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William Goldman's Westley is a humble, bright, heartfelt and loyal young lad who, in reaction to circumstances beyond his control, becomes also an expert swordsman, fighter, rider, tactician, and dread pirate, capable of defeating a cognitively-renowned Sicilian in a battle of wits and of rescuing his beloved from the "evil" prince despite being nearly dead all day.
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How is the book? I've been meaning to read it for years, but I haven't gotten around to it. I love the movie, but the book sounds great, too.
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My "Review"
The book is a bit different animal in that it encompasses a lot more than does the focus of the film. I found it unexpectedly surprising, grin-inducing, jaw-dropping, a bit mind-warping and, at the same time, every bit as endearing, humorous, witty and fun as is the film. William Goldman wrote both the book and screenplay so this makes sense. By the way, Goldman also wrote the screenplays for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and Stephen King's "Misery", among many others.
It's been a long while since I read it so forgive me if I get a few details mixed up but here's the gist...
The book is written as if Florin is real. William Goldman has been hired by the heirs of the Morgenstern Estate to edit the important, scholarly and extremely lengthy history of Florin, compiled by historian S. Morgenstern, into a more digestible version for the masses, so to speak. Goldman travels to Florin as part of his preparation and research for the project. He shares with the reader various details of his personal life during his work on the project, including some major family drama surrounding his wife and son, and drama between himself and his publisher. He creates an edited history of Florin, focused on "the good parts", namely Morgenstern's historical account of Westley, Buttercup and company. The Morgenstern family is highly displeased; Goldman gets kicked off the next part of the project; Stephen King is chosen to take over; Goldman and King have a long discussion about how badly Goldman has messed this up.
Thus, not only do you have the rollicking good adventure story of Westley, etc. translated fairly faithfully from book to film (allowing for time, budget, technology, etc.) but you have this elaborate account of how "the good parts" version of Morgenstern's history came to be and, bonus, what I presume must be the best "literary prank" upon an author's readership in history. I won't spoil all the details for you but suffice to say that Goldman fooled enough of his readers that his publisher was forced to create a disclaimer.
The book is a bit different animal in that it encompasses a lot more than does the focus of the film. I found it unexpectedly surprising, grin-inducing, jaw-dropping, a bit mind-warping and, at the same time, every bit as endearing, humorous, witty and fun as is the film. William Goldman wrote both the book and screenplay so this makes sense. By the way, Goldman also wrote the screenplays for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and Stephen King's "Misery", among many others.
It's been a long while since I read it so forgive me if I get a few details mixed up but here's the gist...
The book is written as if Florin is real. William Goldman has been hired by the heirs of the Morgenstern Estate to edit the important, scholarly and extremely lengthy history of Florin, compiled by historian S. Morgenstern, into a more digestible version for the masses, so to speak. Goldman travels to Florin as part of his preparation and research for the project. He shares with the reader various details of his personal life during his work on the project, including some major family drama surrounding his wife and son, and drama between himself and his publisher. He creates an edited history of Florin, focused on "the good parts", namely Morgenstern's historical account of Westley, Buttercup and company. The Morgenstern family is highly displeased; Goldman gets kicked off the next part of the project; Stephen King is chosen to take over; Goldman and King have a long discussion about how badly Goldman has messed this up.
Thus, not only do you have the rollicking good adventure story of Westley, etc. translated fairly faithfully from book to film (allowing for time, budget, technology, etc.) but you have this elaborate account of how "the good parts" version of Morgenstern's history came to be and, bonus, what I presume must be the best "literary prank" upon an author's readership in history. I won't spoil all the details for you but suffice to say that Goldman fooled enough of his readers that his publisher was forced to create a disclaimer.
This message was edited 6/28/2015, 12:30 PM
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The book is pure satire. It's written in first and third person and is far more absurd. I wasn't a fan, husband loves it
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You said it...
far more succinctly than I ever could, except that I whole-heartedly agree with your husband. :)
far more succinctly than I ever could, except that I whole-heartedly agree with your husband. :)
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