The Witches
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My first book for RIP..
The Witches by Roald Dahl.
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux(August 27, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0374384592
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From ERICA JONG'S review in THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW:
“ ‘The Witches’ is a heroic tale. A schoolboy is transformed into a tiny mouse (with, however, the mind and language of a very bright child), and through his extraordinary bravery, he manages to save all the children of England from the same fate. Under the surface of this deceptively simple tale, which whizzes along and is great fun to read, lurks an interesting metaphor. This is the equation of childhood with mousedom. A child may be smaller than all the witchy, horrifying adults, but he can certainly outwit them. He is tiny and crushable, but he is also fast and well-nigh invisible. With the assistance of his benevolent Grandmamma (who hoists him up to things he can’t reach, secretes him in her handbag, feeds and cuddles him), he is able to outsmart nearly the whole adult world . . . The boy doesn’t mind being a mouse, he says, because ‘It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like so long as somebody loves you.’ And, indeed, the hero of this tale is loved. Whether as a boy or a mouse, he experiences the most extraordinary and unqualified approval from his grandmother—the sort of unconditional love adults and children alike crave.”
Well … it would seem that the review above says it all!
Roald Dahl has written many books for children and I have yet to find a “bad one”. When my children were very young I remember reading out loud to them James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. .. and here I am at 70 reading yet another of his children's books!
The book was given to me by my “adopted son”, Chris long ago..I knew I’d read it one day for RIP… I finally read it Chris!!!
Now I think I should read something a bit more adult-ish for RIP ! But, this is certainly a good book to read out loud to young children!
(oh, and if you want something really, really, really RIP-ish, and if you haven’t read it already, I recommend The Thirtheenth Tale!)
posted by DesLily | 8:05 AM
6 Comments:
I haven't read this but have seen the film. If I want to read it I could borrow it from my grandson. I filch books off my grand-daughter but haven't started on my little grandson yet! It's time... LOL!
I read this one to the boys several years back, and oh my, did we all enjoy it!
I read this one to the boys several years back, and oh my, did we all enjoy it!
I haven't read The Witches in years but this year I did reread The BFG and loved it, so I might pick The Witches up as well.
My favourite Roald Dahl book was always Danny Champion of the World, I almost don't want to revisit that because I have such fond memories of it.
Totally agree that The Thirteenth Tale is a great book and would make a perfect R.I.P. read! I remember being genuinely frightened by The Witches when I read it as a kid…maybe I should try it again now!
What a treasure of a story! I have not read the book, but saw the film adaptation, which I adored! What a great way to start out with RIP IX!
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