Some people do not enjoy reading Roald Dahl. I was recently reading a New Yorker article about Dahl's life and work and in the piece the author spent some time discussing why the author's work can be so very popular among children but not so much with adults. Some say that Dahl's fictional worlds are without justice or that the naughty characters always get away with their nefarious deeds. Others say he teaches children to be disobedient to adults. I find both of these ideas ridiculous. Though possibly I find the first statement to be absolutely false and the second one does have some merit.
Let me just say that Dahl is hilarious. His short stories written for an adult audience contain some of the best twist endings I've ever read. And they almost always are written so that the character who has been plotting, dealing unfairly with others, or is just plain evil gets their come-uppance by a weird coincidence. It is the crooked book dealer, trying to extort money from rich individuals, who falls into a trap he laid out for himself and was too stupid to see. Or it's the self-proclaimed "Conquerer of Women" who in the end unknowingly catches leprosy from a one-night stand. Dahl always takes pleasure in seeing the evil get their dues so to speak.
The same could be said for his books for children. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory it is the quiet, polite, and kind Charlie who wins the final prize; none of the repulsive, selfish, or psychotic children succeed in their selfish plans. They each meet a demise equal to their own wicked obsessions.
And of course Dahl does all of this with a superb ear for language and a keen, dry humor. I've been reading a bit of his stories during my breaks at work. Sometimes these occur while the kids are working on their homework and it takes quite a bit of effort not to snort or laugh out loud at the endings.
If you haven't read any Dahl - definitely go try some out.
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