"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

So a masked man, the Sicilian Crowd, and a semi-suicidal princess/bride-to-be walk into a bar hang off a rope tethered to the Cliffs of Insanity...

I don't know if I've read this book before, or if I've seen the movie so many times it feels like I've read the book. Either way, I was long overdue for reading/rereading it, and I'm happy to report it was even better than I expected it to be.

The Plot:
Buttercup had her heart broken when her true love, Wesley, was killed by pirates. But soon after, she catches the attention of Prince Humperdinck due to her beauty, and is given a choice: to wed him or to die. She chose to wed him, but soon finds herself kidnapped by a motley crowd of criminals: Will she be able to escape her captors before it's too late?

As much as this book is an obvious satire- there are also traces of to blave true love for those of us who like romance. Certainly, there's a great deal of gushy-ness in that aspect, but I didn't find it near as corny as Tom Cruise saying "You complete me," in Jerry Maguire. It seems absurd, but I understand the romance makes more sense in the book than in the movie for me- perhaps because there's more preliminary building?

My favorite characters, however have not changed. I do love Buttercup and her story of true love, but I have always favored characters out for revenge, and so Inigo Montoya has always been my favorite of the bunch- but really- all the characters are awesome, from the Albino to the deaf Archdean of Florin. Also, I'd be remiss not to mention Fezzik, but I'm afraid I have no rhymes for his name... perhaps my rhyming has come up lame?

So by now you should presume, "Litha rated it 5 Stars, right? She admits to loving it." But, there is two lines in the book that upset my moral code of honor- and most of you who've read this book may know what I'm talking about. I admit I love crass humor- South Park was one of my favorite shows as a teen, but I can't help but be irritated when I find a way-out-of-date racial slur in a book that was published in 1973. I know- the '70s were a long time ago, but to live through the '60s and still have that ugly word in your writing vocab- even for a satirical and crass joke, it's a low blow.

The Princess Bride is everything I hoped it would be, but is a few words from my top-tier rating of 5 stars. I've watched the film, so I assumed this book's magic might be lost on me, but to my surprise, it exceeded expectations. So, if you've watched the movie and are afraid it may have ruined the book for you, don't worry: there's still a high probability you'll love this book. If you love tales of high adventure, true love, with a bit of a criminal element added in, I recommend The Princess Bride for your next read.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars for a new/old favorite book!

Content: Ages 14+ for one outdated racial slur against Latinos, men getting a little slap-happy, a woman getting shove-happy, and various torture/revenge scenes.

Page Count: 283 pages

Your Favorite Quotes (Taken From My Rafflecopter Blogiversary Giveaway)

"Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death, that's all."

"Just because you're beautiful and perfect, it's made you conceited."

"As you wish."

"I'm not a witch, I'm your wife, but after what you just said, I'm not sure I want to be that anymore!"

"I just want you to feel you're doing well. I hate for people to die embarrassed."

"First things first: to the death." "No- to the pain."

"Surrender." "You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept."

"They're kissing again. Do we have to read the kissing parts?"

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

"Life is pain, highness; anyone who says differently is selling something."
~This was the most popular line, and also my favorite, and actually does show up in the book from a completely different character.

"Your true love lives. And you marry another. True Love saved her in the Fire Swamp, and she treated it like garbage. And that's what she is, the Queen of Refuse. So bow down to her if you want, bow to her. Bow to the Queen of Slime, the Queen of Filth, the Queen of Putrescence. Boo. Boo. Rubbish. Filth. Slime. Muck. Boo. Boo. Boo."

"You've been chasing me your entire life, only to fail now. I think that's the worst thing I've ever heard: how marvelous."

Extra:
Check out the cool (but mildly unhelpful) book map for this book on my latest edition of the Sunday Fun Five.