“Two rights don't equal a left.”



So the bad news is that giants exists; the good news is that the one who's blowing on sleeping kid's faces with a ten feet long trumpet in the middle of the night is a nice one. Not just a nice one, but a friendly one. He is the Big Friendly Giant (BFG) or, as us Italian people like to call it, the Great Gentle Giant (GGG).



When I was a kid, and my favourite book was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, my favourite movie Matilda and my favourite illustrator Quentin Blake (who, by the way, started my love for drawing), one might have called me obsessed with Roald Dahl. Still, I never loved the BFG. I think the reason for that is that the giant's whimsical speech and messed-up spelling

“Words', he said, 'is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around.”

- not to mention his puns which might be fun for an adult but were absolutely incomprehensible for me as a child - made it just too heavy and not that fun to read.



As an adult, I can see in this book the author's genius and his incredible imagination, I can see him putting hints for the "parents" to find out, and other clever stuff I wasn't able to grasp as a child. A very fun read, but, alas, it remains one of my least favourite Roald Dahl's. But, since I was recently gifted a whole box of his books, I am going to re-read them all, so the fun has just begun! Off to the next one!

This is such a charming and cute little story about an orphan befriending a Big Friendly Giant who gives little children dreams and tries to stop 9 mean and ugly other giants who steal
"human beans" from their bed and eat them. It's a ridiculous story but I remember my elementary school teacher reading it aloud to us. Reading it as an adult, I can recall so much of the story, which speaks volumes to how much it resonated with me.

Roald Dahl is definitely part of my childhood and I cherish all of his books.

This was probably one of my most favorite books, by my favorite author, when I was a kid. Going to go back and reread them and gift them to my niece and nephews who are totally missing out by not having read these!!

...BFG hears all the whispers of the world...

I'm not going to lie, I'm rather disappointed with BFG (which I've never read before)-- but is the favorite Dahl book of many of my friends. I found it to be pretty grating and not that pleasant a read for the following reasons:

1) Jar Jar Binks factor. The BFG speaks in his weird, uneducated pigdin that I frankly find kind of insulting. I'm sure children around the English speaking world are all thrilled by what Dahl has created-- but honestly, even for a word-monger like me, this is pretty ridiculous. Also, the fact that he is uneducated and constantly judged for his speech pathology by everyone else is just douchey.

2) Sophie is the most annoying Dahl protagonist ever. She's a snotty, bratty, and imperious little brat who exemplifies the worst of stereotypical English children-- lacking imagination and bossy. Compared to wonderful Matilda, Charlie, James, or even the kid in the witches, Sophie is a jerk.

3) Racial insensitivity (though this is also kind of a redeeming factor). Dahl's bit about human beans and how they taste is hilarious, but also kind of meh. Also, the annoying treatment of the entire Middle East by the Queen of England? She should know better.

Redeeming factors:
1) Farting. I'm glad that Dahl supports farting as music. Take that mother England.

2) Hidden Humanitarian Message: BFG is quick to explain that humans are the only species that kill each other. While this is not factually true (watch the Planet Earth chimp wars), Dahl makes a nifty point. Hey kids-- even if the giants are horrible, at least they have the decency not to kill each other. Take that mankind! World Peace!

3) Anti-establishment tinge. Dahl doesn't like army or air force generals, and it shows.

4) Obvious admiration for butlers. "A man does not rise to become the Queen's butler unless he is gifted with extraordinary ingenuity, adaptability, versatility, dexterity, cunning, sophistication, sagacity, discretion and a host of other talents that neither you nor I possess." Dahl definitely has a weird butler fetish.

5) Charles Dickens = Dahl's Chickens. Freaking genius.

Kidnapped and raced away to Giant Land by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) Sophie was frightened. She’d gone to bed in the orphanage in London and now she didn’t know what was happening. But it was the other nine gigantic giants she was terrified of – the Childchewer, Bonecruncher, Fleshlumpeater and more. The BFG hid her successfully and as Sophie learned more about the giants with the BFG’s confusing talk – well, confusing to her – she found she was a human bean who would have to eat disgusting snozzcumbers if she stayed with him. She found the BFG had learned his words through reading Dahl’s Chickens and that he collected dreams to give to the children – unlike the other giants.

