The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

I was quite surprised when I read this book, after reading all of Dahl's children's stories. The title suggests that these are happy wonder-filled stories. They are, however, written more for adults or at least teens. The title story involves a man who wanted to be able to cheat at cards by "seeing" through them, and goes off on a huge spiritual journey to study with a yogi to learn how to do this. There was another story about a boy who rides a sea turtle.

The story that sticks out most in my mind, however, is one that is (I believe) called "The Swan." It's about a boy who is bullied - more than bullied, really, since the bullies tie him to the train tracks and leave him there as a train comes - it's really more like torture. This story is pretty disturbing. I do like disturbing stories, however, so it didn't bother me. It might bother some kids though, especially if they're expecting Matilda or something.

Quirky as usual
Lightened my mood

Історія про хлопця і черепаху (з очевидних причин) сподобалась. Інші теж дуже Далівські. А деякі просто мені не цікаві. Отже, збалансована збірка.

I can remember reading a collection of Roald Dahl adult short stories on a lunch break in a Charleston bookstore in like 2006 that was WILD (I believe the main story was called The Switcheroo and it involved two neighbors secretly scheming together to sleep with the other’s wife, without the wives realizing, and if I recall, that wasn’t even the wildest one). This set of stories was definitely tamer but admittedly did lack some bite.

Anyway, I became aware of these because I read that Wes Anderson is making a short film out of these stories, or at least the Henry Sugar one, which is probably the best story of the bunch.

This book is not Dahl's best, but he's never even average. It contains three non-fictional writings, which is interesting to read by Dahl when his style is based on fictional stories.

I don't know how many writers can write a story so simply and intriguingly at the same time. It always feels sad to finish a book by him, when the worlds he create feel more real than the reality. His books make me feel butterflies in my stomach.

I already miss this book. I don't think it will be long to read something else by him this year.

Marvellous! It is absolutely astonishing to me that A Piece of Cake was his first work ever, as it was probably my favourite from the whole collection.

My 11-year-old is currently on a Roald Dahl kick. When I asked her, the other day, what she likes so much about his work, she said, “He writes about things like potions that make your grandmother small.”

I've been trying to find a way to please her current taste with his books, while trying to satisfy the requirements of my 1970s reading project, and this has opened up the door to several new reads for us, some of which were completely unfamiliar to me.

A recent one on our search was this one, which is basically a novella by the name of “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” and six other stories that Mr. Dahl wrote, spanning the time period of 1945-1977. As an interesting aside: three out of these 7 stories are non-fiction, which Mr. Dahl rarely contributed. According to him, "the pleasure of writing comes with inventing stories."

This was promoted as a book for children, and the cover has been playfully illustrated by Quentin Blake, as was often the case with Mr. Dahl's work, but. . .

Well. . . um. . . after those first three stories, I would not call this a book for children.

It's not that it's sexual, or violent, or contains adult language; it's just that the themes and the stories are mature. Too mature for children. My daughter listened to the first three with adoration, then drifted away. It was as though she could sense they weren't written for her.

But, turns out, they were written for me.

These stories are great. So great. Fantastic, really. The very first story that Mr. Dahl ever had published, “A Piece of Cake,” that was published in The Saturday Evening Post is included in here, and I had goosebumps, after reading it. It must have been obvious, when that story appeared in 1942, that a certain magical chord had been struck in readers. Potions, indeed.

My esteem for Mr. Dahl's writing has multiplied, exponentially, after reading these.

Wow. What a writer.

If you could see with your eyes closed, how would you use your power? That’s what Henry has to decide in one of the seven stories in this extraordinary collection.

"The Boy Who Talked With Animals" >> Is about a young tourist boy at a beach resort who seeks to free a giant sea turtle which has been captured by the hotel management. This sounds like a children's story, but the characterization and the setting are quite adult.

"The Hitchhiker" >> Is an amusing tale about a British hitchhiker who reveals himself to be a "fingersmith", a master classman of the pickpocketing profession. The interplay between three different levels of British society: the journalist driver, the rough cockney passenger, and a belligerent traffic cop proves to be an entertaining read. Certainly my most favorite stories in this collection, followed closely by that of Henry Sugar.

"The Mildenhall Treasure" >> Is an incredible story about an amazing discovery. On a cold winter morning, a farmer plowing another man's land stumbled upon the greatest cache of Roman silver ever found in Britain. Regrettably, Gordon Butcher didn't know what he had found because the silver had tarnished during its years in the ground. His boss did know what it was and took the stuff home where hid it for a few years before the authorities discovered it. The crux of the story centers on a British law that says the person who FINDS any treasure receives compensation for the full market value of the items. The Mildenhall plates, bowls, and spoons would have netted Butcher nearly a million pounds. By allowing his boss to walk off with the silver, Butcher received only one thousand pounds. In a way, this book is similar to the Mildenhall Treasure: a great find even if you have little idea of it at first glance. This is one of the only two non-fiction stories that Dahl ever wrote.

"The Swan" >> About a precocious child named Peter Watson who runs into two local tormentors, Ernie and Raymond, while out bird watching. The two goons march Watson around at the point of a gun for no other reason than alleviating their boredom on a weekend. The final indignity occurs when Raymond and Ernie shoot a beautiful swan, tie its wings to Peter's arms, and force him to climb a tree so they can see him "fly." There is something magical and memorable about what happens next as Peter learns that he is one of those precious souls which all the bullies in the world will never triumph over.

"The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" >> It's really two stories in one, about a wealthy but frivolous soul named Henry Sugar (of an affluent British family) and his discovery of an unusual book in a friend's library. The book tells the story about a man in India (Imhan Khan) who has learned to see through objects without the use of his eyes. Sugar gets the sudden inspiration to attain this ability and soon discovers that he is a natural at it, one of the rare people with the amazing gift to learn this art in just a few years. Henry's motivations are highly suspect at first: he wishes to use this newfound talent to cheat at the casino, thereby earning himself a fortune. But something rather odd occurs during his training process when Sugar soon discovers that he has little interest in accumulating money for selfish ends. Dahl writes the story in such a way that the reader becomes convinced Henry Sugar was a real, breathing person.


In addition to these imaginative and magical tales, this book also contains the true story of how Roald Dahl became a writer, as well as a copy of the very first nonfiction story he wrote for The Saturday Evening Post:

"Lucky Break: How I Became A Writer" >> This story is really a short autobiography of the writer from his early school days through his war experiences. The sections outlining his years at one of England's public schools should be read by anyone who thinks American places of learning are terrible. English public schools, Dahl writes, are actually very private academies devoted to the total education of their pupils. During the writer's childhood, this meant harsh, rigid discipline of a type usually seen in the military. The brutality exhibited by teachers and elder classmates at the school is shocking: the older students routinely whipped younger pupils with switches, an activity mirrored by the teachers whenever students misbehaved. There are great, tension filled descriptions of the beatings endured by Dahl at the hands of these tormentors. I would've loved to have had Mrs. O'Connor as a professor! She was indeed a fountain of information for the greatest of English literature.

"A Piece of Cake: First Story-1942" >> This was Dahl's first published story, which appears to be based on his wartime experiences without necessarily being 100% accurate in its minor details. For an enthusiastic Dahl fan like myself, getting a glimpse of the man behind the curtain is exciting, and getting to know more about Dahl is a real treat.


Book Details:

Title The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
Author Roald Dahl
Reviewed By Purplycookie