Roald Dahl, you’ve done it again. You’ve written a book just strange enough that children don’t seem to notice, but adults are left thinking, “What in the world?”
And I don’t want to give the impression that I believe the book is bad. It’s a well-written book that many people consider to be a classic. My wife, for example, has said that Matilda is her favorite book written by Roald Dahl.
However, my wife grew up reading Matilda. I didn’t.
This was my first time reading this book, and, let me tell you…I have questions.
First off, who hurt you, Roald Dahl?
The majority (read: all but one) of the adults in Matilda are terribly cruel. There is far too much yelling and name calling. They’re mean to the children, and while it may go unnoticed by the children reading the book, I did not enjoy the way I felt reading it.
When Matilda is off on her own, she’s extremely cute. I enjoyed reading about her as a 4-year-old girl going to the library to read any book she could get her hands on. She’s smart. She’s fun.
She’s abused…
But let’s take the cruelty out for a second and talk about the rest.
It’s enjoyable and fun for a while. Then all of a sudden, with maybe a quarter of the book left, Dahl starts introducing various plotlines that deserve a lot more time to explore.
As more plotlines were being introduced, I kept looking at the dwindling number of pages I had left and would think, “How is this possibly going to wrap up?”
And did it all wrap up?
Not really. There was a whirlwind of activity, and then *boom*
The end.
Denver Nay Blogs 