Space Buns, Affairs & Killing Giant Space Slugs

The Princess Diarist

By: Carrie Fisher

Grade: B

“I thought you might supply 

some tenderness I lacked but

out of all the things I offered

you took my breath away-

and now I want it back.”

The Princess Diarist is kind of a weird read.

Mostly about Carrie Fisher’s affair with Harrison Ford while filming Star Wars- she doesn’t get salacious or give very intimate details but at the same time they’re both such recognizable figures and you know them so well that I could totally see it. I could literally picture the conversations and hear him saying certain things in my head so it is surprisingly intimate.

It’s also a little like having that friend, or being that friend, who is going on and on about a significant other (complete with poetry) and you don’t quiet know what to say because you know the SO isn’t that into them and it’s not going to last.

Carrie Fisher’s books have always had that tone of talking to a good friend. They’re quick easy and funny reads. She knows her flaws and admits her mistakes- and knows how to use both to give you just the right life insight you didn’t know you needed at the time. Hell, I even liked her poetry and journal entries from the time.

In other words Carrie Fisher was, as always, utterly relatable. I always find something meaningful that I can take away from Fisher’s writing.

The actual book itself? Eh. It really was mostly about the affair, dancing around it, doing it, living with it afterwards and while they’re are bits were you can totally see it. (Seriously, I could hear the words coming out of Ford’s mouth.) It’s a little bit boring. She was obviously very into him and he was obviously very Harrison Ford (she nails his public personality at least). There is some cute stuff about the space buns some not so cute stuff about the slave outfit and some loving remarks about meeting fans at signings over the years. But it’s mostly Ford.

And a little about history. A moment in time on a silly space movie that wasn’t supposed to be anything that quickly became a cultural milestone that froze them in time forever in a large way. There are some threads throughout about aging and changing and somehow still always being Leia as well as the passing of celebrity- things that I know she wrote about in much more depth in other books that I need to reread. Sharing her story through her excellent writing was Carrie Fisher’s real gift in the end.

The Princess Diarist is a quick read. It’s like Star Wars meets a (PG-13) Sex and the City episode and while it was a weird, and kind of awkward, I still took something from it.

Recommend: Yes. Though I think her other stuff is stronger this is a good place to start. It’s also a good starting place if you aren’t really into biography or non-fiction writing but looking to give it a try.