One of my core memories is the first time I watched The Princess Bride. I was with my family one year, right after the New Year, and we put on TPB while looking for something to watch. It was love at first watch for me because everything about the movie was so whimsical, witty, and fun.
Fast forward several years later, I learned that there's a novel. Last month I was looking for something to read, and much like the day I first watched TPB, my copy of the novel caught my eye.
The Princess Bride Origins
The Princess Bride is as a novel by William Goldman in 1973, its full title actually being: The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure. Goldman also wrote the screenplay for the 1987 film version.
The Princess Bride Novel and Adaptation
If you love the movie, certainly give the novel a try. I was impressed to find the built-in understanding I had of the plot, since the story's core plot points and characters are very similar. Likewise, it has a very descriptive writing style so it truly felt that I was watching the movie in my mind while reading the book. Goldman's attention to detail while translating the story from novel to film is remarkable.
The movie is an aesthetic masterpiece that sells adventure through its beautifully coordinated action sequences, drama in the character revelations the audience becomes privy to, and love in the quiet and powerful moments between Buttercup and Westley. While the film captures the essence, the novel is able to take and expand, since it allows for more time with the characters. We get more time with Westley and Buttercup's love story: there are funny and swoon worthy quotes when Buttercup realizes she loves Westley, we see Westley's determination to love and do anything for Buttercup, and the ways they constantly choose each other. Action and drama spark in the descriptive and expansive scenes that bring to life the history, purpose, and intention of the characters. There's action, love, and drama, but The Princess Bride novel has so many scenes to lay the groundwork for understanding the characters and their role in this weaving narrative.
What caught me off guard the most was the novel's voice in reality. Instead of a grandfather reading the story to his grandson, a fictional version of William Golding himself breaks into the narrative. He emphasizes his love for the story going back to when his father read it to him as a child, and was inspired to do an abridged version of the novel where the emphasis was on love and adventure. Plus, we get to learn more about the in-world country of Florin. While S. Morgenstern highlights the history of Florin and the subsequent action, Goldman's passion for this project resonates on the page as his fictional self interjects and highlights what he feels are the most important bits: love, action, and adventure.
Conclusion
If you like the movie, the book is something you should try. It has enough differences to be unique, but its heart is very much the same. I found that the novel is just as whimsical and fun, but also more pensive in some ways that I enjoyed.
Plus, depending on which version you read, you'll get more insights from William Goldman. Some of what I read in the anniversary edition notes were very unexpected, but in a humorous way.