Would Sophie find a way to stop the bad giants from gobbling human beans?

The BFG by Roald Dahl is a delightful story with an eight-year-old heroine and a heartwarming giant forming a strong team. A classic children’s tale, originally published in 1982 and loved by children far and wide, I found the complete annihilation of the English language by the BFG extremely well done. Recommended.

Mel

My favourite childhood story.

The BFG is great and a lot of fun, one of the downsides is all the gibberish that sometimes hinders the flow aside from that minuscule complaint its super creative. The BFG was dedicated by Dahl to his deceased little girl, she had measles but the measles went south and worst case scenario of encephalitis occurred and she passed within 12 hrs of it, Olivia was 7

I loved this book when I re-read it about a month ago just as much as I loved it when my third-grade teacher read it aloud to my class seventeen years ago. The Big Friendly Giant himself is charming, and I have always loved the cameo appearance of a certain very famous Brit. (I would love to know this person's opinion of the story, too - I personally would be delighted in their shoes.)

Recenzia completă: http://palarisme.ro/chef/carti/recenz...



„Omleții sunt singurele animale care omoară pe cei de soiul lor.”

Roald Dahl este o legendă vie, un stâlp al literaturii pentru copii. Nu ştiu de ce i-am evitat cărţile, însă urmările nu au întârziat să apară. S-a ascuns în bibliotecă, supărat pe „manierele” mele, dar am reuşit să încheiem un armistiţiu de sărbători, urmând ca în această perioadă de probă să ne cunoaştem mai bine. Matilda şi Charlie şi Fabrica de ciocolată au urcat câteva sute de poziţii pe lista de to-read, mulţumită „insistenței” a doi colegi bloggeri, pe care îi admir şi îi respect foarte mult, aşa că viitorul meu este „zugrăvit” în nuanţe de umor negru, replici acide şi situaţii tulburătoare.

Pentru că Roald Dahl nu scrie pentru copii, departe de el acest gând. Scrie pentru copilul îmbrăcat în haine de adult, care îi înţelege sarcasmul şi care poate să admire iscusinţa cu care transpune realitatea înconjurătoare într-o poveste „inocentă”.

Curioasă din fire, Sophie are „norocul” de a-l surprinde pe Marele Uriaş Prietenos (MUP) „în acţiune”. Convinsă că el se pregătea să răpească un copil sau că abia terminase o cină copioasă, ea crede că o pătură o poate ascunde de simţurile vigilente ale uriaşului.

Pentru că a fost descoperit, MUP o răpeşte pe Sophie şi călătoreşte împreună cu ea în tărâmul uriaşilor, unde alimentele sunt dezgustătoare, iar singura metodă prin care îţi pot potoli setea este să bei sifoclăbucel, care are urmări... imprevizibile, să spunem.
Grijile lui Sophie pălesc când realizează că MUP este revoltat de ideea de a mânca oameni, în contradicţie cu ceilalţi uriaşi, care dorm cât e ziua de lungă şi noaptea călătoresc în toată lumea, răpind şi mâncând oameni, fiind foarte pretenţioşi cu „delicatesele” care le ajung în stomac.

Să afirm că am fost revoltată de idee nu acoperă reacţia pe care am avut-o când MUP îi înşiră lui Sophie aromele pe care le au oamenii, în viziunea uriaşilor. Recunosc, am fost parţial amuzată, parţial îngrozită, când am aflat că eschimoşii reprezintă o gamă largă de arome de îngheţată sau că grecii sunt greţoşi (norocul lor, dacă mă întrebi pe mine), „calitate” care îi împiedică pe uriaşi să îi viziteze.

„- Dar uriaşii aceia dezgustători merg în fiecare țară din lume? întrebă Sophie revoltată.
- Toate ţările, cu excepţia Greției e vizitate din când în când, răspunse MUP. Ţara pe care un uriaş o vizitează depinde de cum se simte pe moment. Dacă vremea e toropită şi uriaşul se simte ca într-o tigaie încinsă, atunci galopește departe, în nordul de îngheţată şi-şi face rost de unul sau doi eschimoşi şi se răcoreşte numaidecât. Un eschimoș mare şi gras pentru un uriaş e ca o delicioasă îngheţată pe băţ pentru tine.”

Come avere il cuore pieno.
Fantelastico.