The Boy Who Talked with Animals - 3/5
The Hitch-Hiker - 3/5
The Mildenhall Treasure - 2/5
The Swan - 1/5
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - 2/5
Lucky Break (non-fictional) - 5/5
A Piece of Cake - 5/5 ( )

This is the last of the Roald Dahl books that I’ll be reviewing for a while, as I’ve moved on to reading some other things, but I really did enjoy this book so let’s get to it!
There are only seven stories in this collection, but each one has a gravitas to it that I really enjoyed. They’re not really related to each other, not like in Switch Bitch where you have all four stories related to sex. In this one, the stories vary in topic but not really in style. Since there’s so few stories I can actually take the opportunity to talk about each of them in a little bit of detail.
‘The Boy who Talked With Animals’ is a story about a man vacationing in Jamaica who, while relaxing on the beach, encounters a group of fisherman corralling in a large beautiful turtle who is about to be cooked for the hotel’s supper that evening. While guests rejoice over the delicious meal they’re going to have, a young boy runs onto the beach and demands that they release the turtle. He makes quite a scene and in that moment, the narrator realizes that the young boy can actually communicate with animals. The story ends with the young boy disappearing and running away to swim with the turtles, and never being heard from again.
‘The Hitch-Hiker’ tells the story of a writer driving into London who picks up a hitchhiker on his way who turns out to be one of the most fascinating people he’s ever met. As they chat, the driver learns more about the hitchhiker and his job, and after being stopped by a police officer for speeding, they actually come out on top due to the hitchhiker’s amazing talents.
In ‘The Mildenhall Treasure’, we have the fictionalized account of a true story, which you can find out more about by searching up the title of the story in Wikipedia. The story revolves around the farmer who found one of the largest and most extensive Roman treasures in the United Kingdom, and also centres around the man who tried to swindle him out of gaining a fortune he so rightfully deserves as the finder of the treasure. Roald Dahl also prefaces this story with a short introduction to explain how it was that he came to write the story and his personal experience with it.
‘The Swan’ is one of the most shocking stories I’ve ever read from Dahl, revolving around cruelty and bullying in teenage boys. In this story, two teenage boys torture and bully a boy who is their age (albeit it much smaller) who is minding his own business in the woods watching birds when he is interrupted by the two bullies. The story was actually very jarring to read as it depicted the violence so matter-of-factly. The story, however, does have a hint of the magical about it, which I actually didn’t expect at all in this collection until I read this story.
‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ is by far the longest story, and I wouldn’t like to reveal too much about it except for the basic plot. Henry Sugar, a wealthy man, learns how to cheat at poker and other casino games without ever losing a single bet, and things take an unusual turn when he realizes that money no longer thrills him as it did. This story, honestly, was so wholesome and beautiful to read, and took me on such a long journey of emotions and happenings that I can’t even describe it in words, but I really do have to say that you should definitely read it.
‘Lucky Break’ is the non-fictional account of how Roald Dahl became a writer, and how he started writing and actually becoming the renowned writer that he is today. I actually read this story while I was going through a rough period as a writer, and I’m really grateful that I did encounter this story when I did because it gave me a little bit of a confidence boost to know that somebody like Dahl has also gone through something similar.
Finally, ‘Piece of Cake’ is an autobiographical story of Dahl’s time in the Air Force during World War II, and details the events that led to Dahl becoming injured while flighting his plane in the Mediterranean.
This collection, overall, is absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed every story and how startlingly different they are from one to the next, and how the only thing that you can see in it that is similar is Dahl’s writing style. I also really loved how, even though the style is so evidently there, each character introduced in the story is so obviously unique and wonderful in their own way, with their own significant voice and all. I love Dahl even more after reading this.
My final rating is a 6/5. Read it. Enjoy it. Please. ( )

Good collection of stories and a part where he tells how he began writing (after meeting author, C.S. Forester). Fun stuff. ( )

Always funny, interesting and intriguing. ( )

To be honest, this book was rather boring. I really only like two and half of the stories. I think my biggest mistake reading this book is waiting too long to read it. It's for teenagers. I got this book when I was maybe 12 more or less and that's when I should have read the book, I think I would have loved it then. As a young adult reading this book, it's boring and somewhat dated. It's a little disappointing because I love Dahl's other books for children (even as a young adult I like them still). I thought I would like this one, but I didn't. ( )