My Uncle Oswald (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I am beginning, once again, to have an urge to salute my Uncle Oswald..." (more)
Key Phrases: sperm vault, fifty straws, beetle powder, Blister Beetle, Sir Charles, Monsieur Proust (more...)

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.

Product Description

Uncle Oswald, the great rogue and fornicator, has discovered the world's most powerful aphrodisiac and a method of quick-freezing sperm. So with the help of the gorgeous Yasmin Howcomely, he sets out to preserve 51 living geniuses and crowned heads, from James Joyce to King Albert and Henry Ford.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (May 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140055770
• ISBN-13: 978-0140055771
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,841 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Huibert Jonkers (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Dennis R. Mitton "tolstoy" (pacific nw, usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.