Claire Messud's new novel, The Woman Upstairs, is fiercely intelligent and urgently intimate, written with precision, humor, and an incredible...
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marsroever, January 2, 2010 (view all comments by marsroever)
An old favorite I read again last year - it was so good I read it again this year. This novel is a masterpiece which is a true pleasure to read. If you have not read this classic, do so. The movie is great, but there are good bits from the book that had to be left out. Even the Introduction is a work of art.
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I always think it is astonishing when readers/reviewers become aggravated because a fantasy story is not really true. This is a delightful, fantastic, and endearing fictional fairytale that's a classic. There are so many reviews, mine is just another on the gigantic pile. All I can add: This book should be in your home library.
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Angel of Starlight, December 8, 2007 (view all comments by Angel of Starlight)
This story is very different from the popular film, but it is still a respectable work of modern fantasy. It is sometimes very dark, however, and that does include the ending. As the novel's narrator himself puts it, though, "You have to admire a guy who calls his own book a classic before it is even published."
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You've probably seen the movie, but you should definitely read the book, for it's a hilarious gem. Worth it for Goldman's asides about Morgenstern's "original text" alone.
by the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Team
"Review"
by Los Angeles Times,
"One of the funniest, most original and deeply moving novels I have read in a long time."
"Review"
by Newsweek,
"His swashbuckling fable is nutball funny...a 'classic' medieval melodrama that sounds like all the Saturday serials you ever saw feverishly reworked by the Marx Brothers."
"Review"
by Children's Literature,
"Goldman introduces a brilliant cocktail of characters...to weave an adventure story made complete by its healthy portions of romance, wit, and heroism. The Princess Bride is a timeless fairy tale recreated in a family-oriented form that appeals to people of all ages and reading tastes."
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
Eventually to be adapted for the silver screen, The Princess Bride was originally a beautifully simple, insightfully comic story of what happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince in the world — and he turns out to be a son of a bitch.
Guaranteed to entertain both young and old alike by combining scenes of rousing fantasy with hilarious reality, The Princess Bride secures Goldman's place as a master storyteller.
"Synopsis"
by chrisb@powells.com,
With over one million copies in print, S. Morgenstern's classic fantasy, in the abridged "good parts" version by William Goldman, is a readers' favorite.
"Synopsis"
by Firebrand,
William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that's thrilling and timeless.
Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions.”
"Synopsis"
by Firebrand,
William Goldmans beloved novel has sold over one million copies. A movie, released twenty years ago, perfectly captured the spirit of the book and has introduced new fans to its pages ever since. In 1941 a young boy lies bedridden from pneumonia. His perpetually disheveled and unattractive father, an immigrant from Florin with terribly broken English, shuffles into his bedroom carrying a book. The boy wants to know if it has any sports. His father says, "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. Passions. Miracles." And the little boy, though he doesnt know it, is about to change forever. As Goldman says, "What happened was just this. I got hooked on the story." And coming generations of readers will, too.
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
