Lately, I've been re-reading Roald Dahl's books.

It'd been a while, and now I'm at an age that I can appreciate them at a writer's level, and not just a reader. They really are written to the highest standard. Not a wasted word, and his dialogue is outstanding. He never once has a character speak unless it's for a reason to drive the plot. I think more writers should do this themselves, AND with their writing I think he's magic.

Currently reading Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and it's a very fast-paced book with some wonderful storytelling.

I've picked up Dahl's two autobiographies: Boy, and Going Solo, and I'm reading the short stories in Switch Bitch, and Someone Like You.

His imagination is wicked, and the stories in Switch Bitch are all very sick and twisted. They were all originally published in Playboy Magazine

Anyone else like him?

Ste

Love him, and I'd give anything (well, almost) for a DVD of Rick Mayal reading George's Marvellous Medicine on Jackanory.

He was also responsible for Tales of the Unexpected, and one of the James Bond films. But The Enormous Crocodile is my favourite!

Colin M

Colin,

I'd give anything (well, almost) for a DVD of Rick Mayal reading George's Marvellous Medicine on Jackanory.

I remember that from when I was a kid. They got complaints, so Mayal read it with even more passion. Classic.

Only Dahl could get away with writing: "George loved aerosols," in George's Marvellous Medicine.

When I was a kid, it took me three days to read past the bit in The Witches where the kid is in the tree and the witch is standing below by the wall. I still get shudders thinking about it. My mum took me to see the film as well. I was so scared I dropped my sandwiches! ( we were too poor to afford popcorn ). lol

One of my favourite memories of my main primary school teacher is having Mr Foster read us Esio Trot - the entire novel over a period of weeks. Talk about magic!

There used to be a Roald Dahl newsletter that went around the schools too, and it was well sad when we found out he'd died.

I remember there was outrage when they handed us out 'Roald Dahl's Guide To Railway Safety', a very sick, but very funny little book on what would happen to us if we stuck our heads out of train windows and stood on live tracks. Gory Quentin Blake illustrations of children's heads popping off and getting electrocuted! That would never be allowed now.

The highlight of being a kid and being subjected to Dahl is when Mr Foster read one of Dahl's adult stories out to us! - I still can't believe he did this - about a group of boys who tie another up to a railway track and leave him to be ran over by a train! We were in suspense the whole time and nearly wet ourselves.

The Dahl Bond film is You Only Live Twice, and is very cool. I love it. Some 'odd' bits in it, and more action in that one than there was in the ones that preceded it. Like when Bond is in the plane and the a piece of wood appears out of nowhere, cuffing his hands while the female pilot jumps out! Crazy. And he wrote the script for Ian Fleming's Chitty, Chitty, Bang Bang, too. The Child-Catcher gave me nightmares for years.

They're supposed to be bringing out Tales From The Unexpected out on DVD - properly this time, all of them.

There was a great documentary on him a few months back. Very moving. When he was in hospital, gravely ill, someone walked in on him standing on a hospital porter's back, leaning out the window so he could have a sly cigarette.

Dahl made writing magic, and I think my exposure to him as a kid has a lot to do with me being a writer.

Oh, and he also invented Gremlins.

Ste

I'd give anything (well, almost) for a DVD of Rick Mayal reading George's Marvellous Medicine on Jackanory.

Ooh, I have such vivid memories of watching that! I loved Roald Dahl and George's Marvellous Medicine and The Twits were my favourites. My abiding memory of George's Marvellous Medicine is that the granny was described as having a mouth like a dog's bum. And for some reason, from the Twits I always remember a moment when Mrs Twit was lying in bed scratching her tummy, and the line "Dirty old hags like that always have itchy bellies". I have no idea why I like that line so much, but it is such an enduring image for me and few other writers have ever had the same effect.

I want to re-read all his books now, but have so many new books to read...

L

Ste
My seven-year-old son is a huge fan and I've had such a great time reading RD to him. I agree with you 100% - it's just fabulous writing. I can thoroughly recommend the BFG read by Geoffrey Palmer on CD - he does the voices brilliantly. I love the fact that it manages to be thrilling, scary, funny and touching all at the same time. A pretty winning mix, I'd say!

Ste

Boy and Going Solo are terrific. I wasa amazed to learn that he was a Spitfire ace. I mean, how cool...?

Pete

Caroline,
The BFG is quite a mix, isn't it. I'd never thought of it like that. His writing is so special. It kind of lives inside all those that read him. One of a kind.

Pete,
One of the best bits of Going Solo are those letters he wrote home. Classic.

Have you read Dahl's short story, 'Beware of the Dog?' supposedly based on something that happned to him!

Ste

<Added>

Sorry, Lianne, I didn't see you there. His descriptions are great. I remember reading a quote where he said he always made the adults in his stories memorable by exaggerating them all out of proportion.

The lip thing - he was obsessed with lips, and one of his stories goes into extreme detail about people's lips! Well funny.

Ste