What I Am Reading: "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
I’m not fanatical about it, but I like this movie pretty well. When William Goldman died last year, I was assured by his obituaries that the novel was even better, adding another layer of story as Goldman “abridged” the novel by excising the uninteresting parts of “S. Morgenstern’s classic tale of true love and high adventure.” Having finished the book, my report is that: you can stick to the film.
There is nothing bad about the book, mind you. It is just that the film is a very faithful adaptation, excising only a chapter wherein Fezzik and Inigo must fight through a labyrinth of beasts to find the dead Westley. Meanwhile, the narrative and the “asides” about Morgenstern’s work are droll, but do not, in my opinion, add anything particularly uproarious. The joke is mainly that the fictional Morgenstern includes excessive detail on uninteresting topics, adding satirical commentary on the excesses of royalist fashion and on the history of Florin and Guilder that Goldman then “removes” for the benefit of the story. Anyway, all of the funny lines are delivered much more charismatically on film than they are on the page.
Perhaps this is a case of what TV Tropes refers to as “Seinfeld is Unfunny” syndrome, dismissing a classic because it has been aped so many times in subsequent years. But the truth is that, if you are looking for tongue-in-cheek satire of swashbuckling fantasy, Terry Pratchett does much better work. Is that because he came after The Princess Bride? I don’t know, I was unable to find any reference to a direct link (after a non-exhaustive search). Hardcore fans of the movie may find the book interesting, though may be unsold on the “meta-narrative” about all the trouble that Goldman has had abridging the work and getting permission for the (fictional? Or just unwritten?) sequel. My version did have the sequel’s alleged first chapter, which complicates the lives of the characters somewhat, and gives some a little more depth. This was the most interesting part, as it included material that was not in the film; it was, however, very brief, and totally chopped up by “commentary.” In any event, casual fans aren’t missing much that isn’t in the film. I know that may be difficult to conceive.