Please, Please, Please! someone out there in the lonely internets…tell me I’m not the only one who didn’t think about the book and it’s “introductions” enough to realize that William Goldman was using a literary device when he created the whole “story outside the story.” Tell me that you too picked up the book at a friends suggestion because you LOVE the movie and, like a naive country bumpkin, fell for the S. Morgenstern construct even for a few minutes. Tell me that I can still be considered well-read and sophisticated even though I totally bought it for a few chapters. I figured it out, I wikipedia-ed it, I am now in the know. But wow do I feel stupid. Curse you Goldman and your avant-garde framework! If said friend who gave me the suggestion reads this: I hope you can still think I’m smart even if I didn’t immediately notice Mr. Goldman winking at me. If you are confused by the above mini-rant, go read this. Sigh. Moving on.
I loved this book. Like it’s in my top five all time favorites. And after much debating in my head I do in fact like it more for the story within a story framework that initally made me feel so stupid. I’m not even sure why, but it added nuance to the story that set it apart from other adventure genre stories. Mostly though I think I loved it because I grew up with the movie. The book just added some more depth to a film that I know inside and out. The little girl in me is a romantic who would rather have a shallow happy ending than a thought provoking non-ending. That little girl liked the change in the movie ending with the “5 kiss” monolouge as they ride off into the sunset. The big, grown-up adult put down the book and said “Dang it. I don’t like the lack of happy resolution, but it’s real and it made me smile and I respect that. Dang it.”
Fezzik is my favorite. To be completely honest, having a daughter with Down Syndrome has forced me to develop an appreciation for those who look at the world with a profound innocence and simplicity. They aren’t dumb or stupid or slow. He was kind and brave and deeply loyal, all without meaning to be and I loved that. Don’t get me wrong, I think Wesley was the only character that I thought was just meh. But Fezzik really made me smile.
Mostly the whole book made me smile. The Zoo of Death was great (wasn’t done justice in the movie…suction cups under his EYE-LIDS!!!), Humperdink was even slimier and perfect, and Inigo’s back story really made a huge difference in how I looked at his character. Go read it. It’s quick and will totally improve your day. Especially since now you can read it with no worry of it making you feel like an idiot.
Comfy Posy 