Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

If you're looking for a good storyteller, who do you call? Roald Dahl. This guy is a genius! Never once have I not been entertained by his stories. This one in particular, is truly fascinating, as he talks about his life and how it has influenced his stories.

Dahl's life at an English boarding school wasn't a bed of roses. Schoolmates were big bullies, the principal was repulsive (Mind you, he later became the Archbishop of Canterbury. Gasp!). He was abused by his seniors, caned by his seniors AND headmaster, and was ostracised. His mom wasn't aware of all that as his letters to home were monitored and changed. Once he had to fake his sickness, just to be home for a few days!

He also recounts those great moments he spent with his mom and sisters, and oh the prank he played on the sister's boyfriend! Yes, Dahl is one cheeky boy. Not to mention his famous Mouse Plot of 1924! And I really wonder how he survived the 'surgery' that took place when he met with an accident and almost lost his nose. (Note: There were no anesthetics then. **Ouch!!**)

With his vivid descriptions, these fascinating and fiendishly funny stories will definitely put a smile on your face :)

You won't regret reading any of Dahl's stories. I like what they wrote about him here:

Every book of Roald Dahl's was written in a little brick hut in the apple orchard about two hundred yards away from his home. He wrote them all in pencil ("I never could type"), sometimes with an old sleeping bag wrapped around him, since there was only a paraffin stove to heat the drafty hut. "When I am up here," he said, "I see only the paper I am writing on, and my mind is far away with Willy Wonka or James or Mr. Fox or Danny or whatever else I am trying to cook up. The room itself is of no consequence. It is out of focus, a place for dreaming and floating and whistling in the wind."

http://us.macmillan.com/author/roalddahl

Verdict: Thumbs up!