A Great Read

Roald Dahl is generally best known for his brilliant children’s stories, such as James and the Giant Peach or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. However, his Best of Roald Dahl stories are anything but kid friendly.
When I purchased this book, it was my intention to keep it until it was read for my college literature class and then was to be sold back to the book store. This book certainly does not fall anywhere near the same classification as Dahl’s other books. This book is a compilation of many of Dahl’s not so well known stories but are still to be considered some of his best. After you read, you will understand why. Death is the main theme of this book with several underlying themes. It was told to me that every author is trying to teach us something, and while what Dahl is teaching is not anything new, it certainly sheds a different light on how we view various things in ours and others lives. My favorite story in this book is The Way Up To Heaven, which truly shows us that you never really know a person.

The only downfall to this book is that if you have a queasy stomach and an active imagination, you probably should not be reading this. Some of the stories can leave disturbing images in your head and can really make your stomach churn.
All in all, this is a brilliantly written book. It makes you think and will leave you wanting more! This is one book I did not sell back to the book store at the end of the semester!