The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Release Date: October 18, 2016
Pages: 272
Rating: 💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

When Carrie Fisher discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved - plaintive love poems, unbridled musings, and a vulnerability that she barely recognised. Now her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her co-star, Harrison Ford. 

Before I start getting into the nitty-gritty of my review I would just like to say on record that I adore Carrie Fisher. I think her sense of humour is incredible, I relate to her self-deprecation as a defense mechanism and her efforts to normalise mental health were incredible for me. I wouldn't necessarily say she is a role model of mine, but I wouldn't be disappointed if I ended up like her. And now, into the review.

Carrie's personality shines through in this book. It's hard to avoid, mainly because it is written by her, but also because there is no escape from her humour. Normally she is on stage or on a talk show with at least one other person, but here it is all her and I lived for it. She was apologetically rude about people she didn't like, she spoke truthfully about the whole film industry, and she wasn't afraid to call herself out for things that she did 40+ years ago. I was genuinely laughing out loud at certain parts of this book, because the way she talked about her experiences were so blunt and startling that you just couldn't help but laugh. My favourite part was when she was talking about going to conventions or talk shows and kept referring to them as 'lap dances'. No joke there is a section of the book which about 20 pages long where she just talks about giving lap dances and I lived for it.

My problem with this book, and the only reason why I rated it so low, was the fact that there was very little Star Wars in this book. I know Carrie opens the book with a statement about how she isn't Princess Leia and this book is about her, but I would have liked to know more about the dynamic between the actors on set, rather than her relationship with Harrison Ford. The main portion of this book was based around her obsession (?) for her older married co-star, although there are no details. Carrie Fisher plays coy about the whole, talking of their passionate weekend and their intense feelings. It was interesting reading this book and wondering what Harrison Ford's response was going to be, because I felt like Carrie Fisher painted him in a rather poor light. He seemed cold-hearted and distant, rather than the American granddad everyone knows him as. As I didn't really enjoy reading about their relationship, especially when it switched to Carrie's diaries my enjoyment of the book dropped dramatically.

The redemptive quality of this book was that is is a honest, raw example of unrequited love. Everyone can relate to this story, even if they aren't having an affair with a far older famous man. No matter what age you are (although probably older than 15) you will have liked someone who doesn't like you back. When reading Carrie's story I could see elements of myself in her story, with her hatred for the other person's lack of love to the blind optimism that comes with a crush, the hope that this person might like you back.

Carrie Fisher may have been a princess but she was our Queen. She knows how to entertain, which may come from years of practice, and she knows how to be relatable. It felt like listening to the advice of an older student, one who has given up on school but wants to leave a legacy. And that is exactly what Carrie Fisher has done. She has left the greatest legacy of all time.