calamity_cal 's review for:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

2.75

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I'm currently doing a production of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical, so I decided to reread the book. Part of the reason I decided to reread the book was the fact that I felt like the musical made the kids out to be the problem instead of the parents. But the book is also very hard on the kids. I mean the Oompa's songs definitely serve as parenting lessons, but still... It feels like Roald Dahl is just airing out his frustrations with children. Like, he just really hates kids chewing gum, Violet doesn't really do anything wrong. Obviously these kids should have listened, but they're also all <10 years old with poor impulse control. Don't take the kid into the candy store and get mad when they want candy. Like it's a charming, funny, and absurd Roald Dahl book, of course, but Wonka is REALLY crazy, and Charlie is a very bland protagonist. The way Wonka reacts to Mike Tevee is super funny, though. There's also some more problematic aspects to this book, and of course judging old books by our standards has issues, but still... Like this book is incredibly moralistic and draws a clear line of fat=morally bad. Like every bad character in this book is described as fat. I dunno, maybe this book shouldn't be passed onto the next generation. I have a lot more opinions on the way the musical changed the characters, but this is not the place for that. I did like this books critique of capitalism/class. Like when Grandpa Joe says only rich kids will win the contest cause they can afford tons of bars. Baby's first anti-capitalism (though is it really anti-capitalist if it's all a business scheme by Wonka? TBH I'm so confused by Wonka's whole vibe, I guess he's like a mad scientist deal)