Boy by Roald Dahl Children Book Review

By Xuan Chau, a fine pianist

As another Roald Dahl book explains, a boy’s imagination seems to prevail over many who read it. “Boy” is one of the many popular novels written by Roald Dahl. It tells the story of Roald Dahl's childhood, with his friend’s Thwaites, and Daniel. It was a very eventful period of his life. He centers on his education, where he voices his anger at the use of cruel punishments like caning in the UK at the time. He tells many amusing stories of his childhood and teenage years, but there are some sad and dramatic ones as well. “Some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant.” he says.

Roald Dahl writes about his childhood adventures, from his parents' first engagement, to his first dentist’s appointment. He talks about the events that he remembered, not just by style, but by greatness, unjustness, and difficult situations. His mom was a very enthusiastic and courageous woman. Roald Dahl begins with his parents' histories, then his own birth, and through the time he graduated from high school and got a job with Shell Oil. Roald Dahl was a very mischievous child. He seemed to be different from the others as he explains. Even though he never seemed to get things the way he wanted, his screw-ups were extremely entertaining.

Even at age 13 Roald was far from being right-minded. He was always impenetrable when it came to things he hated, he was essential, and often his stubbornness resulted in punishment and indifference. During his early years, he decided it wasn’t really him, and as his awareness grew, so did his self esteem. Seeing how much he did to the world, he grew, and started to do good deeds, he became athletic, and he acquired an acute sense of humor. The author of “boy” explains his childhood in a funny, yet serious way. Roald Dahl also tries to summarize his stories with events the reader might have experienced in his or her life. This makes this book a very touching novel.

A very enjoyable book, although the beginning seems to talk only about his family, he later tells of very entertaining stories he and his friends have. An interesting story like this would impress anyone, even those who never read autobiographies. This book is 160 pages long, packed with influencing stories. “Boy” is truly an excellent story for young adults. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.