Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

This book pokes fun at fairy tales and adventure clichés.  It is set in the made-up European land of Florin and nearby Guilder.  The author presents this as the abridged version of a fictional book by S. Morgenstern.

Beautiful commoner Buttercup suddenly realizes she is in love with the farmboy, Westley.  He loves her deeply, but runs off immediately to America to seek his fortune.  When Buttercup hears his ship was captured by the pirate the Dread Pirate Roberts, she deeply mourns his death.  She goes along with marrying the powerful Prince Humperdinck even though she does not love him.  Years later, after Buttercup's and Humperdinck's betrothal is announced, Buttercup is kidnapped by the smart Sicilian Vizzini, the Spanish sword master Inigo Montoya, and the Turkish strongman Fezzik.  The brave Man in Black defeats each of them to rescue Buttercup only to be captured by Humperdink and the sadistic Count Rugen.  As Humperdinck's evil schemes are revealed, Inigo and Fezzik break The Man in Black out of The Zoo of Death, and with the help of Miracle Max, try to stop the wedding.

It's hard for me to evaluate this as a written novel, because I had seen the film version several times before reading the novel.  I enjoyed the written version, and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more had I not already known the best lines and plot twists in advance.  Plus, where the novel deviates from the movie, it suffers in comparison, even though Goldman wrote the screenplay himself.  For example, Buttercup's parting from Westley after emerging from the fireswamp is handled much better in the screen version.

I'm not sure quite what to make of Goldman's introduction and comments.  I think he's trying to make fun of modern intellectuals who have lost the ability to appreciate a good story, but if so his "abridgment" doesn't make his point very effectively.  The way he does succeed in making his point is by telling a wonderfully rousing old-fashioned yarn.