2. the Princess Bride

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    The Princess Bride

    William Goldman

    "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants.Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all

    natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men.

    Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." Said by Williams father.

    Yes. All of them were definitely there.

    What happened was just this: I got hooked on the story. Said by William.

    Yes. I did too. Definitely, absolutely hooked

    But what happened to me was this: I got bored to the maximum while I was

    reading the first part of the novel. The part where William was making the narrative,

    quite frankly, appallingly boring. Oh, the 18 pages of misery (with an occasional

    joke very occasional). What Id do to fast forward it. But then it was just those 18

    pages. Nothing else in that book was even close to boring, except perhaps the ending

    (trust me, I am quite no, very much anal about novel endings. I just need them to

    be perfect. NEED. So you can understand if I dismiss almost all endings as

    uninteresting, right?).

    The Princess Bride there are three words Id describe the novel in (my way):

    Unpredictable, Funny and Phenomenal (except the beginning and the end.

    Obviously). Why those three words? Heres why:

    People just dont die when you expect them to, or say the right things when

    you expect them to, or do the things you expect them to. Nothing is as I predicted. I

    never predicted that Westley would be Buttercups first love. The author made himseem soordinaryat first. No hint at all. When Westley died the first time, I

    thought, O.K. So he died. Big deal. And I totally forgot about him in the next parts

    of the novel. Buttercups first love and I forgot he existed. Great. And then I thought

    that Prince WhatsHisName (actually its Prince Humperdinck. But, seriously?

    You want me to spell that every time? No way!) was her next love, even though the

    Morgperson (the author. S.Morgenstern was his name. Again, no way!) said that

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    she never loved again. And I thought that Prince Humpwhatever was good. And I

    never would have guessed who the Count was or that Inigos story would be of any

    importance. (I appreciate it now, that I was wise enough not to have skipped any

    paragraphs.Almostany paragraphs...)

    I was wrong all those times. Everything was so unpredictable, especially the

    Count thing and Prince Humpdick thing (excuse my language, but I really believed

    that he was a good man. So you must understand my frustration andamusement

    when I found out the truth). Thiswas the unpredictability I was always talking about

    and that lacked in most of the novels I read.

    And funny? I really dont need to say that. It truly was. No matter how many

    times I read some lines in it, in the same day, I would end up with at least a smile on

    my face. Like the way Goldman says (sorry Helen.) whenever he completely insultsher by saying this book is the single best thing that has ever happened to me. (Sorry

    about that Helen. Helen is my wife). And I don't know if I love anything truly any

    more beyond the porterhouse at Peter Luger's and the cheese enchilada at El Parador's.

    (Sorry about that, Helen.).And then this My son Jason is this incrediblelooking

    kidour kid can roll faster than he can walk. And this: "I need your advice," she

    interrupted. "What can I do to improve my personal appearance?Start by bathing,"

    her father said.

    Thats how it goes. You know, I never thought it would be like that when I

    started it. I know, I keep saying that, but its true. I loved this.

    The moral? Several, actually. But the one that got my attention is this:

    Goldman gives us several endings to the same story his fathers, Morgguys, and

    his own. What does this denote? Well, I think that, endings are not necessarily the

    endings confusing. Let me explain. Dont like an ending? You can create one for

    yourself. Sure, one has to appreciate the authors endings, but, hey, its you thats

    going to suffer with that. I mean, what if in the ending, someone you like dies? Like

    Westley here, the second time. I hate it. I like Goldmans dads version because I am a

    romantic. Not an adventurer like Goldman or sadistic like Morgguy. So yeah, you

    can frame your own ending. Not your your ending but yourstory ending. Same

    applies in life too. If you have a choice, make it a happy ending to any circumstance.

    Another one: Life isnt fair. Its just fairer than death. Thats probably the best truth

    Ive ever heard or should I say I remember?

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    REVIEW

    Rating: 5/5

    Major tags: Um, lets just safely say everything major.

    Good stuff:

    1. Funny. Very.

    2. Unpredictable. Totally.

    3. Heavy twists.

    4. Neat descriptions.

    5. Awesome work at the abridgement.

    Nongood Stuff:

    1. The beginning (18 pages, remember?).

    2. The ending.

    Favorite character(s):

    1. Westley, when he was the man in black.

    2.

    Inigo and Fezzik.3. Domingo Montoya, father of Inigo. Very wise man. But he diedbecause

    he was very wise. Hey, I never said life was fair!

    4. Willy Goldmans father.

    5. Of course, last but not the least, William Goldman, though he almost killed

    me with boredom in some parts at the beginning.