Audiobook Review: As You Wish

Written and Read by Cary Elwes (with guest stars)

Duration: 7 hours 1 min

From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner.

The Princess Bride has been a family favorite for close to three decades. Ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the top 100 Greatest Love Stories and by the Writers Guild of America as one of the top 100 screenplays of all time, The Princess Bride will continue to resonate with audiences for years to come.

Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In As You Wish he has created an enchanting experience; in addition to interviews with his fellow cast mates, there are plenty of set secrets and backstage stories.

With a foreword by Rob Reiner, As You Wish is a must-have for all fans of this beloved film.The full list of narrators includes: Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest, Carol Kane, Norman Lear, Rob Reiner, Chris Sarandon, Andy Scheinman, Wallace Shawn, Robin Wright, and Billy Crystal.

Goodreads

My thoughts: Oh my goodness! This was such a fun read to listen to! I bought the physical copy last year and added it to my massive TBR pile. Since I've been in a Princess Bride kick lately, I moved it up to the top of my pile. However, I jumped at the chance when I saw the audiobook available on Libby. And boy, what an adventure I was in! 

Cary Elwes did a fantastical job in describing his experience in making the film, The Princess Bride. He recounted his memories from auditions, to insecurities during filming, his costars, and how the film impacted him. He had great stories of behind the scenes and had very touching things to say about each person involved with the film. My favorites were all the parts about Andre the Giant; I was in awe to hear about all of Cary's experiences with Andre. 

What made this audiobook production the best were all of the narrators. Yup, that's an "s" at the end of narrator. Cary Elwes was the main person reading the book, since it was his memoir, but he had the people involved in the film also read out their snippets throughout the book. Cary Elwes was a natural storyteller with a talent for voices, but it was fun to hear Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Mandy Pantikin, and others, tell their experiences. I even followed along with my physical copy to see how their portions went along with Cary's memoir. 

As a whole, I loved this book. I laughed many times and I was captivated every single second that the audiobook was playing. This has now become one of my favorite books to listen to! I rate it: