Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories

When Harry Belafonte sang "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)", I'm sure he was only half-kidding. :P

This is a story about one super-smart woman who gave it back to her cheating husband in a way that no one expected. You might have read Roald Dahl for his children's fiction. Now give this short story a try. It's much more satisfying to the senses, possibly more so if you are a woman. :D I enjoyed it thoroughly.

This story is in the public domain and you can read it here: https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lamb.html

The title story in this collection of five is fairly well-known, as it is often anthologized. It's the one about the wife who bashes her husband over the head with a frozen leg of lamb, and then feeds the murder weapon to the police investigating the crime!

"Parson's Pleasure" and "The Bookseller" have similar themes. In each, someone is taking advantage of others' ignorance or weakness to trick them for financial gain, but is in the end hoist by his own petard. "The Butler" also involves trickery and deceit, but here a pretentious nouveau riche is caught by his butler and cook.

But the very best of these stories is Dahl's first published work, based on his wartime experiences. "A Piece of Cake" is a hallucinatory story of a pilot who show more crash lands in the desert between the Italian and English lines. Extraordinary writing: "I knew that the hotness was unpleasant, but that was all I knew. I disliked it, so I curled my legs up under the seat and waited. I think there was something wrong with the telegraph system between the body and the brain. It did not seem to be working very well. Somehow it was a bit slow in telling the brain all about it and in asking for instructions. But I believe a message eventually got through, saying, 'Down here there is a great hotness. What shall we do? (Signed) Left Leg and Right Leg.' For a long time there was no reply. The brain was figuring it out." show less

When Harry Belafonte sang "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)", I'm sure he was only half-kidding. :P

This is a story about one super-smart woman who gave it back to her cheating husband in a way that no one expected. You might have read Roald Dahl for his children's fiction. Now give this short story a try. It's much more satisfying to the senses, possibly more so if you are a woman. :D I enjoyed it thoroughly.

This story is in the public domain and you can read it here: https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lamb.html

This was a nice little sampler of some of Dahl’s short stories, perfect for a Sunday afternoon. The stories included Parson’s Pleasure, A Piece of Cake, Lamb to the Slaughter, The Bookseller, and The Butler. All dealt with sinister, shady characters. And all were equally entertaining.

These five short stories offer a selection of Dahl's adult writing. "Parson's Pleasure" is a country tale, "A Piece of Cake", a wartime reminiscence, "Lamb to the Slaughter" a story of vengeful murder, and the remaining two, set in London, are on favourite themes of greed and snobbery.

It was ok, but kind of boring. I had to read it for school. The title makes out like it's supposed to be really good, but in my opinion, it's a disappointment. Maybe I expected too much since I'm a Hannibal fan.

Short story containing violence with lots of suspense. Recommended for those who like suspenseful murder type stories. Fairly easy read.