A review by tcgarback
Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories by Roald Dahl
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Too dated, basic, and problematic for me to invest my time in. I read the intro, the first 6 stories, and online summaries of 8 other stories.
When I was in the right mood, these stories were actually ethically stimulating because they’re all so problematic it’s like a game: will this story display vehement sexism, classism, racism, or a mix of all three? It sort of left me feeling challenged in an inspired way, which strengthened my feeling that I was reading a homework assignment.
But this mood didn’t last. I long interest one day in.
The collection does not have much sociopolitical or artistic merit by today’s standards, except as a window into the values and creative status quos of the first half of the 20th century, which is why this feels like something better off studied than cozied up with, unless you’re able to look past how poorly outdated almost every story is.
The introduction is super idiotic, to the point of being entertaining. Dahl shows off how deeply he has deluded himself into thinking he’s not a sexist pig. It’s quite fascinating. His worldview on literary criticism is also closed-minded and pompous.
When I was in the right mood, these stories were actually ethically stimulating because they’re all so problematic it’s like a game: will this story display vehement sexism, classism, racism, or a mix of all three? It sort of left me feeling challenged in an inspired way, which strengthened my feeling that I was reading a homework assignment.
But this mood didn’t last. I long interest one day in.
The collection does not have much sociopolitical or artistic merit by today’s standards, except as a window into the values and creative status quos of the first half of the 20th century, which is why this feels like something better off studied than cozied up with, unless you’re able to look past how poorly outdated almost every story is.
The introduction is super idiotic, to the point of being entertaining. Dahl shows off how deeply he has deluded himself into thinking he’s not a sexist pig. It’s quite fascinating. His worldview on literary criticism is also closed-minded and pompous.