The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Buttercup and Westley love each other with all their hearts. Westley heads to sea to earn his fortune, but is captured and killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Buttercup agrees to marry the slimy Prince Humperdinck, but is kidnapped by Vizzini, Fezzik and Inigo. A man in black pursues them...

As with all ripping yarns, there's plot by the bucketload. Goldman has constructed an elegant adventure with a diverse cast of characters. It's exciting, it's thrilling, it's beautiful, it's romantic, and you won't be able to stop reading from the first page to the last.

What sets The Princess Bride apart from other shorter fairy tales is the back-story: Goldman's version claims to be the good parts version, abridged from a classic book by S Morgenstern. His father, so the story goes, read the book to Goldman when he was a boy, leaving out the serious side to it. Goldman now wants to pass the story on to his own (fictional) son, and shares various aspects of his less than rosy home life.

I love The Princess Bride. Every last word of it. It's got everything you could possibly need in a story. Goldman's writing style sings on every page. You can read it feeling girly and romantic; you can read it feeling boy-y and adventurous; you can read it for the humour, the writing, the cleverness, or the fun.

The film adaptation is highly recommended too. Although it doesn't have as much depth as the book, missing out the Zoo of Death, for example, it more than makes up for it with the inclusion of Andre the Giant and Columbo.

Thanks to the publishers for sending such a wonderful book to Bookbag.

If you liked The Princess Bride, you'll also like Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Princess Bride by William Goldman at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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