Boy - Roald Dahl

As an English Teacher, I come across all manner of extracts from assorted novels in textbooks - selected paragraphs of Potter, or snippets of Orwell and Huxley chosen for some part of the language they contain. However, no author seems to feature as regularly as Roald Dahl; perhaps it's because his books are especially accessible, or perhaps there's something essentially English in character about his writing. In any case, I always enjoy coming across Dahl's work wherever I find it - even stories I've read dozens of times before are still delightfully funny, clever and fresh. Boy is the first part of Roald Dahl's autobiography, published in 1984 and covering ...  Read the complete review

A long time ago, in 1916, a little boy was born to Norwegian parents living in South Wales. His father was a successful businessman, but idiosyncratic to say the least. He wanted his children to have an appreciation of beauty, so before they were born he spent hours taking his pregnant wife on "glorious walks" to take in the natural splendour of the countryside. In this way he hoped that the wonder of nature and an appreciation of it would somehow be transmitted to his unborn child. The little boy's father had only one arm, but got along just fine with the aid of various ingenious gadgets he'd invented for himself, like the sharpened fork which ...  Read the complete review

If you've read any of the following greats : "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "The Twits", "George's Marvellous Medicine", "The Witches", you'll realise that "Boy" is the perfect explaination for the twisted and witty genius that is Roald Dahl. Tracing his life from his birth to the age of 20, Roald Dahl takes you by the hand and leads you through his memories, all of them poignantly thrilling and touchingly funny. You'll find yourself stupefied by the tale of Harald Dahl's father's fractured elbow as the drunk doctor tried to fix a dislocated shoulder. You will marvel at the old black ...  Read the complete review

Boy is written by Roald Dahl and is an autobiography of his childhood. He shares his painful and happy memories. He describes his holidays in Norway, his terrifying memories of the cane in school and his home in the country. We hear about witty plots and funny practical jokes. We are introduced to his family and school mates, we even hear about the terrible teachers who caned him. ‘Boy’ is a magical, funny and heart-warming book. My favourite part of the book was the great mouse plot. I found it extremely funny. Roald and his mates play a joke on Mrs Pratchett the sweet shop owner; she is a mean grubby woman and none of them like her. One of the ...  Read the complete review

Boy. Where to start. Being written by Roald Dahl, when i picked it up i knew that it would be witty, humerous, truthful and amusing. This book certainly didn't fail to live up to the trademark of a Dahl book. An expirienced writer who had stood the test of time bravely and written books to appeal to all generations had to have talent. He also had to have inspiration. His childhood story is an authors dream. Unpredicable, funny, scarey and indefiably inspirational. We find out about his upbringing, schooling, friends, pranks and antics. These include painfully real acounts when he was caned. When he feigned apendicitis. His ordeal of tonsilitis. How he ...  Read the complete review