This is a book with several short stories by Roald Dahl. These are probably more aimed at grown ups, not for kids.
This story starts with a man who stays at a hotel in Jamaica. On the beach there was a turtle caught and a boy who wanted the turtle released as he was a special boy and he could understand the thoughts and feelings of animals. This story at the start, when he described Jamaican voodoo, really struck a nerve. I could really feel the spirit of it and the fear.
The Hitch-hiker
Story of a guy who picks up a stranger and the adventures that followed along that car ride. This is one of my favourite stories. It shows how simplicity of plot and story can bring so much more to what a story can be. I love this story very much.
The Mildenhall Treasure
A true story of a labourer called Gordon Butcher who found ancient Roman artifacts while plowing some farmland. It just goes to show even some really exciting things can happen in real life, and when it does, it really is a story worth telling.
The Swan
This story is about some nasty redneck kids who tortured a poor boy who was their own age. And I thought this story was set in America by how it was written, but from the locations in the story, it was in the UK. Well it was still a very well-written story. And you really feel for the boy. So stories, even without some elaborate plot, when written so beautifully, you really still want to go on the journey.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
This of course is the crown jewel of the book. It is a very lovely story about a man, Henry Sugar, who while staying with a friend, finds a journal describing a great power by a man in India. The man, through intense meditation was able to see without his eyes. And with this journal, Henry Sugar wanted the same powers and so he entered in to a great dedication into meditation as well. From this experience he was successful and his life was never the same again. This story has a lovely twist, deep and insightful I find of the human soul. And really what is important in life.
Lucky Break
A short autobiography by Roald Dahl of how he came about to writing. He actually never thought of writing and it was a pure accident when he returned from was with sever injuries and could no longer serve the British Airforce. He was then posted to work in America and was asked by a famous writer to talk about his experiences in the war. This was to encourage people to have support for their troops in the war. They discussed it through lunch and found it hard to be taking notes while eating at the same time. So Roald Dahl promised to write down some notes so the author could write it down properly later. After finishing it, Roald Dahl sent it to the author and several weeks later got a reply. The author said he asked Dahl to write notes, not write the whole story! The author commended Dahl's work and sent it to the publishers without even any alterations and said to Dahl he was a very gifted writer, a gift very rare and should be appreciated. This was how Dahl began writing, by pure accident.
A short autobiography by Roald Dahl of how he came about to writing. He actually never thought of writing and it was a pure accident when he returned from was with sever injuries and could no longer serve the British Airforce. He was then posted to work in America and was asked by a famous writer to talk about his experiences in the war. This was to encourage people to have support for their troops in the war. They discussed it through lunch and found it hard to be taking notes while eating at the same time. So Roald Dahl promised to write down some notes so the author could write it down properly later. After finishing it, Roald Dahl sent it to the author and several weeks later got a reply. The author said he asked Dahl to write notes, not write the whole story! The author commended Dahl's work and sent it to the publishers without even any alterations and said to Dahl he was a very gifted writer, a gift very rare and should be appreciated. This was how Dahl began writing, by pure accident.
A Piece of Cake
This is the story Dahl ever written as was described in Lucky Break. It is about his experiences while posted in Greece and fighting against the Germans and Italians during WWII. Indeed it was very befitting the title, where his plane was shot down and he endured quite a lot of hardships, but his descriptions of them seem very matter-of-fact, and how could it be any other way. And so everything seemed to be 'a piece of cake' even though what he went through was quite dreadful. He had severe burns form crashing and had lost his nose. It did not particularly highlight any act of heroism but it really gave people a sense of what sort of experience being in a war was. Even from this first story, reading his latter work, you get a sense of his style of writing and how beautiful it is.
This is the story Dahl ever written as was described in Lucky Break. It is about his experiences while posted in Greece and fighting against the Germans and Italians during WWII. Indeed it was very befitting the title, where his plane was shot down and he endured quite a lot of hardships, but his descriptions of them seem very matter-of-fact, and how could it be any other way. And so everything seemed to be 'a piece of cake' even though what he went through was quite dreadful. He had severe burns form crashing and had lost his nose. It did not particularly highlight any act of heroism but it really gave people a sense of what sort of experience being in a war was. Even from this first story, reading his latter work, you get a sense of his style of writing and how beautiful it is.
All this stories are wonderful, all different and special in their own way. Roald Dahl is one of my favourite writers. I could read his books over and over and still be mesmerized.
