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Boy: Tales Of Childhood: Autobiography (Roald Dahl Autobiography #1)

by Roald Dahl , Quentin Blake (Illustrations)

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 34,249 ratings · 1,508 reviews

Roald Dahl's account of his childhood is now reissued in a beautiful hardcover format, with -- for the first time -- Quentin Blake's stunning illustrations.
Roald Dahl writing about his own childhood is a treat for any Dahl fan -- young or old. These stories are warm, touching, funny and show the development of one of the UK's most treasured children's writers. ...more

Hardcover , 240 pages

Published August 30th 2012 by Jonathan Cape (first published 1984)

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May 17, 2015 Diane Librarian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks , memoirs , british-charm , humorous

This is a charming collection of stories from Roald Dahl's childhood. I loved his books when I was a kid (my favorites were Danny the Champion of the World , The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ) and it was fun to hear some true tales from the great storyteller.

One of my favorite stories was about the free candy bars he got when he was at boarding school. Cadbury's would send over boxes of test chocolates, and the boys would sample the new flavors and write their reviews. Dahl said the b This is a charming collection of stories from Roald Dahl's childhood. I loved his books when I was a kid (my favorites were Danny the Champion of the World , The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ) and it was fun to hear some true tales from the great storyteller.

One of my favorite stories was about the free candy bars he got when he was at boarding school. Cadbury's would send over boxes of test chocolates, and the boys would sample the new flavors and write their reviews. Dahl said the boys took it very seriously, "nibbling each chocolate with the air of connoisseurs, giving our marks and making our comments. 'Too subtle for the common palate,' was one note that I remember writing down."

Dahl said this experience was important because he realized that large chocolate companies actually had inventing rooms, and he imagined what it would be liked to work there and create new flavors. "I have no doubt at all that, thirty-five years later, when I was looking for a plot for my second book for children, I remembered those little cardboard boxes and the newly-invented chocolates inside them, and I began to write a book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ."

Another sweet story was when Dahl became homesick while he was away at school, and he decided to fake an appendicitis so he could return home for a few days. He knew the symptoms because his older sister recently had it, and he put on quite a show for the nurse, yelping and moaning in pain. His act worked, until he got home and his regular doctor instantly knew he was faking. The doctor made him promise never to do it again.

I listened to this on audio, narrated by the actor Dan Stevens, and he did a marvelous job performing the different characters. I especially enjoyed the screechy voice he created for the mean woman who ran the local candy shop, Mrs. Pratchett. Roald and his friends so hated Mrs. Pratchett that one day he cooked up a plot to scare her: he put a dead mouse in one of the candy jars. Unfortunately, the mean Mrs. P figured out who had done it and had them whipped by the school's headmaster.

Even though I listened to this book, I had a print copy to flip through, and I do recommend peeking at the pages because it has some lovely photos, notes and drawings. Recommended for all Dahl fans.

Favorite Quote:
[After leaving school, Dahl was hired by the Shell Company and traveled to foreign countries]
"I began to realize how simple life could be if one had a regular routine to follow with fixed hours and a fixed salary and very little original thinking to do. The life of a writer is absolute hell compared with the life of a businessman. The writer has to force himself to work. He has to make his own hours and if he doesn't go to his desk at all there is nobody to scold him. If he is a writer of fiction he lives in a world of fear. Each new day demands new ideas and he can never be sure whether he is going to come up with them or not. Two hours of writing fiction leaves this particular writer absolutely drained. For those two hours he has been miles away, he has been somewhere else, in a different place with totally different people, and the effort of swimming back into normal surroundings is very great. It is almost a shock. The writer walks out of his workroom in a daze. He wants a drink. He needs it. It happens to be a fact that nearly every writer of fiction in the world drinks more whisky than is good for him. He does it to give himself faith, hope and courage. A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it." ...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-smishtory , hometown-glories-uk , memoir , re-reading , e , hometown-ya

(Deciding to re-read this book was inspired by the wonderful ladies at Gathering Books and their fantastic bimonthly meme‘Everything Dahl and Magical’. Which I absolutely adore. )

“When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful. Truth is more important than modesty. I must tell you, therefore, that it was I and I alone who had the idea for the great and daring Mouse Plot. We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine.”

I first read this glorious memoir aged twelv ...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Sita rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of Roald Dahl

Recommended to Sita by: Yr 7 English Teacher

Shelves: read-for-school , reviewed

I read this in year 7 for English and I loved it.

Me, I normally hate school books. But this one was different, I really liked this one. It was just so interesting. I can still remember half the stuff that happened in the book. That is how much it stuck with me. I recommend this to fans of Roald Dahl and even non fans, this book is different from all his other work.

description

Good different...

