The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

Hi everybody! So I know that this is, strictly speaking, a book review blog, but I think I'm going to break tradition for at least the next few posts, and try out something new. So for my next few posts, I'm going to be comparing a few books with their movie companions, to see which one holds up better. If you don't like this format, don't worry. I'll be back to my regular book reviews soon enough.

*DISCLAIMER*

Obviously these comparisons are biased, if you don't agree with them, that's okay! You don't have to. With that said, let's get started!

The Princess Bride is arguably one of the most well known and widely respected classic movies of all time. It's action packed, funny, and both the visuals and the storyline are touching and beautiful.

The book...well, there's a little more to unpack there. Similarly to the movie, the fantasy part of the story is set within a real life one. In the movie, it's the story of a loving grandfather passing on the tradition of this story to his grandson. But in the book, it's the story of a washed up author remembering a book he was read as a child, but then finding that the actual book is a very boring political satire, and so he sets about "abridging" it. This is honestly a really interesting way of presenting a story, but the author's voice is so obnoxious and annoying that it completely ruins any chance this framework had of working. The plot of the book remains pretty true to the movie, with occasional cut ins from the author. These side notes further take away from the story in my opinion, but even without them, there is a certain feeling that all of these plot points simply work better visually. In my opinion, the book isn't well told enough for the visual language to take hold, so it is much more entertaining and easier to absorb on screen than on page. Overall, different strokes for different folks. If you're somebody who likes a sarcastic overtone to a story, read the book. If you're somebody who likes to enjoy things, watch the movie.