Boy: Tales of Childhood
by Roald Dahl
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 3209)
Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Both children and adults
My interest in reading this novel was stimulated a few weeks ago when I visited some friends, one of whom over the course of the evening dug up his collection of Roald Dahl books and proceeded to reintroduce us the magic we had near forgetten we had experienced as children in reading them.
I have always loved the sheer dottiness of the tales of Roald Dahl - the horrid nature of the some of his adult characters and the heroic nature of his young but strong willed main characters.
What I l...more
I have always loved the sheer dottiness of the tales of Roald Dahl - the horrid nature of the some of his adult characters and the heroic nature of his young but strong willed main characters.
What I l...more
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Read in April, 2007
The view inside Roald Dahl’s memories is a great one, full of vibrant descriptions and just enough humor to satisfy. Actually, I find it very hard to find something to criticize with Dahl. The stories are just as entertaining as his fiction, and have that added bonus of being true. A YA reader who has not experienced much non-fiction might be pleasantly surprised to find that the truth doesn’t have to be dull (which was my assumption as a YA—probably because of school books!).
I loved ...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Young Teens
You might think that autobiographies are boring. I mean, who wants to read a book about a person blabbing on and on about their life. Not me. But this book is different. Although it is an autobiography, this book is very funny and emotional. Roald Dahl shares his happiness and hardships with you.
“In 1920, when I was still only three, my mother’s eldest child, my own sister Astri died from Appendicitis. She was seven years old when she died, which was also the age of my own eldest daught...more
“In 1920, when I was still only three, my mother’s eldest child, my own sister Astri died from Appendicitis. She was seven years old when she died, which was also the age of my own eldest daught...more
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Read in December, 2007
I have just finished reading a book from an old favorite author of mine as a child, Roald Dahl. This book was an enchantingly wonderful story of a Roald Dhal as a "Boy." he talks of his best friends and describes all the adventures they went on together. I enjoyed most of all when the author writes about how everyday he adn his friends would gather up thier coins to go buy "Licorice bootlaces, raspberry sucker and gobstoppers." As I read through these pages i would find mysel...more
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recommends it for:
Anyone who loves Roald Dahl, memoirs, or laughing
In true Roald Dahl style this memoir is side-splittingly hilarious and irreverent. My favorite Roald Dahl quote sums it all up:
"Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl
No one reading this memoir could think that Dahl did not find magic in every nook and cranny of his childhood. Readers will find glimpses of l...more
"Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl
No one reading this memoir could think that Dahl did not find magic in every nook and cranny of his childhood. Readers will find glimpses of l...more
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Read in February, 2008
What a cool little book! This had tales from Dahl's childhood, and several were quite interesting in respect to his classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. While in boarding school, some chocolate company would send samples to the kids to rate the candy. The kids got free candy, the company got consumer research. Score! The other odd story was that his older sister or brother, can't remember which, had to have an appendix removed. Roald's nanny told him that the appendix got inflamed be...more
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Read in January, 2007
Very intriguing and absorbing--I have to say that I have never been a big fan of his children's books---but his two autobios. Boy followed by Going Solo are superb. The stories are chapters from his life during atime that the world was relatively untouched and unexplored, and Roahld is living in exotic places like Africa and witnessing things such as a lion dragging the family cook out in its jaws to the stark realism of a small English schoolboy scaring the hideous sweet shop lady with a school...more
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recommended to Audrey by:
My teacher
recommends it for: Everyone!
recommends it for: Everyone!
I LUV THIS BOOK!
It is so meaningful to look at such a great writer's life and see him write it in a creative and amazing way that will lead u to the next event in a hurr y to find out what happens next!
It is an amaing book told my an amazing person! Sadly Roald Dahl is now dead but we have this amazing book to tel us baout his life. All people young and old should read this book and it has great sentimental value to me and i'm sure other people, i wrote a book report on this book and i dug d...more
It is so meaningful to look at such a great writer's life and see him write it in a creative and amazing way that will lead u to the next event in a hurr y to find out what happens next!
It is an amaing book told my an amazing person! Sadly Roald Dahl is now dead but we have this amazing book to tel us baout his life. All people young and old should read this book and it has great sentimental value to me and i'm sure other people, i wrote a book report on this book and i dug d...more
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Read in October, 2007
Roald Dahl has such an easiness in his writing. It makes for pleasurable reading. It also makes me wish that I could be a writer some day. Even though he's best known for his children's stories, I've been discovering that I enjoy his non-fiction works as much, if not more.