I still recommend it, the things that happen and how he describes it is just...

description

That is the only word to describe ...more

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Sep 29, 2007 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Both children and adults

My interest in reading this novel was stimulated a few weeks ago when I visited some friends, one of whom over the course of the evening dug up his collection of Roald Dahl books and proceeded to reintroduce us the magic we had near forgetten we had experienced as children in reading them.

I have always loved the sheer dottiness of the tales of Roald Dahl - the horrid nature of the some of his adult characters and the heroic nature of his young but strong willed main characters.

What I loved abo My interest in reading this novel was stimulated a few weeks ago when I visited some friends, one of whom over the course of the evening dug up his collection of Roald Dahl books and proceeded to reintroduce us the magic we had near forgetten we had experienced as children in reading them.

I have always loved the sheer dottiness of the tales of Roald Dahl - the horrid nature of the some of his adult characters and the heroic nature of his young but strong willed main characters.

What I loved about this book was that, not only was it written in the eccentric and yet no-nonsense style Dahl was known for, but it also gave me fascinating insight into some of the influences that shaped his writing.

One experience of note that I particularly warmed to was the tale of the woman who owned the sweet shop near his school, who had hideously dirty fingers, and was the fond recipient of one of Dahls' school boy pranks - putting a dead mouse inside one of her lolly jars to find.

From this, and some of the members of his family (the ancient older sister for example) I can only imagine Dahl gained the inspiration for his extraordinarily nasty characters - Aunt's Sponge and Spiker, the Twits, and George's horrible Grandma.

Charming were also some of his harder experiences - the joys of growing up in a time where there was no such thing as anaesthetic and so getting your tonsils out was a lot more painful.

Enchanting were his recounts of visiting his Norwegian family on holidays as a child, the confusion of language barriers and cultural differences I'm sure inspired some of Dahls more eccentric characters - Mr Willy Wonka for instance.

All in all, this reads more like one of Dahl's fictional novels and not like an autobiography at all. Not one for pomposity, Dahl cheerfully deleted the duller elements of his life, for which I am thankful. Nevertheless, this book is a wonderful recount of a well spent (for the most part) childhood. For those fans of autobiographies, who love to read to understand what makes a person tick, this story of childhood will not disappoint. This book goes far to impress upon the reader the events that led to the cheerful dottiness his readers loved him for. ...more

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Aug 03, 2007 Michelle Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my favorite autobiography. I was envious of Dahl when he told of the story of when Cadbury would send new candy to his boarding school for the children to test. I remember the candy he described, it sounded delicious, but today you can't find the candy because this was around the 40's. I don't know why I just went on a tangent about candy; I guess Roald Dahl has that effect on me.

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Feb 22, 2015 Joey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chikdren-s-fictions , autobiographies

I am very fond of reading books about children’s bitter experiences. Perhaps I believe in American psychologist, Erik Fromm’s belief that “ to understand children, we, adults, try to think like a child again.”Unfortunately, not all adults are aware of this fact. That’s why the main purpose of literature is to educate people about life, basically about children life. I have read some books about children. I can hardly ever forget Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt ( 5 stars ), The Butcher’s Boy by P I am very fond of reading books about children’s bitter experiences. Perhaps I believe in American psychologist, Erik Fromm’s belief that “ to understand children, we, adults, try to think like a child again.”Unfortunately, not all adults are aware of this fact. That’s why the main purpose of literature is to educate people about life, basically about children life. I have read some books about children. I can hardly ever forget Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt ( 5 stars ), The Butcher’s Boy by Patrick McCabe ( 3 stars ), Torey Hayden’s books such as The Innocent Child and its sequel The Tiger’s Child ( I was so generous to fault to give both 5 stars at that time when I was not yet critical on Good Reads. ) I also cried over the classical books such as Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist and David Copperfield. Even Beloved by Toni Morrison, one of my favorite fictional writers , punched my chest although the character is a young teen-ager gives eerie feelings. For local books, one is the Connecting the Dots by Gojo Cruz ( 5 stars ) which author swept me off my feet. ( laughs ) Such books are awash in the same theme: human cruelty in children, perhaps, out of ignorance.

This book of Road Dahl is one of the books above. This may be intended to make readers laugh. Of course, I did. However, the real highlight of this , even Dahl admitted it at the end of the story, is his miserable experiences as a student in the hands of his school head masters, teachers, and matrons. ( or you’d rather I put it bluntly , under the rotten educational system in Britain at that time ) Dahl narrated how he was such a poor innocent child . He was an archetype of educational upbringing. He had been beaten many times. So had his classmates. He had been humiliated and treated unfairly. So had his classmates. Admittedly, I abandoned myself to his said stories. If I had been his classmate at that time, I would have been so defiant that I could have been booted out. ( laughs ) So , the title of this book fits all the stories- Boys: Tales of Childhood.

