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salgalruns's review against another edition
4.0
I had absolutely NO IDEA what to expect from this adult Roald Dahl book when I selected it to read for a challenge, other than he does an amazing amazing amazing job with characters. That part continued to hold true for this selection of short stories. Roald Dahl is capable of pulling in any sort of wicked characteristic that a person has and finds a way to emphasize that throughout his writing - it's genius.
The book is made up of 11 short stories, several of which were pretty twisted. I think I was most fond of "The Landlady" who is a seemingly sweet caretaker of a bed and breakfast, but has had view guests over the years, and all young men? Very psycho-ish. Other favorites included "William and Mary," "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Cat," and "The Champion of the World" (which is a condensed version of the story that would lead to [b:Danny the Champion of the World|6690|Danny the Champion of the World|Roald Dahl|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320498291s/6690.jpg|824600].
It was definitely a change in the weird-genre, but I loved it.
The book is made up of 11 short stories, several of which were pretty twisted. I think I was most fond of "The Landlady" who is a seemingly sweet caretaker of a bed and breakfast, but has had view guests over the years, and all young men? Very psycho-ish. Other favorites included "William and Mary," "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Cat," and "The Champion of the World" (which is a condensed version of the story that would lead to [b:Danny the Champion of the World|6690|Danny the Champion of the World|Roald Dahl|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320498291s/6690.jpg|824600].
It was definitely a change in the weird-genre, but I loved it.
sarah_17's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
tajana_95's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Some of these stories will be engraved in my brain for the rest of my life (shuddering even now because some scenes came to me).
Not my cup of tea, or bees, or pigs…
Not my cup of tea, or bees, or pigs…
defale's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
pauliboi's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Fun short twisted stories from beloved children’s author Roald Dahl
onmywaytobefamous's review against another edition
I SHOULD FINISH THIS. it was gooood…
slow_spines's review against another edition
dark
funny
4.0
Say what you want about the man, but he sure knows how to write a story. This is a collection of economically worded and carefully edited stories that makes for perfect bedtime reading.
All the stories rely on a sting in the tale, and while they are formulaic in that sense - and though the twist was rarely surprising - there is some dark satisfaction to watching it happen anyway. These are stories of people getting their (un)just deserts.
There's nothing particularly gruesome here, and I think most younger teenagers would enjoy them. There are stories about brains in vats, embalming, lover's taking their revenge, transmogrification. Its all relatively tame, but with enough macabre humour to keep them interesting.
One notable exception is Georgy Porgy: an otherwise mild story about a sexually stunted vicar, which contains a genuinely haunting scene that forced me to read it twice. Not just because it was so effective, but because I'd hurried through it initially (presumably as an act of self preservation). The other is the abruptly cruel Pig - a Voltarian morality tale whose shock ending is told with the same levity as one of his children's stories. Still not sure what to make of that one. My favourite, for all the scares, was one without any hint of horror at all. Parson's Pleasure is about a crafty conman out to fleece naive villagers of their antique furniture and is, for my money, a perfectly formed short story. I enjoyed them all except for Edward the Conquerer, where I felt the central idea wasn't interesting enough to warrant its length. A blip in an otherwise great collection.
These are stories first published in 1959 and some aspects definitely show their age, particularly in respect to women. I personally don't think there is anything egregious (it's mostly of the "get in the kitchen" variety), and ultimately it has the effect of making the men more unlikeable, which, whatever the intent, works in these stories favour.
All the stories rely on a sting in the tale, and while they are formulaic in that sense - and though the twist was rarely surprising - there is some dark satisfaction to watching it happen anyway. These are stories of people getting their (un)just deserts.
There's nothing particularly gruesome here, and I think most younger teenagers would enjoy them. There are stories about brains in vats, embalming, lover's taking their revenge, transmogrification. Its all relatively tame, but with enough macabre humour to keep them interesting.
One notable exception is Georgy Porgy: an otherwise mild story about a sexually stunted vicar, which contains a genuinely haunting scene that forced me to read it twice. Not just because it was so effective, but because I'd hurried through it initially (presumably as an act of self preservation). The other is the abruptly cruel Pig - a Voltarian morality tale whose shock ending is told with the same levity as one of his children's stories. Still not sure what to make of that one. My favourite, for all the scares, was one without any hint of horror at all. Parson's Pleasure is about a crafty conman out to fleece naive villagers of their antique furniture and is, for my money, a perfectly formed short story. I enjoyed them all except for Edward the Conquerer, where I felt the central idea wasn't interesting enough to warrant its length. A blip in an otherwise great collection.
These are stories first published in 1959 and some aspects definitely show their age, particularly in respect to women. I personally don't think there is anything egregious (it's mostly of the "get in the kitchen" variety), and ultimately it has the effect of making the men more unlikeable, which, whatever the intent, works in these stories favour.
wrentheblurry's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This is a collection of many odd, slightly twisted stories. The endings are well done, unless you hate it when things are implied more than stated, or when things are left up to your imagination. I liked that part. I also liked the quirkiness of the stories. Still, I wasn't particularly moved by any of the characters or stories, and I failed to feel any connection with them too. That may be somewhat due to the short story nature, since there isn't time to really make a connection...or maybe I just couldn't relate. A decent, quick read.