, Inigo Montoya is FABULOUS and I really really dug Westley, and the pwiest was vewwy vewwy funny!!!! So, when someone was kind enough to lend me the book, I had relatively high expectations. Now, don't get me wrong, I wasn't disappointed in The Princess Bride, but I just wasn't thrilled or moved to laugh till I cry (which the movie sometimes can).

First of all, let's get all English-major on this, and talk about the meta-layered frame narratives going on in this novel. Holy cow! First of all, keep in mind that the book's title is The Princess Bride, S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure. Basically, what Goldman does is this -- he tells his readers that the book they are holding in their hand (his book) is actually the abridgment of the original PB written by this invented author, Morgenstern. As a child, says Goldman (within the novel, not in the introduction or anything), his father read PB to him aloud, and the boy fell in love with the book. When, as a father himself, he attempted to pass on this beloved childhood novel to his very fat and very spoiled son, he is shocked to find out that the boy can't get into the book -- because it is too long and too boring! It turns out that Goldman's father, when reading to the boy, had skipped hundreds of pages of political and historical satire! So, when Goldman's own son attempted to read the book, he found it overly dry and long. This leads Goldman to undertake the task of abridging PB and basically re-publish the book as his father had read it to him -- just the adventure plot and the romance.

While bearing this in mind, you must remember that Goldman is making all of this up. There is no Morgenstern, no original PB. The project in itself is quite interesting and it had me excited at reading a book that really messed with the reader's perception of narrator, of what's real and what isn't. Goldman often includes long parenthesis in which he bitches about his frigid wife or his snotty son, or over some of the stunted romantic liaisons that he failed at. All in all, I must say, that the actual narrator of PB comes off as an ego maniacal and pathetic loser who happens to have been the screenwriter for some awesome movies (think "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "Misery." (One interesting aside is the confrontation between Goldman and Stephen King over supposedly abridging the sequel to PB, called Buttercup's Baby, a conversation in which they discuss Kathy Bates' performance in "Misery.")

Once you get over the self-loathing and self-loving that the narrator is indulging in while writing this book, you get to the actual storyline. Westley hearts Buttercup, but she is to be married to Prince Humperdink. Meanwhile, Inigo Montoya searches for his father's six-fingered murderer, Fezzik plods along like a dumb giant, and about 300 pages into the novel, these 2 team up with Westley in an attempt to steal Buttercup away from Humperdink.

The good news is that some of the movie's best scenes are taken verbatim from the book. Inigo Montoya is as fabulous here as he is in the movie. Actually, even more so, because you get a pretty in depth history of his childhood, his training, his thought process. He is by far the most interesting character in the novel.

The scene with Miracle Max is also as rewarding as it is in the movie, and the funniest scene in the book is the marriage (mawwiage) scene.

Still, a couple interesting scenes do not a great novel make, and for once, I may have found a book that I enjoyed less than its film adaptation! Ring the bells and sound the alarms!!

Ah, and I see God is agreeing with me! I have just looked out of our great scenic window, and the most BEAUTIFUL rainbow has just appeared.

To wrap up, I must say that I was left a bit deflated by The Princess Bride. It has a little zing, a little sappy romance, and a little adventure, but overall, I think I approached it about 15 years too late. Had I read it when I was 10, I'm sure it would still to this day be one of my favorites.

P.S. Take one "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Repeat until it becomes unnerving. Result -- the best scene in the novel and the film, by a landslide. Oh, Inigo. I love you. And in this book, only you. I should pull a Goldman and abridge The Princess Bride and leave in only Inigo's part, and add on to his story line. Food for thought!


View all my reviews.