I guess I shouldn't be at all surprised by how good this book is. I had already seen (and loved) the movie several times before I even knew it was a book, after all. When I found out, I decided immediately to read it, but I did not get my hopes up. "It won't be remotely similar," I thought, or "it will be ruined for me because I know what happens." While I do still wish I had read it first, the book definitely far surpassed my expectations. I became belatedly surprised, about 26 years late now, by how well the movie adaptation follows the book. Mr. Goldman did write the screenplay himself, which must have helped.

About the book itself, it's probably unnecessary to say much at all. Everyone knows how it goes. Even if somehow they don't, my description of it would be wrong. It might be technically accurate, but anything I said would not capture the original flair. Sword fights, giants, revenge, love, all stuff that you've seen before. Only better.

In fact, I was so enthused that, before even finishing the book, I had already tracked down and ordered an untranslated Florinese edition of the original unabridged Morgenstern. My plan is to go into Florinese studies and get my PhD, probably at Columbia University. I hear they have a great program for it. The book hasn't arrived yet, of course; I only found one copy, at some shop on Fourth Avenue. The shopkeeper was incredibly grumpy on the phone.