The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher
Once in a while a person comes along who you discover too late was awesome and you wish you’d known that during their life. You know, so you could stalk them at a convention or follow them on Instagram or heart their tweets, if only so that some part of you could think that some part of them knew that you liked them. Carrie Fisher seems like she just became that for a lot of people, with her sudden death following the latest instalment of Star Wars in which we were treated to the return of Princess (pardon me … General) Leia Organa.
At the very least, her book confirms that Carrie is this person for me. She is witty, entertaining, poignant, brutally honest, occasionally unfocused, and unapologetic – my kinda gal. I wish she’d had more time. The Princess Diarist is her last book, published shortly before her death.
The book is basically divided into three parts. Part One recounts the details of her affair with Harrison Ford during the filming of Star Wars. Or A New Hope. Or Episode IV. Whatever lights your saber. (Although the correct answer is “Star Wars”.) This recounting doesn’t do Harrison Ford any favours. He comes out looking like a brooding, morose philanderer who, at 33 years old and married, hooks up with a naive 19-year-old in order to have a little remote-location fling. This was unfortunate for me, as a huge HF fan. I mean, he’s so rugged and so bad-ass!! Doing his own stunts, filming scenes while deathly ill with flu, stapling his Indiana Jones hat to his head (so the rumour goes), and even in real life crashing his airplane onto a golf course and walking away with just a scratch!! But apparently he is also a big-ass jerk. Rats. (This being said, Carrie grants him a sort of reprieve in Part Three, suggesting that he was already unhappy in his marriage, given his separation shortly after filming, and that this may have been the only affair he ever had, and that he may actually have really liked her.)
In Part Two, Carrie publishes excerpts of diaries that she kept during that time. This is easily a skip-able part of the book, unless first-hand reading of teenage angst is your thing. I did find two exceptional bits, however.
We often assume that when the surface offers so little the depth must be unfathomable. Whatever is inaccessible must be worthwhile.
I’m just going to say that I totally, 100%, get that.
I am always disappointed with someone who loves me – how perfect can he be if he can’t see through me?
If I changed that last part to read “how perfect can he be if he chooses me”, then that was me, at the age Carrie was when she wrote it. What a freaking waste. We’re so stupid when we’re young! Actually, I’m probably still stupid, just in different ways 🙂
Part Three, my favourite of the book, is a collection of anecdotes about Carrie’s re-entry to fame following the release of the first two “Chapter Three” movies featuring the return of our beloved Leia. She hilariously recounts stories of interactions with fans during what she calls “Lap Dances” (autograph-signing events for which she gets paid) and puzzles over the disappointment of many that she’s had the nerve to “age”, no longer resembling her past metal-bikini-clad self. It’s totally worth the insight into craziness of stardom.
Rating: Buy it, so that you can enjoy Part Three over again.
PS: Today is May 4, 2018, so let me just add (say it with me) “May the Fourth Be With You”.
May 4th to you too! Great review! GREAT!!
Excellent review! You’ve captured exactly how I feel about Carrie Fisher as well — didn’t know how awesome she really was until just before the end of her life. Apparently she wrote some of the greatest lines from the early movies!