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Boy
by Roald Dahl
From the mind that captured the hearts of children everywhere comes a story so wonderful, it can only be true!
Roald Dahl is a celebrated author whose stories have delighted children and adults alike for decades. His wild imagination, which so delighted his family and friends, paved the way for such literary treasures as Matilda, James & the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In his biography, Boy, the world becomes privy to Dahl’s childhood and is shown that his crazy imagination stems from crazy life experiences. In his own words, “Throughout my young days at school and just afterwards, a number of things happened to me….Some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant…all are true.”
Dahl splits the book between Llandaff Cathedral School (ages 7-9), St. Peter’s (ages 9-13), Repton School (ages 13-17) and Shell Company (ages 17-20). He starts with his first few memories before school -– like his father, who had only one arm, but could tie his shoe as fast as you or me. Dahl elaborates a bit on kindergarten, but so much else happened throughout his life that it isn’t surprising he doesn’t include more detail from these days.
At his first school, Llandaff, he was involved in “The Great Mouse Plot.” A few close friends of Dahl’s had a cache hidden under a loose board in their classroom. One day, the boys discovered a dead mouse among their treasures. One of the boys decided they should conspire to hide the mouse in a jar of candy at their local shop. The proprietor of this unfortunate shop had a reputation for unsanitary practices. She rarely used a scoop and almost never had clean hands when she dipped into jars to dispense orders. On the way to school the day after the drop, the children noticed that the shop was closed. They thought they’d killed the proprietor until their headmaster lined up the whole school and let her pick out the culprits. Each guilty child was caned.
Adventures such as mouse plot comprise the bulk of the novel. Dahl’s storytelling ability is not diminished by speaking about himself. In fact, Boy is one of Dahl’s best works. Although the tales seem fantastic, they only lend credibility to one of the greatest minds of modern literature.
Title: Boy
Author: Roald Dahl
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 0141311401
Review written by: Tracy Elledge
Reviewer's Rating:10
Reader's Rating: 6.50
Reader's Votes: 2
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