Citation: Goldman, W. (2013). The princess bride (Illustrated Edition) (M. Manomvisul, Illus.). Harcourt, Inc. (Original work published 1973).
Content Warning: Torture, violence, snakes, spiders, and death.
In a world of pirates, kings, and magic, a pair of star-crossed lovers fight against a conniving prince in order to finally be together in William Goldman’s classic novel. Fans of the movie (Reiner, 1987), whether they’re children, teens, or adults, will enjoy reading the original story of Wesley & Princess Buttercup and counting off the list of fantasy tropes as they’re beautifully intertwined on the pages. Even the novel’s opening passage, which describes a fictional version of Goldman discovering that a beloved story from his childhood was actually the invention of his father, helps create this feeling of warmth and love that radiates throughout the book.
The Princess Bride may be a love story and the relationship between Buttercup & Wesley may serve as the central focus for exploring the concept of true love, but the book is about more than just romantic love. It’s about the love between fathers and sons, between friends, as well as between couples, and is presented in a way that manages to never come across as cheesy or lacking substance.
Fantasy and romance have never been my favourite genres, so I was surprised just how easy it was to get lost in The Princess Bride. I don’t know how to accurately describe the wholesome feeling, the warmth, that comes from reading it or watching the film adaptation. It’s just really, REALLY good.