Synopsis: Matilda is a brilliant and sensitive child, but her parents think of her only as a nuisance. When one day she is attacked by her odious headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, Matilda suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to avenge herself!
Release Date: 7th February 2013 (this version), 1st October 1988 (original version)
Format Read: Clothbound Hardback
Genres: Middle Grade, Classics, Children’s Classics, Friendship, Magic
Pages: 232
Review: The story of little Matilda an unloved and abandoned daily child who out of her own sheer will taught herself to read and to do mathematics. She found comfort and safety in her books in the places far off she could escape to, with the help of her local library she could get something her family didn’t care to give her. Her parents who are cruel and are crooks make her mad and so she finds ways to get her own back at them, amusing herself at what she can do. When she starts school it wasn’t how she’d ever imagined it would be but finds the good things even while in a detrimental environment.
It wasn’t as good as I remembered the book being, however it wasn’t terrible at all. There were a few grammatical errors that irked me along with slang words used which again irked me but they are minor things. The story was sweet and the courage of this little girl, her passion for books, the kindness in her heart and the knowledge she possessed were beautiful and made Matilda who she is. I think most book lovers can connect a little with her.
I’m so happy to have revisited a childhood favourite again and got to escape into this world, it was so cute and very fun to read it again.
About Author: Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940’s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world’s bestselling authors.
Dahl’s first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as A Piece of Cake. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by the Saturday Evening Post for $900, and propelled him into a career as a writer. Its title was inspired by a highly inaccurate and sensationalized article about the crash that blinded him, which claimed he had been shot down instead of simply having to land because of low fuel.
His first children’s book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children’s stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach.
He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending. Many were originally written for American magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Harper’s, Playboy and The New Yorker, then subsequently collected by Dahl into anthologies, gaining world-wide acclaim. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories and they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death. His stories also brought him three Edgar Awards: in 1954, for the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, for the story “The Landlady”; and in 1980, for the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on “Skin”.
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