Roald Dahl: Loony! Wacky! Nutty! Dandy!!!

I hope it comes no surprise to you - Roald Dahl is whom I am touching on for this entry. Did you guess correctly??

While searching for inspirations, I thought about the first time I discovered-held my first Dahl's book, got hooked thereafter. The incident was so that I can't help but related that akin to fate. Sometimes, affinity just hits, no? Maybe this kinda sounded so drama-mama but THAT'S the way I felt with certain incidents in my life. Even for discovering a read.

Please allow me to digress and indulge on why discovering Roald Dahl by pure chance is extraordinary for me. Books ain't exactly a fad with us kids during my upper primary school days unless Tin Tin is what you were referring to. The school's library ain't my hangout spot but it was there, I came upon "Danny the Champion of The World" when I tried to hide in the library from my friends because I was secretly crying self-pitifully from some petty friendship matters. I picked a book non-commitantly, trying my darnest to hide my tear-stained face. Somehow, the baby picture in the first page caught my attention and hooked to Roald Dahl thereafter I was, definitely.

Danny The Champion of The World - My First Dahl's Read

Starting with Danny the Champion of The World, I was soon full speed into his other titles. I love most of the children's reads and to name a few favourite standouts will be of course The Witches, BFG, Boy and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Though I love Dahl's short adult twisting stories, they never packed the full oomph for me. I must admit I never like and finish his Going Solo and A Piece of Cake. Though these two touched on Dahl's route to become a full fledged children's author, I felt it was not important for me to know anyhow. Not interesting to me.

I must say Roald Dahl's is really one of the most creative children's author for me. The way he makes plain, good enough virtues in children loud and heroic enough to make a difference with their life or turn of events with his loony thoughts, I thought really quite incredible. Danny the Champion of The World touches the life of a little boy ensconced in life's simple pleasures, living in a small wagon with just his dad for companionship, conjured an incredulous way of poaching partridges with a stroke of ingenuity that earned him respect from his dad and the rest of the villagers who all hated the snobbish landowner.

BFG, The Witches and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory are not to be missed if you want to know the full extent of Dahl's mastery in catapulting you to his world of wackiness, dandiest and his nuttiest.

The Witches - I love this story!

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

I scarcely salvaged my BFG, hehehe...

His children's stories are all written from the viewpoint of a plain good child who is either impoverished or mistreated by an adult AND there is always the presence of a teacher or headmaster who will dealt THAT stroke of that cane. Apparently, tis some true scars from Dahl's childhood himself (Read: Dahl's - "Boy") and I personally thought he was championing the rights to end corporal punishment and the bullying of the weaker children in schools. In other words, you learnt being strong physically does not mean you will get respect or natural authority. The main character's stroke of luck changes with the entrance of an adult / fantasy creature who will eventually makes a big difference in their life and vice versa.

Sophie from BFG saved England from the guzzling, man-eating giants with the help from the reticent Big Friendly Giant whom was brought out of his own shyness with Sophie's friendship. The boy in The Witches saved all of us children, from turning into rats by thwarting the witches' plan with his Norwegian grandmother and do not mind being a rat the rest of his life so he may live as long as her. I find this so touching.

The Witches

As for Charlie, he makes his fortune with Willy Wonka - the candiest man in the world whom found the right heir to his candy kingdom!! Don't you think it's so clever and funny about the square candies that looked round?? Go check it out yourself if you do not know what I am talking about here.

Roald Dahl's story is literally littered with un-dictionary phrasing and poems as his trademark style, much like how Stephen King's does with his trademark f*cks all over his novel. Some fine examples below:

One Dandy, Loony Dahl's Poems From C&TCF

Dahl's Trademark?

May not sit well with some adults who felt were not proper english to begin with but what the hell, it's us children who are tickled and amused by the names of the food the giants eat, the kind of products that makes up the potion in George's Marvelous Medicine, the strange dreams captured by BFG and transported to our dreamland. Who needs to grow up so fast??

The Nightmare - BFG

One of the Dreams' Descriptions - BFG

I do enjoy Dahl's more macabre, adult stories from Henry Sugar and The Unexpected Tales. Twisted and more edged plots though they are mostly short adult stories. I am more a sucker for long serials for short novels like Sherlock Holmes and so Dahl's shorter stories is to me is merely a more disturbing though kinda pleasing read. Like how I will always remember the man who turns into a bee for consuming too much royal jelly? The man who bet his little finger for a Cadillac if his lighter lights up continuously for ten times? The battered housewife who escapes the gallows by roasting the murder weapon and served the shank of lamb to the investigating sheriffs? Or even Henry Sugar, an incorrigible gambler turned good - who had initially tried to gain yoga powers for evil profits? I thought the way it just disturbs you so subtly mentally... his adults stories is a different genre from his children's stories.

Henry Sugar & Other Stories

Dahl's stories, thinly illustrated by Quentin Blake's are so mutually unexclusive - I can't find any other children's authors even close to Dahl's style till today.

Dahl's leap of imagination, his use of creative words and the children's rights he subtly champions for - I can only conclude, truly childhood reminiscences for me.

Quentin Blake's illustration - From The Witches showing the boy turning into a rat

- Completed 15 July 2006 -