Fantasy Book Club discussion

This book claims to be the abridged version of S. Morgenstern's Larger work. There are many "asides" by the author and even details of a lawsuit between him and the Morgenstern Estate. This, like the rest of the story is also fiction.

Were you fooled by this? Did you like it? Did you find it distracted from the book?

I was totally fooled by the claim of the abridged version of some unknown book, not a new book. And this was an immediate turn off for me, I left the book aside. When I checked out the comments at GoodReads, I couldn't understand what is so good about the book that so many people adores it (then I learned there is no unabridged version and all thing is fiction). I decided to give it another chance since it was March reading of the group. Well, I can't say I enjoyed the book so much but I had pages I enjoyed.

I was pulled right into the sham. I went so far as to start searching at libraries around the country for the unabridged version. Eventually I saw the light and had a good laugh at myself and at the author's ability to fool me.

I'm ashamed to say that I was "dupped" I tottaly believed that there was another book and it was only after I went "searching" for it (like Jon)that I found out it was fiction. I felt "stupid" at falling for it but also thought it was a rather "interesting" prank to pull - especially all the detail with Stephen King and his imagined wife/son, etc.

It is the "main part" of the book that I enjoyed the most but this was a little extra nod of creativity for me.

Well I knew about the sham ever since the movie came out, so I expected something like that

I was duped when I read this back in the day. So duped, in fact, that I was convinced my father's hardback edition of the book was the original F. Morganstern version. I never actually bothered to LOOK in it to verify this, of course, but it just had to be, right? ;-)

Yes, I do remember that and found that part of the book interesting actually, even though it was all fake. I can't remember if I was fooled by it or not.

Yep, pulled one on me. Once I realized it, I did enjoy the author's comments, especially those against himself. The only part I did not like was the "alternate ending" proposed by S. Morgenstern, which pretty much ruined the feel of the ending.

Cervantes did a similar thing in Don Quixote, which I studied in a literature class. The professor mentioned the Princess Bride, so I was already spoiled before I ever read the actual book.

Reminds me of the intro to the Phantom of the Opera (where Leroux claims its all true and that he spoke to detectives and such) doesn't really bother me much - just sets up the story in the way the author wanted...

Having seen the movie first (and having already read or heard somewhere that it Morgenstern was not a real person, blah blah blah) It didn't bother me, because it sets up the whole way that it is told in the movie - and I like that. If we didn't have the asides of him discussing his father having read the book to him, etc - we wouldn't have the movie the same way. Yeah he could have not tried to write it all off quite so much as real - and still have had the asides about his father reading it to him - but I think it works...

I thought it was entertaining at first, but it became a little heavy-handed at times...and while it took me in at first, I realized at some point in the middle that it was a farce. Still, there were some humorous parts that I enjoyed.

I really enjoyed the parts where it seemed like Goldman cut out entire chapters of the original book. But I agree it was a little heavy at times.

I was also duped... And I think mostly I felt like it detracted from the story. Even thinking it was real I was like "I don't care... just tell me the story."

It would be like going to watch 'The Watchmen' and have some big disclaimer before the movie about the whole Fox and WB suit...

My girlfriend and her daughter were completely duped by it. They read the book a few years back and my girlfriend was telling me about the whole set up of the book. When I told them it wasn't real, just a plot device I had seen before in other fantasy books, they didn't want to believe me. Eventually we looked it up on the internet and found a "complete reveal" that convinced them I was right.

Now that I have read the book all the way through, I understand a bit better why they were so convinced. The various inserts are so heavy handed that it seems overly intrusive for a merely fictional "aside story". It's like some kind of mental trick - taking advantage of what people see as "normal" human behavior. ie "Why on earth would someone write so much extra stuff that adds little or nothing to the story if they didn't HAVE to?"