Hello! For my first ever book review I choose to start with an autobiography. I love biographies, and hadn’t read one in a while so I began seeking out one that I knew would definitely catch my attention. As a slow reader who finds it difficult to stick to just one book, I didn’t once feel the urge to put down the late (and very great) Carrie Fisher’s last book, ‘The Princess Diarist’.
Fisher’s last book documents her experience whilst living in London in 1976 to film the movie that changed the landscape of cinema forever – Star Wars. Along with briefly documenting her pre-Leia life and first interaction with the famous cinnamon-roll-buns hairstyle, Carrie consistently points out how Star Wars was expected to be ‘this fun little space movie’ and that no-one was prepared for the astronomical (sorry) success of A New Hope, least of all 19 year old Carrie. That is what hit me at first whilst reading the book, that Carrie had been turned into this goddess-like figure around the world as the witty and intelligent Princess Leia at just nineteen years old, and was expected by peers to just…well…deal with it. From here on I became totally engaged with Carrie’s emotional and funny remarks about filming, being filmed, romantic encounters, loneliness, and depression.
As the title suggests The Princess Diarist does feature Carrie’s diary entries from the time of filming. I was surprised at how much this section of the book affected me emotionally, not because she is now dead, but because so much of what she had written was about struggling to find your place and who you are. Her honesty is painstakingly heartfelt and completely arresting, as if she was right there guiding you through the pages, urging you to feel every word. In one entry she writes:
“I wish I could go away somewhere but the only problem with that is that I’d have to go too.”
I really, really felt that.
As most people know, The Princess Diarist reveals Carrie’s affair with Harrison Ford during filming. This is a major theme in the book that runs through into the diary entries and beyond.
As much as Carrie is witty and sharp, she is also endearing in a way that made me feel bad to ever put the book down (that was probably an aim of hers though). The Princess Diarist has automatically become one of my favourite books, and I would obviously recommend it to any Star Wars fan looking for a refreshing perspective on the creation of the franchise.
3/5
Emma Stewart 