Customer Reviews

Boy: Tales of Childhood

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm a Dahl fan, a writer for both adults and children. I think the key to his success as writer for children is that he doesn't think children are stupid or don't understand what they see. From my own experience, and now as a father, I know that children see, hear, think and make conclusions with their experiences.

This book is a collection of sketches of Dahl's school years. It makes you understand many of the stories that appear in his books: he was born in a well-to-do family, and enjoyed always a high living standard even in the depression years. He attended exclusive british public schools, etc. Then he found a good job at BP.

The book is full of family love, anecdotes about a child's view point (adenoidectomy, the mouse plot, etc) which will make you smile or even laugh aloud. Some of those, together with the fact that his mother saved all his letters and family fotos and mementoes, which sprinkle the book, makes it a delightful read.

It's true that some of the chapters are sombre, because for us it's shocking to know that children were so abused (beaten with a cane and deprived of affection, or bullied by older thugs who made them fag), but Dahl succeeds in making us loathe that supposedly elitistic education system. He doesn't make it sound as "the good old days, they had some bad things but not all..." In that sense, it's much better than "Tom Brown Shooldays" or Kipling's "Stalky and Co".

But all in all, he brings us the sense of a fantastic childhood, surrounded by family love, affection, and well being. I grew up in a partly similar context (the lack of affection in education, but not the beatings or the comfort)and it serves me to try to be a better father, more intent into giving my children nice emotional and intelectual experiences.

Enjoy!

This is a great book. The words that Roald Dahl wrote made such a lasting impression that I can't even use MY words to describe it. I got it at a yardsale for free...it was in the quarter box, but the man selling everything let me have it for free....I've read it over and over again and it never gets old. It's so wonderful that I'd recommend it to a 9 year old because of all of the adventures Dahl describes from when he was a child and I'd recommend it to a 99 year old because of the memories he dwells on from the early 1900s. It's one of the best books I've read, I just wish it wasn't so short. Please read it!

I liked this book because I think he had a lot of adventures going to boarding school. My favorite part is when Roald Dahl put a dead rat in a candy jar at the candy store. His favorite candies were licorice bootlaces and gobstoppers.

This piece of work by the classic children's author, Roald Dahl, is wonderful. It tells stories of young Dahl's life in boarding schools, summers on islands in Norway, and other adventures. Often, these stories are very humorous, and very interesting. But, sometimes, it's just plain shocking and unbelievable. Especially, when he gets to talking about his Headmasters and "Masters" (teachers) at his schools. I recommend this book to any real Roald Dahl fan. You'll not regret reading it.

This book was a very interesting read. It progressed very well for a book that is not much more than a compilation of anecdotes. Roald Dahl has a very descriptive writing voice, whether he's describing the incredible beauty of Norway (the site of his summer vacations from when he was four until he was seventeen), or the several incidents when he was caned by the headmasters of his present school (the sound is comparable to a pistol being fired, and the pain is like being branded by a red hot poker). Some of the descriptions are a bit too gruesome or disgusting, for example when he vividly describes how his nose was about to fall off after he was in a car accident, or when he describes the malicious Mrs. Pratchett (the owner of the sweetshop in Dahl's home town) and how grimy and disgusting her clothes and hands were. The book describes a time back when there were no computers or televisions, and when someone wanted diversion, they went outside to look for it, instead of sitting down in a chair or couch and waiting to be entertained by a box. This fact contributed to the overall authenticity of the book, it took you back to when you had to make your own adventures, an era that sounded like one of the most interesting to be a kid in, and since that is unfortunately not possible for me, the next best thing it is to read this book, which I personally recommend to people of all ages.

BOY was a good read because I never got bored with reading it. Scenes such as the adenoid removal, his sister's operation when the Boy smelled the sweet smell of the chloroform, the mouse in the candy jar, the goat droppings in the pipe, the canings, were all full of detail and interest. I didn't expect Dahl to have such vivid, sour memories of his childhood. He suffered beatings and pain at his boarding schools, and this must have had a huge effect on his life or he wouldn't have mentioned the canings in such detail. The headmasters were mean old farts, who seemed to enjoy beating boys; they would smile and laugh and take their time about the punishment, most of which ended in a caning. Some parents might not like their children reading this book because of some of the gruesome scenes, which might affect their children's mental state. But it's the truth, and the truth hurts sometimes. Dahl makes fun of everything, especially stupid old adults, who cause all the problems in the world.

