Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying

This is one of Dahl's earliest short story collections - and even if you hadn't read that on a site somewhere or in this review you would have realized it yourself. Dahl is still experimenting with writing: he knows what he wants to narrate and why he wants people to hear his stories, but it is blatantly obvious that he doesn't yet know how to do so; he is searching for the form and writing style that would best fit his purpose. That is by no means saying that the writing is bad. It is merely a beginner's writing who doesn't trust his own skills yet - an extremely talented beginner's, for sure, but a beginner's nonetheless. Dahl draws from his experience as a pilot during WWII and sets his stories mostly in places he actually served and show more fought in - mainly Egypt and Greece - and the descriptions of the setting, of the locals and their lives have the ring of authenticity. Moreover, his portrayals of his compatriots and the fragments of conversation going on between them are funny and sometimes moving at the same time. So what is the problem? There is the fact that certain scenes seem to repeat themselves over and over in the various stories; some expressions and words are constantly used in similar situations, as if the writer doesn't not dare to stray from the reality of what happened in the least, does not dare trust his imagination. Dahl hadn't discovered yet that single most handy of devices that would make his children's stories so unique and beloved all over the world: invention. If the words that are available to you are not enough to say what you want them to say, just make up your own words. In Over To You he seems to make do with what's handed to him. Still, the collection is an interesting read indeed, if only because it shows a different aspect of Dahl's writing and personality. Because it shows us that the man who needs to take refuge in children's stories, imaginary worlds and fairy tales is a man shaped and scarred by his experiences during the war. show less

A very good collection of stories that clearly indicate the fine writer that Dahl would go on to become. While his technique may not always be perfect, occasionally falling into odd perspectives or excessively drawn-out moments in the narration, the emotions portrayed ring very true. These are the kind of war stories that aren't written anymore in the days of push-button wars and anonymous enemies and victims. The last story, "Someone Like You", is a worthy addition to the anti-war and pro-conciliation stories of Ambrose Bierce and Mark Twain.

I grew up with Roald Dahl, thanks to my schools' libraries. And I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that he also wrote a number of books and short stories aimed for a more mature audience.

This book is the collection of his earliest published writings. For each of the ten stories, Dahl draws on his experience as a fighter pilot in the mediterranean during World War II (as he notes in the introduction, although he is also quick to point out that they are only stories and are not completely true).

Dahl visits on a number of themes in his stories, ranging from the wild behaviour of pilots resting away from the front lines, through to the thrill and fear of combat flying, and on to the pain of loss.

Unfortunately, it can be seen that show more Dahl was only just starting to flex his writing muscles, and some of the stories seemed stretched, and at least a couple seemed to have no point. However, at least half of the stories are worth the effort, and I would recommend the reading of this book - preferably after reading the author's auto-biographical "Going Solo" to help give some context to these tales. show less

Roald Dahl is a wonderful short story writer, and this collection were amongst his earliest writings and were based on his own wartime experiences.

a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl published in 1946 by Reynal & Hitchcock.
Dahl was born in Wales to Norwegian immigrant parents. He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He became a fighter ace, scoring 5 confirmed victories, and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s with works for children and for adults, and he became one of the world's best-selling authors.

This early collection is a stylistic departure from Dahl's better known stories. For the most part they do not use suspense or twist endings and are instead more slow-paced and reflective.

Over to You contains the following stories:

"An African Story"
"Only show more This"
"Katina"
"Beware of the Dog"
"They Shall Not Grow Old"
"Someone Like You"
"Death of an Old Old Man"
"Madame Rosette"
"A Piece of Cake" show less

published-1945, summer-2013, tbr-busting-2013, shortstory-shortstories-novellas, war, wwii, fraudio, libya, under-1000-ratings
Read on August 17, 2013

The mamba and the cow - astounding!
2 likes

To Marion and Bill
Marie and Billy
Joe and Steve

With
Love
from Roald

Dec 19th 1945