Roald Dahl: C/D S&D

Aged 13 I felt that Switch Bitch the story was v.dubious psychologically and neurologically (implies a. women are gagging for it [obv.true], but b. they have no differentiatio-intuition of physical sensation "down there" [blimey surely rubbish])

However age 13 I was no expert on cocksize, as pitcher OR catcher.

or do you cream at the mention of BFGs?

I'm really sorry about this, I don't know what I was thinking.

Dahl is easily one of my favorties, with Danny the Champion of the World leading the way. I just re-read it a few years ago, and it was as good as I had remembered.

parson's pleasure
the umbrella man

Rolled Dal
http://www.vizmaya.com/wp-content/my-files/moong_dal_dosa_ani.gif

"There’s a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity. I mean there is always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason. I'm certainly anti-Israeli and I've become anti-Semitic in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism."

Yeah, he was a jerk.

i hate him but he is a relative

This reads opposite its intent for me: those who had to actually be related to him seem first in line among the haters.

(Part of me reads about folks like him and certain Waugh-family remembers and kinda envies the kind of time period, socio-economic class, and talent sphere where you could be a total bitter black-humoured bastard and nobody could do anything about it)

(except with fewer typos)

settle a bet (between me and my brane): did roald dahl write a short story about a boy being tied to the train tracks? if he didn't did someone else? i remember vividly reading (being forced to read?) this tale as a wee one and it Scarred Me For Life.

Ah yes, "The Swan". I read that one too when I was young and found it a disturbing story. Especially since the bullies aren't brought to justice in the end...actually, couldn't really figure out what happened in the end to the kid.

But the greatness of his writing comes from his being an asshole. Fair enough, I didn't know he was an anti-semite which I find completely inexcusable and detestable but the cliché that he hated children is what makes his best books so great, I'm thinking of Matilda and The Witches here I think his children's books are some of the finest books ever written and much greater than anything he wrote for adults.

Just read Donald Sturrock's biography and the idea that he hated kids is ridiculous. He definitely hated a lot of adults though.

seem to remember that it was kingsley amis who (perhaps w malicious intent) claimed that dahl told him he hated kids

There's an anecdote about them meeting at a party thrown by Tom Stoppard where Dahl pisses of Amis by telling him he should write children's books if he wanted to make real money. Dahl leaves in a helicopter and Amis later wrote that 'I watched the television news that night, but there was no report of a famous children’s author being killed in a helicopter crash.’ It's omitted in this book (it is an authorised biography) but supposedly when Amis said he had no interest in writing for kids, Dahl said "never mind the little bastards'd swallow it."

the idea that he hated kids is ridiculous. He definitely hated a lot of adults though.

This is why I <3 him so.

I've been reading a lot of his books with my kids, and I get this weird feeling they were all dictated freestyle off the top of his head. They're so disorganized and random, especially stuff like "The Witches" and "Matilda," the latter a perfectly fine, even lovely story until suddenly, out of nowhere, it turns all telekinetic "Carrie" for no reason whatsoever.

Matilda was apparently his most problematic book to write. He actually rewrote the whole thing from scratch (Matilda was originally an unsympathetic character and the plot revolved around racetrack gambling)

Questions for Roald Dahl:

Were any of the poaching methods in Danny the Champion of the World ever used in real life? Did they work?

Why did none of the teachers in Matilda's school report Miss Trunchbull to the authorities?

Speaking as an adult - I have no idea what particular aspects appeal to my 6 year old daughter - Danny is definitely my favourite, successfully grounded in reality with a minimum of Dahl's abusive misanthropy. Matilda is fine - I don't mind the turn to Carrie, how else is a five year old girl going to best the Trunchbull? - but it happens rather late and as a result the end is rushed. I'm not a big fan of Charlie, too many unpleasant characters and unpleasant fates for them. The BFG is pretty slight - it's surprising how little happens in lots of his books, in fact.