I loved Roald Dahl as a kid, and I love him as an adult. I keep saying I am going to re-read all of his books, read his short stories for adults, and try to get my hands on his screenplays, but that project has been in the works for a couple years now, so we’ll see. I have recently re-read Matilda, accompanied with watching the movie (which my son became addicted to!) and seeing the musical, so that was a good start.
The Witches was a nice follow-up, because I only read this book once as a child. I love Roald Dahl’s writing because of how the silliness is presented with a straight face, so it’s fun to try and decide what was off-the-wall, and what’s true. (As a child, it can be hard to find that line sometimes…)
Though I’d only read the book once, as soon as I cracked the cover, I could remember it so vividly. I think Quentin Blake’s illustrations really helped that matter, because he has such a distinct style that fits perfectly with Dahl’s stories. I couldn’t remember the climax or the resolution, though, so it was really fun to re-read this book and not know the outcome!
This book was banned by some libraries because of perceived misogyny - witches can only be women, and witches are horrible, so women are horrible, right? I think this is a pretty crazy reason to ban a book, do you agree?
