The Princess's Direst

I bet you thought it was safe here.  I bet you thought that it would be easy to hide on a little book blog like this.  Well, I'm sorry folks.  You thought that only the cinema was dominated by Star Wars incarnations, but, like the many-tentacled Sarlacc, I'm afraid the popular space adventure's long, elasticated reach has made it into this little corner of the internet too.  I have finished reading 'The Princess Diarist' by the late Carrie Fisher.

'The Princess Diarist' is sub-titled 'A sort of memoir...' and that's a fairly accurate description.  Unlike her other autobiographical work, it's dedicated to her relationship with the character of Princess Leia, Fisher's on-set affair with Harrison Ford and the unexpected impact of the worldwide phenomenon that Star Wars became and continues to be.  The book's name comes from it's inspiration; a collection of journals that the 19-year-old Fisher wrote while filming the original Star Wars film in 1976.  'The Princess Diarist' is Fisher's reflection on her most famous role, how actor and character became almost indistinguishable in the popular imagination and the highs and lows that come with having such a huge hit so early in your career.

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it left me feeling rather... meh.  I don't know if it was, but it really felt like a leap onto the Star Wars bandwagon, a cash-in rather than the insight I hoped for.  To be fair, it started well, describing what happened when Star Wars came into Fisher's life, the auditions and the origins of that famous hair do.  "Great!" I thought "We're going to get the inside view on one of the most significant films of the 20th century from an intelligent, articulate and entertaining woman, who is effectively Star Wars royalty on and off screen."

The trouble was that the next 150 pages (approximately 3/5 of the book) relate to Fisher's affair with Harrison Ford, which, to be honest, I wasn't that interested in.  Then there was some train-of-thought about fan encounters at sci-fi conventions, which made me feel awkward.  It felt a bit hard and cold at times, almost unkind.  But then, I haven't been pigeon-holed as a character I played when naive and 19.

Overall, perhaps 'The Princess Diarist' is for diehard, gossip hungry fans who need to know every nook and cranny of the original film as much as they need oxygen.  Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it means that the book doesn't have the broader, general reader appeal of Fisher's other work.  I did quite enjoy some of the journal extracts, though.  It was interesting to read the early flexes of those fantastic linguistic muscles that Fisher put to such great use throughout her life.

May the Force be with you.

Now, what next...