Take a pinch of unease. Stir it into a large dollop of the macabre, add a generous helping of dark and stylish wit, garnish with the bizarre and what do you have? Roald Dahl at his brilliant, hypnotizing best, cooking up some of the most unusual stories ever told. Here in one volume are "Tales of the Unexpected and More Tales of the Unexpected", making this a superb compendium of vengeance, surprise and dark delight.
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About the Author
From the publication of James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the 1960s to his death in 1990, Roald Dahl became the most successful children's author in the world. Nearly twenty years later, a fresh generation of children seek out his work with instinctive fanaticism. His creations endure - through Hollywood movies, theatre adaptations and musical works, but still most potently of all through the pure magic of his writing upon the page.
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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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and thought-provoking tales,
By Stranger (Spain) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Completely Unexpected Tales (Paperback)
Widely regarded as an author of children's books, the truth is that Welsh writer Roald Dahl shows himself in this collection as one of the best short story authors in the twentieth century. His acerbic, weird and sometimes cruel adult-oriented fictions are compellingly written and leave the reader guessing the conclusion of the story until the very end.Dahl's narratives featured in this volume share one aspect in common, the use of the so-called "twisted ending", a technique first employed with very satisfactory results by Ambrose Bierce and then overused by a popular writer like O. Henry. These kind of surprise endings cause the reader to change his perception about the story he's just read, even encouraging him to read it again (one of the biggest accomplishments that a writer can achieve). The story that opens the book ("Taste") is unarguably a masterpiece. The sinister undertone, the narrative pace, the suspense, the almost sickening attention to the details in the manners and gestures of the characters, makes it a very intense piece of fiction that will make you stand on your toes until you've finished it. Other few good examples of Dahl's literary talent are "Lamb to the Slaughter", a cynical story about disappointment, murder and deceit, or "Man of the South", perhaps the most famous tale by Dahl (adapted to the screen more than once). "Skin" is another great fiction about a man with the most valuable back available. I think that this tale in particular draws heavily from a story written by SAKI (Dahl loved his work and it's easy to see why) called "The Background" (in which a very similar character is described). "Nunc Dimittis" tells us about the Machiavellian revenge of a man with hurted feelings against a woman who has dared to say he was `boring' and `predictable'. The story is superbly written and executed. The ending is one the best. "Mrs. Bixley and the Colonel's Coat" ranks also as one of his most hilarious tales. It is an excellent comment on materialism and the hypocrisy with regard to marital infidelity. One of my favourites. "Parson's Pleasure" is another gem. Dahl is not always equally successful with his stories, but as a whole, it is worth reading. Perhaps one of the last geniuses of the short story form. Very interesting. He's an antidote against so much bad prose out there... Personally, I had never read anything by this author before and this book has been a great introduction to his narrative. Terror, suspense, satire, fantasy, all these genres intermingle together in this anthology. I strongly recommend it. I'm looking forward for more.
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