My Uncle Oswald [Mass Market Paperback]

Roald Dahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Roald Dahl's first-ever novel presents the scurrilous memoirs of that delightful old reprobate from "Switch Bitch", Oswald Hendryks Cornelius - connoisseur, bon vivant, collector of spiders, scorpions, odd walking sticks, lover of opera, expert on Chinese porcelain, and without doubt the greatest fornicator of all time. In this delightful picaresque story, it is revealed how Uncle Oswald first achieved great wealth - all thanks to the Sundance blister beetle, which when ground to powder has the most electrifying aphrodisiac qualities. It is 1919 - armed with the powder and aided by the beautiful amoral Yasmin how comely, Oswald begins an audacious commercial enterprise which involves seducing the most famous men in Europe - from crowded heads to Bernard Shaw and Marcel Proust.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The nameless narrator has revealed snippets of the lovable, lascivious Uncle Oswald's life in other collections, but this is the only novel--brief though it is--dedicated solely to the diaries of "the greatest fornicator of all time." Inspired by stories of the aphrodisiac powers of the Sudanese blister beetle, the palpable seductiveness of the lovely Yasmin Howcomely, and the scientific know-how of Professor A. R. Woresley, Uncle Oswald anticipates the concept of the Nobel sperm bank by some 40 years, flimflamming crowned heads, great artists, and eccentric geniuses into making "donations." The life of a commercial sperm broker has a few surprises even for a sophisticated bon vivant, and Dahl manages his signature sting-in-the-tail ending even in one of his lightest comic works.

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.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140055770
• ISBN-13: 978-0140055771
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,629 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

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick witted, quick read, April 9, 2002

By 

A. Whitney (Silicon Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Uncle Oswald (Mass Market Paperback)

Roald Dahl is one of the most compelling yet unpretentious writers I have ever read. He is infinitely clever and can master children's books, short stories and erotic novellas. This book is a great example of how crafty he can be with adult subject matter. This is not a book for children, as it deals with sexual matters throughout.

"My Uncle Oswald" is a rollicking story of how a shrewd businessman made his fortune off of powerful men and their enflamed sexual desires. The female character of the beautiful Yasmin Howcomely is a great example of an intelligent and self-aware lady who uses her brains and looks to get somewhere. The book is pure comedy from beginning to end and highlights how Dahl can make any subject funny. If you have enjoyed his short stories, you'll enjoy this short book.

If you aren't prudish, love witty yet accessible writing and have a few spare hours on your hands, you'll love this book. It is short enough for a cross-country flight or a few nights pre-bedtime reading.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delighting, funny, totally weird story, February 5, 2004

By 

hjonkers (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Uncle Oswald (Mass Market Paperback)

Those who only knew Dahl as a writer of funny short stories and haunting children's books, should look here. This is one of his more lengthy stories, although it doesn't have much more than 200 pages. His witty and capricious style hasn't changed either: this is a book as funny as you'll seldom read them. It's not for the young ones though, chiefly because of its main subject: sex. It's not quite of the sort you meet in most books, though: the story is rather a caricature of all existing sexual paradigms. The story's main person, Oswald Cornelius (who is called `uncle' because the whole story is quoted from his `diaries' by a nephew), is, according to Dahl, "the greatest rogue, bounder, connoisseur, bon vivant and fornicator of all time". He seems to get every lady, not regarding age or whatever else, into bed with utmost ease. This gentleman comes across a lot of absolutely ridiculous adventures that are all described in this wicked book.

This story takes place around 1912, when Oswald is barely seventeen. In spite of his young age, he is already a great diplomat and communicator. When he hears about a mysterious African beetle that, when stamped to powder, highly increases a man's potency, he's the first to go on expedition to Africa and get hold of some of these beetles. He accomplishes his mission and gets back to Europe where he sells his `high-potency pills' at exorbitant prices to noble people from all over the world. But then he realizes there's much more (money) to get. Oswald then develops an ultimately ridiculous plan. Take a look at the cover if you're curious about it, I'd say. Anyway, to execute this plan he needs help. He picks out two people as his sidekicks: a chemist called A.R. Woresley and his schoolmate Yasmin Howcomely, "a girl absolutely soaked in sex" as Dahl describes it. And off they go on their mission...

While Oswald is presented as a great bon vivant in the beginning, I have to say that his person changes significantly during the story. At the outset he's an audacious boy who fears nobody and even dares to challenge older ladies, but during the second part of the story Oswald is mainly a witness of Yasmin's actions. He has become a businessman who lets others do the work for him. And as with real businessmen, not everything goes as planned... But in the end any kind of character development doesn't matter all that much, for this novel is just a very humorous story that made me laugh as I'd seldom had before with any book. The way Dahl tackles the subject is simply incredibly funny. You're really in for a (hopefully positive) shock if you haven't read anything like this before. I can absolutely recommend this book for anyone who likes a very lucid and deliciously weird story.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great entertainment, December 18, 2005

By 

Dennis R. Mitton "tolstoy" (Eastern Washington, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Uncle Oswald (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading and rereading Dahl's `children's' stories (which I have always maintained are really stories for grown-ups) to my kids I found "My Uncle Oswald" one day and read it straight though. This is a fantastically entertaining book that rather surprised me in the same way that finding a "Mr. Roger's Teaches about Tantric Sex" book would.

The writing is quick paced and very readable and there's more than a little bit of social commentary underlying the plot. Like most of his books this one is fairly short with a good bit of sarcasm tossed in. And, like in most of his books, the grown-ups are still dolts and buffoons who only think they're in control.

A really good read - will keep you laughing for a long time.