Recently, my second grader had a school project, "All about me" which is a collage of who they are. She breezed thru all the usuals, "favorite food," "favorite subjects" etc., when it came to favorite book, I thought she'd pick something more recent like "A Christmas Carol" or one of Cam Jansen or Junie B. Jones, but with endearment in her eyes, she wrote "Boy" by Roald Dahl. I was quite surprise because she read this in first grade. In fact I read two chapters ahead of her so I would be able to explain anything that she didn't understand. I love the book, myself. I think it is told in a frank and sincere manner, without trying too hard to be nostalgic or sugary. I do think at times that Dahl can be very matter of fact about all the sad things that happened in his life, the death of his little sister, the death of his father, and also the realization that god and religion isn't what it's all cracked up to be, which ironic because he was educated in expensive religious institutions. You will find this in the later part of this book, when one day he was watching the news and saw the old, sadistic school master being crowned by the queen as the new Archbishop of Canterberry. Also, I had to explain what corporal punishment is and how it isn't used anymore and why children in olden days were being sent to live away from home in order to go to school. It also gave my six year old a chance to use her imagination on what's it like growing up in a different time in a different place. Ofcourse her favorite part is the dead mouse in the candy jar and all the really funny illustrations of Quentin Blake. If you have an older child, you could probably let her/him read this book alone, but if your child is between 5-7 years of age, it is best if you read a few chapters ahead, like I did so you can help them understand some of the more perplexing and strange parts about growing up A la Roald Dahl. Enjoy.

It takes no dummy to realize that Roald Dahl is a writer of some significant talent, whether he's writing horror for adults or playful fantasy for the smallest of children. Those familiar with his works also know that all his writing reflects the experiences, characters, and Britain (and colonies) of his childhood -- thus even the most odd of stories, say, The Enormous Crocodile or The Fantastic Mr. Fox could rightly be called "autobiographical" in a larger sense of mood and atmosphere.

Yes, Boy, one of two supposed straightforward no-fictionizing-or-melodrama books in the Dahl collection, contains some exquisite stories within its pages -- most notably those which deal with the most vivid childhood events and places, such as schools (both Prep and Local) and early motorcar experiences. But the text that connects these stories seems forced. The book starts slow, with a style far from the "event narrative" of later chapters, making those chapters jarring when they first arrive; most notably, the ending of the narrative trails off at the end of the book as if there were no real story other than filler to get one from Boy to his second autobiography Going Solo. Worse, the best bits have already been recycled; it is clear that we have read some of these stories before, in a far better form, in Dahl's fiction. I'd borrow these from the library if you're a true Dalh-o-phile...but stick with The Witches (look! It's Dahl's grandmother!) or Danny The Champion of the World (look! It's the father Dahl always wanted!) or Henry Sugar if you want to read Dahl at his young adult, "autobiographical" best.

This was a great book! It shared expierences of Dahl's when he was a boy, in a funny way, but of course, they were all true. Some of them will make you cry, but most will make you laugh your head off!!

Roald Dahl did it again! In this new fascinating story he tells the tale of his funny and adventurous childhood of growing up as a boy in England. In "The Great Mouse Plot of 1924," Roald knows a pesky old woman that works in a candy shop. He and his friends find a dead mouse and decide that they will put it in the Gobstopper Jar. As you can probably guess, eventually she finds the mouse and screams! (After that they got in quite a bit of trouble.)

The hilarious main characters in this book are Roald Dahl, and his friends in all of his plots and messes that they were always up to.

Roald called this book BOY becaouse of the letters that he wrote to his mother,ending with "Love, Boy." The horrid headmasters at his various boarding schools would not allow him to write anything "bad" about the school, otherwise he would get whipped with a cane on the back or the ankles.