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A review by oldmanrupee
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A wonderful adventure, all the fun of the film and more, except for one thing: my least favourite character is the author.
Goldman has semi-autobiographical, semi-fictional parts inserted into the story throughout, detailing how the story was actually written by the fictional author S. Morgenstern, the book was supposedly read to him as a child by his father, and how Goldman "abridged" the book into what it is now when he found out his father apparently only read the good bits and the "actual" book was full of needless political exposition.
That's all fine and good in theory, because who doesn't like a bit of meta-text, but the problem is that Goldman himself comes off as an incredibly self-centred, angry, and unlikeable man in these sections, especially when he describes his relationship with his ex-wife and son (trigger warning for fatphobia/body image discussion). Now because it's semi-fictional autobiographical inserts in and around a fantasy story, it's hard to say if it's an intentionally bad self portrayal or not, but either way it was bad enough to make my review drop a star.
Goldman has semi-autobiographical, semi-fictional parts inserted into the story throughout, detailing how the story was actually written by the fictional author S. Morgenstern, the book was supposedly read to him as a child by his father, and how Goldman "abridged" the book into what it is now when he found out his father apparently only read the good bits and the "actual" book was full of needless political exposition.
That's all fine and good in theory, because who doesn't like a bit of meta-text, but the problem is that Goldman himself comes off as an incredibly self-centred, angry, and unlikeable man in these sections, especially when he describes his relationship with his ex-wife and son (trigger warning for fatphobia/body image discussion). Now because it's semi-fictional autobiographical inserts in and around a fantasy story, it's hard to say if it's an intentionally bad self portrayal or not, but either way it was bad enough to make my review drop a star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia