Boy: Tales of Childhood

A sheer delight of a book! This poignant, funny and at times very sad book chronicles Dahl's early childhood and the reader gains tremendous insights into how his experiences shaped him and became fodder for his wildly imaginative books.

Dahl's parents were Norwegian. Dahl's father became wealthy when, as a young man, he started a very lucrative business in Wales. Before marrying Dahl's mother, his father was a widow with two young children. His loving marriage to Dahl's mother produced five additional children.

While Dahl's life was one of economic privilege, there were many emotional hardships. When he was three, he lost his sister who died of appendicitis and shortly thereafter his father died. Throughout the book we learn of very show more cruel abusive patterns of the headmasters and teachers at the elite schools he attended. One headmaster in particular slowly, methodically beat the young boys. This man then went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dahl has some scathing comments about organized religion and the hypocrite who rapidly advanced through the ranks of the church and preached love, grace and forgiveness while terrorizing children. This left Dahl with an extreme distaste for organized religion.

There are some outrageously funny tales as well. At the age of seven he placed a dead mouse in a candy jar of the sour, ugly store owner. Later, he put goat droppings in the pipe of his sister's fiance.

A must read for those, like me, who love the tales that Dahl wove...stories of the twits who were nasty, despicable things, of Mrs. Trunchbull, Matilda's wicked teacher, of Charlie and his chocolate factory, of The BFG (big friendly giant) and The Fantastic Fox! show less

All we can say after reading this book is, no wonder anti-smacking laws have been passed. None of us would ever want to attend an English boarding school in the 1930s. The teachers, headmasters, and even older students were absolutely brutal to the young boys at all of the schools that Roald Dahl attended. There were some lighter incidents from his boyhood. We especially enjoyed a prank played on the ancient half-sister’s manly lover. I was impressed with Roald’s relationship with his widowed mother, too. It was very interesting to read this book while thinking about the children’s novels he wrote, and to see where some of the inspiration came from for those books.

The advantage of going home is being able to grab old childhood novellas off the shelf and stuff them into bookrace. In this case, Boy is quite a good book, a touching and darkly humorous collection of anecdotes about Dahl's childhood in his massive Norwegian family in England, the tragedy of losing his sister and father in a less confident era of medicine, magical summers in the Oslofjord, and above all, English boarding schools. Dahl's education was a nightmare of canings from cruel figures of authority, from the headmaster on down to prefects. Somehow, Dahl kept his natural contrary nature, taking pleasure in the little things like taste-testing chocolates (inspiration for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), sports, or photography. show more There's of prelude to the future African adventurer and WW2 fighter pilot, but little that would make one think that this is the childhood of a beloved children's author--except for the crystal clear quality of the reminiscences. show less

It's rare that I read a book that I would describe as "charming." Even more rare is that I like that book. But Roald Dahl's Boy has charm in spades, and damn I enjoyed it.

Mr Dahl's memoir tells a series of stories from his earliest memories to his employment in Africa by Shell Oil. And through all of it, his strong, sure voice shines through. It's as if you are sitting next to Mr Dahl, sharing a drink and listening to him spin stories all night long.

When I closed the book, it was with some regret: I definitely want more. I know there is a sequel out there. I'll have to hunt it down.

Roald Dahl is one of my favorite childhood authors. I love his imagination, as well as how in all of his books, his generosity of spirit and unconventional thinking shine through. His characters are simply, but completely drawn, don't patronize or talk down to younger readers and speak to the child in all of us. I've read most of his stories several times...except this one.

Written in much the same style/tone, Boy is a compilation of Dahl's childhood memories grouped by age - his family, summer adventures, early schooling and boarding school as well as some family photographs. It's like reading a time capsule of growing up in Norway, boarding school in Britain and ends with a preview of his first job/experiences in East Africa show more post-school.

It is a very charming and enjoyable snapshot of a fairly regular and non-remarkable boyhood in a very different era. His mother seems like a very interesting person--much of the book is a love letter of sorts to her, to childhood friends, and to formative experiences both painful (surgery without anesthesia! cruel headmistresses! canings!) and pleasurable (summer adventures! letters from home! and how they shape us into the adults we become.

I think I would have really enjoyed knowing and chatting with Roald Dahl and maybe, in a life after this one, I'll get my chance. Highly recommended for Dahl fans. show less

While I’ve never been a fan of Roald Dahl’s fiction, “Boy” is one of the finest books I’ve ever read. Detailing his youth in the UK and holidays in Norway, Dahl writes with humour and pathos, recalling key moments of his early life and showing how the young boy became one of the most popular writers of the twentieth century. Whether it’s slipping a dead mouse into a jar at a lollie shop owned by a horrid old women (and his subsequent caning with said horrid old woman watching on sadistically), his holidays in Norway, his boarding school experience and, most importantly, his mother, you feel transported back to his youth and made me itching to read his follow-up “Going Solo”.

This is a "partial" autobiography by Roald Dahl about Roald Dahl, which takes us into his childhood experiences growing up in England post-WWI and pre-WWII. He says in the beginning of the book that he would never write an autobiography about himself, but that he wanted to share stories about his childhood in a collection of events that happened to him that he had never forgotten. He says that none of these things is important but they made such a lasting impression on him that they never left him. These stories are much like the stories that he wrote for children when he grew up. Many were full of both humor and horror, and after reading these stories, you can see where his inspirations came from. His interactions with the adults in show more his life, and especially the headmasters in his schools, were clearly what colored the way the adults in his beloved stories treated children. While these memories are supremely real, they read so much like his fiction, that it's incredibly easy to devour this book. His antics and mischief are great fun to read about, and you can absolutely picture the sour faced adults that handed down punishment for them. It's a wonderful journey that he takes us on to show us that the path to writing wasn't linear. A great lesson for kids! show less