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lauraborkpower 's review for:
Tales of the Unexpected
by Roald Dahl
(add a half star, please)
Grandpa Madel lent me this book two weeks ago after we got to talking about Roald Dahl's short fiction for the adult set, and I'm so glad he did. It's full of odd little stories, some of them fantastic and some of them a bit too much. All of them, however, are enjoyable and precisely written.
There are a couple ("Royal Jelly" and "Genesis and Catastrophe") I'd read while in college, both in short fiction anthologies; though these two certainly weren't my favorites. I prefer the stories told first person from an observer--"Taste," "The Boy Who Talked with Animals," "The Umbrella Man," and "Man From the South." These stories are immediate, through that first person experience, as well as indirect, since none of the narrators are protagonists. It's an interesting and appealing technique.
Some of the stories have a hint of magic or supernaturalism (not a word, I know), some have realistic but suprisingly odd little twists, and some are curious observational slices. You can bet that anyone acting selfishly in one of Dahl's stories will almost certainly get his comeuppance, which is pretty gratifying and fun. Dahl's language is economical but descriptive, perfectly paced, clean, and smart. These stories are really a joy to read.
Grandpa Madel lent me this book two weeks ago after we got to talking about Roald Dahl's short fiction for the adult set, and I'm so glad he did. It's full of odd little stories, some of them fantastic and some of them a bit too much. All of them, however, are enjoyable and precisely written.
There are a couple ("Royal Jelly" and "Genesis and Catastrophe") I'd read while in college, both in short fiction anthologies; though these two certainly weren't my favorites. I prefer the stories told first person from an observer--"Taste," "The Boy Who Talked with Animals," "The Umbrella Man," and "Man From the South." These stories are immediate, through that first person experience, as well as indirect, since none of the narrators are protagonists. It's an interesting and appealing technique.
Some of the stories have a hint of magic or supernaturalism (not a word, I know), some have realistic but suprisingly odd little twists, and some are curious observational slices. You can bet that anyone acting selfishly in one of Dahl's stories will almost certainly get his comeuppance, which is pretty gratifying and fun. Dahl's language is economical but descriptive, perfectly paced, clean, and smart. These stories are really a joy to read.