The Vicar of Nibbleswicke [Hardcover]

Roald Dahl (Author), Quentin Blake (Illustrator)

Book Description

One of the legendary storyteller's last projects, written for The Dyslexia Institute, portrays the hilarious plight of the Vicar of Nibbleswicke when a strain of his childhood disorder returns and he begins to thank Dog and praise the Drol.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Imagine what would happen if a nervous young parson were re-afflicted with a peculiar strain of his childhood dyslexia, so that he unknowingly pronounced backwards only the most significant word in every sentence. In the fiendish hands of Roald Dahl, the parishioners must not only suffer the offense of praising Dog, but when the unsuspecting vicar attempts to compliment a group of little old ladies on the fact that each of them knits , his actual words incite chaos. Written for the benefit of the Dyslexia Institute in London, this slight book employs a host of jocular (though sometimes vulgar) malaprops to accentuate the beleaguered parson's condition. Blake's daffy illustrations have long captured the outrageous humor of Dahl's text, and this collaboration proves no exception. Of special interest is the illustrator's touching tribute at the end of the book, both to the late author's talent and to his "passionate belief in the importance of reading," which inspired this, his last book. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

The nervous new vicar's youthful dyslexia suddenly resurfaces in an odd form: Certain words come out of his mouth reversed. Thus, advising a group of first communicants on how to accept the wine, he cries, ``You must never plug it...What you must do is pis. Pis gently.'' After a stream of similar incidents, the vicar sees a doctor who reassures him (``Back-to- Front Dyslexia. It is very common among tortoises...'') and prescribes a simple cure: walk backwards. And so the vicar does, through a long and happy career. Dahl wrote this story (and auctioned the rights) to benefit the Dyslexia Institute; the book is slim but handsomely designed, with a series of cheery pictorial vignettes and a brief tribute to the late author from his frequent collaborator, one of Britain's leading comic illustrators. Just a dram of Dahl, but vintage. (Fiction. 9-12 & adult) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1ST edition (March 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670843849
• ISBN-13: 978-0670843848
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hillarious!, December 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (Paperback)

This is one of the funniest books ever. It is very short, but is so funny I garentee that you will love it. When I read the part when the Vicar when the vicar says My dear woman:never plug the glass! You must pis. Pis pis pis. Pis gently as you walk along the rail," I laughed out loud in class really loudly and I couldn't stop. This book will have you laughing so hard at some parts in the book that you will fall over in your seat at the charm and pure pleasure of reading The vicar of nibbleswicke.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Roald Dahl's works always defy imagination!, December 20, 2000

By 

Katie Flansburg "Katie" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (Paperback)

I picked up the Vicar of Nibbleswick when I was 19, delighted that I had found a Roald Dahl book that I had never read before. This is a very fun book _for anyone_! If you have children or teach, this is a wonderful way to make reading pure fun. The book is not long, packed with humor, and tells a thoroughly silly tale. Also, considering the book is all about a dyslexic vicar, it is a wonderful book to share with a dyslexic child, not to mention any classroom with a dyslexic child in it. Roald Dahl has a way of making the fantastic part of children's lives. For your children or classroom, I also highly recommend the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) and Matilda, both by Roald Dahl and both as creative and imaginative as can be.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and silly!, October 3, 2006

By 

Hedera Femme (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (Paperback)

This is a short but sweet story of a dyslexic vicar called Robert Lee that joins his first parish. He is nervous about his first day, as the previous vicar died and never got to show him the ropes; so nervous is Lee that he develops a new spin-off disease of dyslexia where he says words backwards. Word games being fun on their own, Dahl adds his usual flare for borderline adult humor. (One scenario has him addressing the parish to tell them that while the roads may be long and with few stops, that people in town should not just "krap" on the side of the road as they please; there's also one on the proper amount of wine to take during the communion, to which he answers along the lines of "pis" slowly and gently and you'll have no problems of running out. Finding the naughty jokes was incredible fun, and the lighthearted approach to solving the vicar's problem by walking backwards so the words come out frontwards is charming. Fun!