Roald Dahl (1916–1990)

I read Matilda for the first time two decades ago. I had not revisited it since, but decided to do so a few days ago after seeing it pleadingly ensconced on a shelf in a local library. Unlike my past self, who, as a child, had little to contest in this simple narrative, I was displeased with how brazenly overdone it felt. It read like a hammy and blatant self-insert meant to vindicate those whose premature intellect was not commended to their satisfaction. I found that, beneath the thin show more veneer of girl empowerment and principled mischief, there was little thematic impact, owing to Dahl's inability to convey even a hint of nuance in the morality of his tale. With nauseatingly virtuous heroes and restlessly foul villains, any pretense to didacticism is lost in its own hyperbole. Sadly, Dahl's works for children are conveniently installed in a genre that is ever underestimated, and therefore, they are acclaimed as masterpieces. Indeed, this genre is one to which many writers turn to avoid the criticism they would undoubtedly face for their patent inelegance, and in which such inelegance is otherwise welcomed by many adults who tritely excuse it as "immaterial" considering the target audience; truly, a most lamentable complacency. While Dahl's style is of unmistakable aesthetic value, which finds better use elsewhere in his oeuvre, it is simply not enough to elevate the book above its arrant lack of grace. show less

In 1980 Dahl said that life is made up of a great number of small incidents and a small number of great ones. The first half of this book, which is set in East Africa, he wrote only about moments he considered memorable. In the second part dealing with the time he was flying with the RAF, he considered every moment "totally enthralling".

The book begins in 1938 when at age 22, he went to work for Shell in East Africa He relates a few anecdotes from that time, of which a favourite has to be show more Simba, the story about how a lion took the cook's wife. Fortunately, the lion carried the woman gently like one of her cubs, and she was uninjured. Dahl sent an eye witness account to a Nairobi newspaper, for which he was paid five pounds - his first published work.

His experience as an RAF pilot in Africa, Greece and Palestine is "totally enthralling" to the reader too. He writes with good humour and a lightheartedness even when facing the utmost danger. He, like others, were frustrated by the lack of organization in the RAF command in the area. On one occasion he was sent in the wrong direction in the desert, misdirection that almost cost him his life. Of the original 16 pilots in his group, thirteen were killed.

I loved this book! It's a smashing adventure story that can be enjoyed by young and old, fans and neophytes alike. Dahl's writing style is straightforward and crystal clear. He has a talent for description that can conjure up a picture in the mind like magic. show less

Tongue just barely in cheek here. Eight-year-old George's grandma is horrible to him, especially when his parents aren't around, so one day when his dad is in the fields and his mom is at the grocery store, George decides to mix up his own medicine to replace Grandma's usual brown stuff. He proceeds to empty cans, bottles, and jars of all kind of inedible and poisonous substances from every room in the house into a big soup pot, gives it a stir and some heat, then pours a spoonful for his show more grandma...oh boy does it ever make a difference.

Grandma grows, Alice-style, till her head pokes through the roof; when George's father arrives home, he's less worried about his mother-in-law than about the potential to make enormous chickens, cows, pigs, and sheep. But will the second batch have the same effect as the first?

A fun sort of revenge story, as long as readers "don't try this at home."

*

Steam was shooting out of Grandma's mouth and nose and ears and whistling as it came.
"She'll feel better after she's let off a bit of steam," Mr. Kranky said. show less

Eight-year-old Sophie is looking out the orphanage window during the 'witching hour' and espies a giant, who plucks her up and takes her back with him to 'giant country,' where he explains he is a Big Friendly Giant, but the other giants would eat her up if given the chance. When Sophie learns that the other giants are going out every night and gobbling up humans left and right, she is determined that she and the BFG must stop them. With a bit of help from the Queen of England, they might be show more able to end this gigantic reign of terror.

I must confess that as a child, I never read any Roald Dahl books, which is a shame because I think I would have appreciated them so much back then. When The BFG film came out, a friend and I were hysterical over the main character's misspeaks and the situational humor in it, so I decided I should read the book at last. There are significant differences, but both the movie and the book are entertaining in their own right. The BFG himself is a very funny character as well as an endearing one, in spite of his early mistake in kidnapping Sophie.

Despite an overall humorous tone, Dahl does tackle a couple of deep issues in the book as the BFG and Sophie talk about the other giants. She is indignant about their behavior in eating humans, but the BFG points out how humans eat other animals and how humans often murder one another, whereas the giants are just aiming for survival. Ultimately, this is just a small part of the book, but I like how it provides some food for thought.

There are a few problematic mentions in the books of non-British nationalities/ethnicities (e.g., a couple of references to "Eskimos" and "Hottentots") as well as a couple of unnecessary gendered divides (e.g., the BFG organizes his dream collection into "girl dreams" and "boy dreams"). However, considering that the book was written by a person born in 1916, I can mostly overlook these. Parents or teachers might want to make note though and talk to their children about these issues and how these attitudes are regressive.

David Williams is a talented and apt narrator for the audiobook, doing a great job of the BFG's garbled speak as well as creating a variety of distinct voices for all the characters that appear, even minor ones. This particular version features "special sound effects," which were a bit distracting, especially if you listen to this book while driving! I could see how the special effects were meant to be engaging for young listeners, and there were times they were spot on, such as including the whooshing sounds of the blades when the text described the helicopters in flight. However, there were other times when the sound effects didn't add much or frankly didn't make sense. For example, an early mention of a noise that was 'as loud as thunder' was followed by a thunder clap. But there wasn't actually thunder, just a thunderous sound!

Overall, this is an imaginative and amusing read that children who like fantasy and/or magical realism will greatly enjoy. show less