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A review by katykelly
Matilda by Roald Dahl
5.0
My favourite Dahl, always and forever. And now I've listened to it with my son. What more can a parent want?!
A lovely adaptation by Kate Winslet, with some northern/Lancashire accents I wasn't anticipating, but that I ended up enjoying and feeling fit the characters. Nice to listen to, clear and not too fast for a child to follow.
How did Dahl make it so my favourite childhood book concerned the life of a 5 year old girl? It's almost unheard of, usually a reader will identify with a protagonist their own age. Matilda, of course, is unique in children's books - precocious yet innocent, smart but unknowing. It's the revolting adults around her and her revenges and acts upon them that stir the reader into identifying with and never being able to forget this book.
My son is 5 and just adored it, he wouldn't let us out of the car until we'd heard whether Bruce Bogtrotter finished the chocolate cake. He grinned from ear to ear when Matilda dyes her father's hair. And the look of satisfaction on his face at the conclusion was a joy to behold.
That's the unforgettable joy of a good book. Despite her unloving and hideous parents, Matilda teaches herself to read, to view her family critically, but to rise above it. My husband and I shuddered as her mum leaves her alone each day to play bingo, as she walks to the library alone!!!! Her small triumphs over her father only whet the appetite for what it to come.
More delights await the reader - the fantastic Miss Trunchbull (we had to look at a paper copy so my son didn't miss out of Quentin Blake's superb rendering of her onto the page) and all she represents - greed, masochistic pleasure in pain and suffering. Seeing the small girl's talents recognised by the teacher who at first appears to be a minor character only there to highlight the difference between a good teacher and a bad one, but who in fact drives the rest of the story.
As a 21st century adult, Crunchem Hall seems rather twee and strange (learning the two times tables in your first week?!), but it doesn't make this feel out of date, somehow. The children have intervals rather than breaks, corporal punishment is present, they learn arithmetic.
My son guessed the twist (the aunt) unexpectedly, and - well - when Matilda's powers become apparent, he just ADORED the direction the story was taking.
This story has it all - clever child, revolting adults destined to be thwarted, families good and bad magic powers, school and friends, a chocolate cake. From 5 to 95, you'll not regret a re-read, or letting a child discover it for the first time.
A lovely adaptation by Kate Winslet, with some northern/Lancashire accents I wasn't anticipating, but that I ended up enjoying and feeling fit the characters. Nice to listen to, clear and not too fast for a child to follow.
How did Dahl make it so my favourite childhood book concerned the life of a 5 year old girl? It's almost unheard of, usually a reader will identify with a protagonist their own age. Matilda, of course, is unique in children's books - precocious yet innocent, smart but unknowing. It's the revolting adults around her and her revenges and acts upon them that stir the reader into identifying with and never being able to forget this book.
My son is 5 and just adored it, he wouldn't let us out of the car until we'd heard whether Bruce Bogtrotter finished the chocolate cake. He grinned from ear to ear when Matilda dyes her father's hair. And the look of satisfaction on his face at the conclusion was a joy to behold.
That's the unforgettable joy of a good book. Despite her unloving and hideous parents, Matilda teaches herself to read, to view her family critically, but to rise above it. My husband and I shuddered as her mum leaves her alone each day to play bingo, as she walks to the library alone!!!! Her small triumphs over her father only whet the appetite for what it to come.
More delights await the reader - the fantastic Miss Trunchbull (we had to look at a paper copy so my son didn't miss out of Quentin Blake's superb rendering of her onto the page) and all she represents - greed, masochistic pleasure in pain and suffering. Seeing the small girl's talents recognised by the teacher who at first appears to be a minor character only there to highlight the difference between a good teacher and a bad one, but who in fact drives the rest of the story.
As a 21st century adult, Crunchem Hall seems rather twee and strange (learning the two times tables in your first week?!), but it doesn't make this feel out of date, somehow. The children have intervals rather than breaks, corporal punishment is present, they learn arithmetic.
My son guessed the twist (the aunt) unexpectedly, and - well - when Matilda's powers become apparent, he just ADORED the direction the story was taking.
This story has it all - clever child, revolting adults destined to be thwarted, families good and bad magic powers, school and friends, a chocolate cake. From 5 to 95, you'll not regret a re-read, or letting a child discover it for the first time.