Reviews

Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl

wgower's review

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

somelatenightreading's review

3.0

 Read in 2023: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

-The Visitor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
-The Great Switcheroo: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
-The Last Act: ⭐️⭐️.5
-Bitch: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

mrrobot's review against another edition

2.0

Двухчасовая аудиокнига (можно на ютубе найти).
Какая-то звенящая пошлость, на самом деле. Полупорнографическая байка про мужика-ловеласа, которому подсунули очень специфическую любовницу. Фу.

laurawil's review

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Misogyny

housegnome's review against another edition

5.0

Who knew Roald Dahl wrote books for adults? Like... super duper adult. And awesome.

marpesea's review against another edition

2.0

Eh-- these had some decent twists and are supposed to be dark and tongue in cheek, but overall these are not for me. TW: rape, suicide
Story 1: 3 stars - questionable consent, but has a wonderful, rambling set up and an unexpected twist
Story 2: 2 stars It could be turned into a dirty joke with the same effect
Story 3: 2 stars
Story 4: 1 star

sammy_'s review against another edition

1.0

Some of Roald Dahl’s books (children’s and adult) are amongst my favourites of all time, but this collection of short stories written for Playboy in the 1960s and 1970s was unpleasant in their time and still unpleasant now. Described as a set of stories about “sexual deception,” they’re essentially about tricking women into non-consensual sex, but it’s okay, because they like it in the end. For example, two husbands propose to secretly swap places and sleep with each other’s wives in the dark (and promptly do).

I have already had to reassess Roald Dahl’s legacy in light of his resurfaced anti-Semitic comments, and this book has reminded me that lots of his (particularly adult) work also has a streak of misogyny (or worse) which adds to that complicated legacy.

dkpnw's review against another edition

4.0

Decidedly twisted and dark. I was equal parts surprised, entertained, and appalled.

tomhill's review against another edition

2.0

Despite its catchy title, Switch Bitch is ultimately disappointing, especially compared with how much fun the stories in Kiss Kiss are. Only the first story, "The Visitor" really feels on par with those stories, it's also the only story here that manages to be darkly humorous without also being deeply problematic. The main character "Uncle Oswald," as lascivious as he is, doesn't actually commit any crimes or acts of violence. But by the end he has paid a price for being a cad. All the stories are well-written and expertly plotted and I mostly enjoyed reading them. What makes reviewing a book like this potentially tricky is deciding how much can simply be dismissed as dated or "of the time," and how much is deeply misogynistic and just plain icky, no matter when it was written. "The Great Switcheroo" is a story about "wife-swapping" without the wives' knowledge. Not entirely sure what this would be classified legally as in the 1960s, but it should be clear to everyone that having sex with someone while being tricked into thinking they are someone=non-consensual. So that's pretty gross, although as with the first story, the protagonist does face some kind of punishment for his crime. More of a comeuppance really. The third story "The Last Act" probably should not have been published. The ending is violent, disturbing and seems to exist only to shock. I am all for a shocking ending, but there seems to be no other purpose to the story and it makes me think that Dahl was incredibly angry with a woman at the time he wrote it. The last story, "Bitch" brings back good old Uncle Oswald, whose role in this story is more actively problematic, and what Dahl seems to be saying about women and sexual pleasure is again, just kind of gross. There is the question of intent though. "The Last Act," however is just mean and hateful towards women and the intent seems clear. As a collection, I have to dock a star for the problems of 3 out of the 4 of stories. Especially since, having read many other Dahl stories, I know he was capable of more thoughtful, less hateful work.

cordiallykathy's review against another edition

5.0

You've probably heard of [b:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory|6310|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket, #1)|Roald Dahl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309211401l/6310._SY75_.jpg|2765786] and/or [b:Matilda|39988|Matilda|Roald Dahl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388793265l/39988._SY75_.jpg|1015554]. My mind was blown by this collection of four short stories written by the same author as the books listed above. This collection was written in the 60s for a playboy magazine...so be warned that mysogenistic characters may sour you from the stories.

Summaries of each story:
The Visitor - A promiscuous man's adventure in the desert.
The Great Switcharoo - A man cooks up a plan to switch wives with his neighbor.
The Last Act - A woman's journey to get her life back on track after the death of her husband.
The Bitch - Brings back the main character from 'The Visitor' who funds a scientist to create a 'perfume' that is a catalyst for sex.

All had twists that left you feeling...sick. I'm a sucker for stories that leave my mind reeling.
Trigger warnings: sexual assault