The gentle giant whose physical dominance contrasts with his fear of loneliness and love for rhymes. Cultural Legacy and Adaptations
In the introduction and the scattered author’s notes throughout the text, Goldman presents himself as a cynical, Hollywood screenwriter who remembers his father reading him this magical story as a child. When he attempts to read the "original" Morgenstern text to his own son, he discovers it is a bloated, tedious tome filled with satire of European royalty, lengthy descriptions of packing clothes, and tedious genealogies. Goldman decides to "abridge" it, cutting the boring parts to leave only the action, the romance, and the humor.