Delightfully snarky and fun, with a fair amount of disregard for adults
I'm right and you're wrong, I'm big and you're small, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Really enjoyed it! The sardonic reflections of Roald Dahl on parents and how they either dote over their children or abandon them, is a hilarious (It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful).

Matilda is lovely, but having grown up with the movie, I think the story presented there, including the nasty bits and the conclusion, is a bit stronger.
Still a well deserved classic of children literature, very enjoyable for adults as well!

Dutch Quotes:
Jouw mammie is een trut

Je denkt toch niet dat ik de rotzooi eet die ik jullie laat voorzetten

Toen ik je zag wist ik dat je een stuk vuil was

This is a short blogpost taken from Thoughts on Roald Dahl: Matilda, Esio Trot & The Twits.

Which Roald Dahl book does a book lover choose to read first? Why, Matilda of course! I adored the film adaptation and so I couldn’t wait to see how faithful it was to the book. I wasn’t disappointed; the horrid characters are just (if not more) horrid and the loveable ones are just as loveable. Matilda Wormwood, as we all know, is a highly intelligent young girl whose parents just do not appreciate her. I did not expect the book to be as dark as the film, but it’s even more so! Miss Honey’s story is even more upsetting: she’s poor and cannot afford furniture, food or heating, and Miss Trunchball held her head under bath water as a young child. (And the chokey is just as horrifying). I loved being able to read a story I had grown up with and I’d urge you to pick it up if you, like me, did not get to read it as an actual child. It was wonderful to become immersed into such a fantastic, magical story and read it in (nearly) one sitting.

I’m wondering what to read next.” Matilda said. “I’ve finished all the children’s books”.

I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.

My first read of 2022, and I ADORED it!
One of my reading goals for 2022 is to read classics (and books in general) that have been on my TBR for ages! I’ve been wanting to read Matilda for such a long time, but for some reason I never did! I’m incredibly happy to say that I finally have read it and loved every second!
Roald Dahl is such a fantastic writer, and I can’t wait to read many more of his books in the future!
My favorite thing about this story was the mention of other books, especially Nicholas Nickleby and how Mrs. Trunchbull resembled Mr. Squeers!
Such a funny and brilliant book!

This was just fantastic!! 5 stars!

I've never read Matilda and I've always wanted too even though I'm getting older then dirt.
I decided to do the audio on this and I've got to say, Kate Winslet was bloody fantastic. I can't see how anyone could have done a better job!

What a great and uplifting story by Roald Dahl. You really cheer for Matilda, Miss Honey and all the kids at the school. Seriously, could there be worse characters in a book besides the Wormwoods and Miss Trunchbull?!!

Definitely glad to finally read this gem of a book. It's not long and it's rather lovely with how everything goes down at the end.
Cheers all around for Maltida and Miss Honey!

Libros, poderes mentales e ilustraciones hermosas. Esto encontrarás en la famosa historia de Matilda. Y si eres fan de la película, el libro te fascinará y también te hará echarle porras a Bruce. Una belleza de libro que se te va en menos de lo que dices “ª”.
Ver a alguien más enamorándose de los libros me trajo buenos recuerdos.
Próximamente reseña en el blog ❤️

I've read many of Roald Dahl's books, probably most of them. I have fond memories of reading some of them to my young children at bedtime. But somehow I never got around to reading this one. While I have appreciated all of Roald Dahl's books, this one has turned out to be perhaps my favorite one of all.

I did see the movie Matilda several years ago, and I enjoyed it. I especially remember Danny DeVito's portrayal of Matilda's father ("Moby what?!").

I read this book in Spanish, and it was fantastic.

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September 30, 2024: 2nd reading.

Another Roald Dahl book I read with my daughter, a chapter most night before (her) bedtime.
I enjoyed this one much more than James and the Giant Peach, George's Marvellous Medicine and a little better than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

My daughter also liked this one more, perhaps because she could see more of herself in Matilda than the boys, or perhaps just because she had been to see the stage production that visited our city a few months back (no, we didn't manage to borrow the book from the library and read it before the production!).

So to the story - well in spite of the book making Miss Honey look fairly pathetic, with a small child having to turn her life around, at least it was an exceptional girl who did it. Dahl specialises in children heroes who outwit bad adults, and have been unlucky with the parents/carers that they have been issued to, and this is no exception. Matilda's parents are unlikeable and very basic - well described and it is easy to sympathise with Matilda - classic setup whereby the reader must side with Matilda because her parents don't like books. There are loads of reviews which outline the plot, so I need not do that here.

The illustrations in this edition (Quentin Blake) are very good and capture the characters just as my imagination had them pictured from the text - they also broke up the large pages of text, which is sometimes needed nearing (her) bedtime.

Like the other books, I was surprised I hadn't read this as kid, but then I saw it was published in 1988, which surprised me, as I had the impression it was much older than this. However this would explain why I had moved on in my entertainment by this time!

4.5 stars, but not sure I can round it up to 5, so 4 it is.

4.5 stars

EXCUSE ME WHILE I SOB

After watching the movie: I read the book first, loved the book, watched the movie for the first time....imho the movie is even better! Some of the differences are hilarious! And honestly I think if I had watched the movie first I might have disliked the book.

This book is such a FUN FUN read. If you are in mood for a light stress-buster, this book is just PERFECT.

I haven't seen the movie and this book was a surprise for me. I love the author's writing style and the way Matilda, her family and her life in general has been portrayed.

n  There is underlying humor in the book which is very subtle but an absolute joy to read.n

I loved Matilda, she is absolutely amazing and I would want to be friends with her in real life.
I love that she loved books



Miss. Trunchball is completely unbelievable and the things she does to kids can't be real but it is still fun to read how Matilda deals with her!

This was SO CUTE I’M IN LOVE.

But I think I like the movie better (?), I want to re-watch it soon.

Ha sido tan bonito recordar esta historia... La película es de las de siempre, de las que ves hasta saberte los diálogos, y ver reflejado todo en su libro es una experiencia genial.
Matilda es magia. No os la perdáis.
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