I had read most of the stories in this collection before, although not recently enough to mind that they had been anthologised more than once… Dahl is always a canny, enjoyable read. This isn’t, though, the strongest collection; Lamb to the Slaughter, The Wonderful Tale of Henry Sugar, Kiss, Kiss and Tales of the Unexpected all outstrip this collection easily… this is rather a ‘bottom of the barrel’ offering, and the scrapings are not even unique. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who hadn’t read all the other things he’s written first, and then not to anyone who wanted something different. ( )

Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life by Roald Dahl is a collection of seven short stories written for adults, and originally published in magazines during the 40's. Life in Dahl's stories can be sweet, but is just as frequently sour, and is always funny. If you've ever read Dahl's children's books to your kids and thought, This guy is weird and I love it, you'll get a kick out of this book.

http://archthinking.blogspot.com/2009... ( )

Stories of rural life, and Claud, a cunning man with a flair for deception and illicit earnings: poaching, rat catching, racing greyhounds, maggot breeding, antiques... Strange but fascinating, with Dahl's usual twist endings. Includes: Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life; Parson's Pleasure; the Ratcatcher; Rummins; Mr. Hoddy; Mr. Feasey; The Champion of the World. ( )