THE BEST OF
ROALD DAHL
by Julio
Riverola – Second year advanced level
The Best Of Roald Dahl is a book which collects
some of the best short stories of this English writer, approximately twenty of
them.
A famous writer because of his stories for
children, this book is absolutely dedicated to adults. In it, we can find very
interesting stories, easy to read but always with an amazing and surprising
ending. Furthermore, cruel and dark endings fill the book.
Dahl tells us about topics like betting with
outlandish rewards. For example, in one of them, the gambling men bet their own
fingers. Another of these stories shows us how a rich man bets his virgin
daughter against an expert taster of wines who is invited by himself to a
luxurious dinner.
Another topic that Dahl writes about is babies.
Two examples of this: the first one, Royal
Jelly, tells the story of the desperate parents of a child who can not get
weight. Suddenly, the baby begins to get fat. The mother is happy at first but then
is worried because of that incredible change. The father finally confesses that
he is putting a magic substance in the baby’s bottle. Soon, the baby undergoes
a metamorphosis. In the second example, which Dahl presents as a real story, he
perfectly describes the successful birth of a child whose parents have lost all
their three previous sons. Finally we can see that it is a happy birth for the
family and a tragedy for the rest of the world.
Another interesting story tells us about an
innocent and unlucky boy that wishes to become a famous cook. He is writing a
book with hundreds of recipes without any kind of meat, because he has never eaten
meat. The first time he goes to the city, he finally eats meat and he can make
a very close visit to a slaughterhouse.
The last story I want to mention tells about a
traveller who is hosted by a rich man in his palace in the middle of the
desert. He tries to win the rich man’s extremely beautiful wife’s and
daughter’s heart and finally he gets go to bed with a woman, but not one he
wished.
To sum up, an enjoyable book that gives food
for thought and perfect to devour story by story in sleepless nights.
