Reviews

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl

theimmortalbookdisaster's review

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

bookiesncreme's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.0

shaq's review against another edition

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4.0

"From the first paragraph to the last, we felt we were in the hands of a master"
What a beautiful way to sum up how I feel about Roald Dahl's story.
It's been a long time since I came across one, and it has been a wonderful way to remember how exquisitely talented he is in creating these stories. There's just something about children's stories that appeals to the inner child in me in an inexplicable way. Though granted, I wish some of the stories went on for longer and continued more so, it was a superb dive into his imagination.

hollysmith54's review against another edition

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2.0

I learned of Roald Dahl’s antisemitism and attitudes towards people of colour half way through this (whilst reading Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel). I continued to listen to the audio book to see if I could spot the critiques people had outlined - indeed many examples followed. A strange collection of short stories and biopics (how Roald Dahl became a writer etc). A little darker than the kids classics we all know. Some stories I enjoyed, others were hard to follow, some were difficult to listen to.

I am left with discomfort and confusion. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is to be released on Netflix later this year, produced and directed by Wes Anderson. I wonder what kind of reception it will get.

mrodgerson's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Listen to it read by Andrew Scott

storymi's review against another edition

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4.0

I ♥ Roald Dahl. Ook leuk om te lezen hoe hij schrijver is geworden en om zijn allereerste gepubliceerde verhaal te lezen!

sz_miry's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jmarryott23's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

I watched Wes Anderson’s short film adaption before reading the original story. It turns out Wes Anderson stuck ridiculously close to the original text with hardly any diversion in dialogue. The story and humor are perfectly suited for Anderson, whose OCD style of filming, timing, and set designs are a match made in heaven with Dahl. Characters on screen are breaking the fourth wall to recite the dialogue while reenacting it, something I’ve never seen before but seems to work here. 

I guess the story itself has a moral of greed and how Henry Sugar was not satisfied with his riches until he did something more productive with it. I can get behind that. I just think if you watch the Anderson adaption you will get the whole package told in a more imaginative way and wouldn’t be missing anything in the story.

quigonchuy's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Decided to read this after watching the Wes Anderson short films of some of these stories. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there's many more stories here than there are short films. And the stories are great. Short, entertaining, sometimes dark, sometimes funny, but always creative and interesting. 

laviaenrose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0