Boy was a wonderful memoir of childhood. It made me think about my own childhood a bit. At first I was envious that I hadn't done anything nearly as exciting--but then I realized that a lot of what was interesting was the ...more
Boy was a wonderful memoir of childhood. It made me think about my own childhood a bit. At first I was envious that I hadn't done anything nearly as exciting--but then I realized that a lot of what was interesting was the ...more
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Read in June, 2008
this book is good. Dahl talks about growing up throguh world war II, and even being in it with his fellow soilders. Throughout the book he talks about his life, starting from a young "boy" to the days he went through in war. He also adds a little bit of humor to it, in which i enjoyed. I can connect this to our current unit in global literature because we are talking about Nazi Germany and the holocaust. Dahl delivers a great memior where he is able to show how the soilders he fought w...more
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Boy Tales of Childhood was one of the most interesting novels in my time. It is about a boy growing up away from home and him telling his stories about his life. I know it sounds incredibally boring but dont be fooled. It shows that being far from your home can lead to independence. i liked it because it showed me that i could be independent just like him. It was a book that brought you through many colorful adventures. It almost felt like you were right there next to the character. I strongly ...more
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Read in January, 2007
Dahl's great talent somehow makes tales of childhood fear, mischief and loneliness into the most engaging kind of wicked fun. From the promised land of sweet shops to the uncharted territory of boarding school, the memoir is breezy and quick, never settling too long on anything, certainly alluding to the heartache but never allowing it to sink in. It's only after reading that you realize the extent of what happened to Dahl in his youth, and even then, all you really want is to go back and read i...more
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I enjoyed reading this book because there were some connections I had with the protagonist. Throughout the book, it talked about his childhood experiences. It started with a young age to the age that he is now which is 21. My favorite story of his was when he was about 12 years old because he put a dead mouse on his teacher's candy jar. It was my favorite because i thought it was funny and made me realize that the protagonist had a lot of interesting experiences when he was young.
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Read in November, 2007
I was given this book by a friend, after we discovered both
had a love for Dahl. She gave it to me at work and within a few hours I was hooked. It is not that the writing is so intense or
creatively wordy. Instead it just gave me a kick to think of Roald's life and stories and at time made me think how I came to have the imagination I have today.
This is a very good book for any Dahl fans. Easy to read, series of shorts.
This rating is:
Just will make you feel happy.
had a love for Dahl. She gave it to me at work and within a few hours I was hooked. It is not that the writing is so intense or
creatively wordy. Instead it just gave me a kick to think of Roald's life and stories and at time made me think how I came to have the imagination I have today.
This is a very good book for any Dahl fans. Easy to read, series of shorts.
This rating is:
Just will make you feel happy.
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This book is so fun, if for nothing else but for the preface. "This is not an autobiography." I heart Roald.
It's great to read about the childhood of such a wonderfully imaginative author, to see where he might have gotten some of his ideas. It makes all of his books even more fun, makes Roald even more endearing, and it also makes the reader think that he/she might be able to tap into their own creativity from stories from their past. I wish to write like Roald.
It's great to read about the childhood of such a wonderfully imaginative author, to see where he might have gotten some of his ideas. It makes all of his books even more fun, makes Roald even more endearing, and it also makes the reader think that he/she might be able to tap into their own creativity from stories from their past. I wish to write like Roald.
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Read in June, 2008
This is the autobiographical account of Roald Dahl's childhood. And although it appears to be a children's book, I'm not sure I would really recommend it to children. There are some pretty graphic descriptions of some surgeries done without anesthesia (Yikes!!!) that I think could be disturbing to some kids. I found it a bit disturbing (can't think about it too much)! But there are some great stories, told in classic Roald Dahl style. Pretty fun stuff.
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I love Roald Dahl. When I was struggling to find "boy" books for my son anything Roald Dahl wrote was a sure win for him. I have been wanting to read this autobiography for awhile. I laughed and was entrigued with the traditional English boarding school scenario and the similarities with some of the Harry Potter themes. (did J.K. Rowling attend English boarding school in the early 1900's?) It was fun to see where he came up with some of his ideas.
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I found this book because there's this show where they talk about Roald on UEN or PBS or something like that. Anyway, I realized that there were a lot of books I hadn't read by Roald, so I decided it was time to. This one was available at the library, and I throughly enjoyed it. He says it's not a biography, but it's the best biography I've ever read. I don't usually like history or biography, so it must be good if I enjoyed it!
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Read in January, 2000
recommends it for:
all roald dahl fans
This book had a tremendous impact on me as a child. Roald Dahl was my all-time favorite author then (and still ranks on my top 5 list), so I was thrilled to find an autobiography of his. (His other, Going Solo, relates primarily his early adulthood.) He had a fascinating (far from warm & fuzzy) childhood, which is the focus of Boy. The anecdotes will make you laugh hysterically and wince in pain. It's a fabulous ride.
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Read in January, 2005
Well, I absolutely love this book, it's funny and quirky and weird and awesome. Probably the best autobiography-not-a-autobiography i've ever read. And it's quick. HOWEVER, I know that Dahl was an unrepentant anti-semitic jerkwad and that just makes me sad...I don't know if this diminishes the value of the work to me but it definitely taints it. I DUNNO. Racist a-holes who are good with words. Discuss.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.06 (2926 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.06 (2433 ratings) number of reviews: 182popular shelves
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"We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine."
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