The Best of Roald Dahl [Paperback]

Roald Dahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 1990

This collection brings together Dahl's finest work, illustrating his genius for the horrific and grotesque which is unparalleled.

"Dahl has the mastery of plot and characters possessed by great writers of the past, along with a wildness and wryness of his own. One of his trademarks is writing beautifully about the ugly, even the horrible."--Los Angeles Times

"An ingenious imagination, a fascination with odd and ordinary detail, and a lust for its thorough exploitation are the...strengths of Dahl's storytelling."--New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

This collection brings together Dahl's finest work, illustrating his genius for the horrific and grotesque which is unparalleled.

"Dahl has the mastery of plot and characters possessed by great writers of the past, along with a wildness and wryness of his own. One of his trademarks is writing beautifully about the ugly, even the horrible."--Los Angeles Times

"An ingenious imagination, a fascination with odd and ordinary detail, and a lust for its thorough exploitation are the...strengths of Dahl's storytelling."--New York Times Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 14, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679729917
• ISBN-13: 978-0679729914
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Llandaff, South Wales, and went to Repton School in England. His parents were Norwegian, so holidays were spent in Norway. As he explains in Boy, he turned down the idea of university in favor of a job that would take him to"a wonderful faraway place. In 1933 he joined the Shell Company, which sent him to Mombasa in East Africa. When World War II began in 1939 he became a fighter pilot and in 1942 was made assistant air attaché in Washington, where he started to write short stories. His first major success as a writer for children was in 1964. Thereafter his children's books brought him increasing popularity, and when he died children mourned the world over, particularly in Britain where he had lived for many years.The BFG is dedicated to the memory of Roald Dahls eldest daughter, Olivia, who died from measles when she was seven - the same age at which his sister had died (fron appendicitis) over forty years before. Quentin Blake, the first Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom, has illustrated most of Roald Dahl's children's books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Powerful Introduction to Roald Dahl's Adult Work, April 3, 2003

By 

Ran Walker (Hampton Roads, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Roald Dahl (Paperback)

I am one of those people who had read many of Roald Dahl's works (from _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ to "Lamb to the Slaughter"), I never realized they were all by the same author. As I grew older, I fell in love all over again with Dahl's books for children, but when I stumbled across this collection, I bought it, more or less, blindly. I remember "Lamb to the Slaughter" being good, but I had not read any of the other works, nor did I know Dahl had so many collections of short stories for the more "mature" reader.

This collection is awesome. Being a fan of the O'Henry style story and the Shirley Jackson dark humor, I enjoyed myself tremendously going through each story. The writing is very clean and plot driven, so you can literally lose yourself in his stories the moment you begin them. The excerpt from _My Uncle Oswald_ called "The Visitor" is especially devilishly delicious.

Dahl is one of my favorite writers, and I feel that this collection bears very well on the legacy he left us.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short story master: Shocking, surprising, and satisfying, October 10, 2000

By 

Godly Gadfly - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Best of Roald Dahl (Paperback)

Roald Dahl is probably most famous as a popular children's writer, and is much loved by young readers world-wide for his contribution to children's literature with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and many other favorites. "The Best of Roald Dahl" proves that Dahl is also brilliant at writing short stories on a more adult level. He has a wicked imagination, and has the uncanny ability to stretch it beyond the borders of the normal, picturing ordinary details in a most vivid and elaborate manner. His brilliant imagination travels far and wide to places and events you have never imagined possible, and yet which are not fantastic but entirely believable because of his compelling realism. His realism is sometimes so compelling, that you are almost persuaded that Dahl is telling a true story, and are left wondering whether or not the story is fact or fiction - a remarkable accomplishment for a fiction writer!

Dahl's interest is sometimes dark and off-colour, and his constant fascination with the morbid and ugly makes this book suitable only for mature readers. I personally found his frequent use of blasphemy rather disturbing, as well has his occasional interest in sexual exploits (evident in three stories where he deals with matters such as prostitution, wife-swapping, and sexual conquest). Despite this, the majority of these stories are unquestionably spell-binding. Dahl's short stories have the capacity to leave you breathless because they are entirely unpredictable. He has a love for unhappy, even horrible endings that shock and surprise, yet are incredibly satisfying because they are unexpected. His incredible ability to describe an evil or horrible scheme in rich detail is so riveting, that you are completely caught up in its authenticity and excitement. Just when you are at the point of rejoicing in its apparent success, Dahl takes the greatest pleasure in dashing all expectations to pieces, as the scheme ends in an astonishing failure. You are left with a wonderful blend of mixed feelings: disappointment at failure, yet satisfaction knowing that justice is done, albeit in a cruel or most surprising manner. His dark humor is completely captivating, and in certain respects Dahl can correctly be regarded as a literary genius.

Some of the highlights in my view are "Taste" (a delightful tale where a man lays his daughter on the line in a "sure" bet with a wine-taster), "Parson's Pleasure" (where an underhanded scheme to acquire the some of the world's greatest antiques for peanuts is chopped to pieces on the verge of its success), "Champion of the World" (a poacher's dream nearly comes true with an incredible scheme to steal birds), and "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar"(a remarkable but believable story about a man who develops an incredible ability to see through playing-cards).

But these favorites are just the tip of the ice-berg. This book boasts more than 500 pages, and contains nearly 30 of Roald Dahl's best short stories, selected from five of his published short story collections. Each makes a delightful 10-20 minutes read, and exhibits his superb skill as one of the most entertaining and ingenius story-tellers in the late 20th century. Recommended!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, that sweet, malevolent irony of life!, April 11, 2002

By 

Craig Clarke "Living After Midnight: Hard and... (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Best of Roald Dahl (Paperback)

It seems that most people know Dahl from his children's books, most notably those made into the popular movies Willy Wonka (Charlie) and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. And if you know those books (or most likely movies), you've already gotten a taste of the deliciously wicked imagination contained within.

Well, hold on to your seats because you ain't seen nothin' yet!

This collection of 25 short stories (written for adults) spans his career up to 1986 and contains some of the most tantalizingly evil ideas I have read in a long time. What fun it was to visit this mind in all its incarnations. From a seemingly sweet landlady, to a seemingly benevolent preacher, to a seemingly innocuous wager. That is the pattern. Things are not what they seem and Dahl makes sure to throw in a one-two punch of surprises within.

To use a Hollywoodism, I would say this is like O. Henry crossed with Stephen King. So, if you like your short stories with pepper, you can do no better than to visit the twisted world of Roald Dahl.