Monday, June 18, 2007

Once upon a time ...

I saw Shrek the Third yesterday and must say I was disappointed by its lack of inventiveness and plot. The first two movies were quite good, but the team seems to be running out of ideas.
This leads me to the point of this post, funny fairy stories. The best comedy book based on fairy stories would have to be The Princess Bride by William Goldman.
Famously made into a very funny and successful movie, Goldman's book takes a lot of the tropes of fairy tales and weaves them into a story all his own. With memorable characters and jokes Goldman's book is fun to read, or read aloud, it is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
So instead of going to see a film that is only funny in places, borrow The Princess Bride and enjoy a really funny book. Trust me you will not be disappointed.

2 comments:

  1. The Princess Bride is an amazing and brilliant book, but there are other equally inventive authors of self-referential fantasy. One is the amazing Diana Wynne Jones, whose The Dark Lord of Derkhelm pokes brilliant fun at the David Eddings' school of multi-volume-fantasy-sagas. (Not that there's anything wrong with most of Eddings - I love the Belgariad, although I could have lived without the Mallorean.) Then there's M. M. Kaye's The Ordinary Princess, aimed at 'tweens (maybe girls between 8 and 13) but a book I still enjoy re-reading at the advanced age of 34. I can highly recommend both.

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  2. I am not a huge fan of Eddings, though I don't mind Sparhawk as a character. I find it interesting that he is now being advertised as young adult fantasy. By no means was this post meant to include all great fairy tale fantasy I just like the Princess Bride and found Shrek the Third a let down.

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