I always want to be an active advocate for children’s rights, particularly for their education. Like Dahl, I was also a victim of wrong education from teachers who may have been ignorant of child psychology. As a teacher now , I believe in teaching students based on their individualism.

The good thing about this is that Road Dahl was still able to make us laugh despite those harboring ill-feelings. He was like a friend I have just made, sharing his ala Thomas-Sawyer stories. The atmosphere he built was so amiable that I felt sympathy for him. In addition, reading it was so easy unlike the other autobiographies or novels about children which require higher level of thinking. He narrated his stories age by age and every sentence is well-written. Since it is a children book, I hope young readers take precious lessons from it. And I do not think that it should be banned from the hands of young readers just like of what happened to his Charllie and the Chocolate Factory which received negative criticism. Duty on their distorted realities! ^^

Road Dahl said in his preface that an autobiography for him is full of all sorts of boring details. If I take him for his words, what he meant to say I believe is like what the famous American writer, William Arthur Ward, said:

“The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of like is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give.”

Yippee! ^^

...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Andy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012 , illustrated , autobiography

This was one of those eye openers for me as a child; I read Boy countless times (and back home still have the well worn edition from 1986). The concept of an autobiography was so new and radical, at a time when reading was all make believe and fiction; it 'really happened', it wasn't made up! Rather, a magical book that opened up another world, glimpsing a life I would never experience.

His remembrances of childhood and school life are frank, vivid and frequently horrific. In particular, his acc ...more

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Jul 14, 2015 Vonia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-ii , unique-chapter-titles , unexpectedly-funny , saga-like , parenting , motherhood , life-reflections , illustrations-in-adult-novels , grief-death , coming-of-age , child-s-perspective , books-about-writers , autobiography-biography-memoir , high-school , fascinating-subcultures

What child is not completely enamored by the stories written by Roald Dahl? For that matter, what adult does not have a special place in their heart for his audacious, fantastical, magical, whimsical tales? Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, James & The Giant Peach, Fantastic Mister Fox, Matilda. To name only a few. Not to mention his equally magnificent fiction / nonfiction for adults.

Here is a chance for a behind-the-scenes look into this storyteller's world. What was this man's childhoo What child is not completely enamored by the stories written by Roald Dahl? For that matter, what adult does not have a special place in their heart for his audacious, fantastical, magical, whimsical tales? Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, James & The Giant Peach, Fantastic Mister Fox, Matilda. To name only a few. Not to mention his equally magnificent fiction / nonfiction for adults.

Here is a chance for a behind-the-scenes look into this storyteller's world. What was this man's childhood like to have the imagination necessary for such grandeur stories? What were his formative years like? His family? Friends? In his teenage years, did he know he wanted to be a writer?

Boy: Tales of Childhood answer these tantalizing inquiries, and more. Readers learn of seven-year-old Roald's personal adventures with the candy shoppe down the street, which no doubt inspired Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, and a woman whom owns the shoppe that shares similarities with characters featured in The Magic Finger, even Matilda. Aside from that, it is a historically accurate look at life in England/Wales in the early twentieth century, from the onset of automobiles to the questionable medical practices to English boarding schools to the economical industry at the time.

He is raised by two loving parents in Norway, until the death of his sister Astri, followed soon thereafter by his late father (likely attributable to the grief over his favorite daughter). He attends Llandaff Cathedral School for two years, until his tencious mother, raising him and his siblings alone and determined to follow her late husband's wishes that his children have an English prepatory education ("The very best is the world"), sends Roald Dahl to St. Peter's in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. His mother and siblings (two from his late father's first marriage, three sisters with his own mother, minus Astri, making four!) remained in nearby Wales.

At nine years old, boarding school was understandable a lonely, intimidating experience. From his memories of the Headmaster and Floor Matron, readers are given the undeniable inspiration for what became the novel Matilda.

The role of the headmaster continues to be central in Roald's life when he begins Public School at thirteen, this time at Repton near Derby. His family had relocated to Kent by then. More anecdotes of his early years are told, often endearing, always hilarious. As a photographer (amateur) myself, I was inordinately thrilled to learn of his affinity for it. He was also an unexpected captain for Fives (similar to handball) and Squash during these years.

At Repton, Roald and his classmates were given boxes of chocolates from The Cadbury Corporation, in exchange for their feedback on each piece. A fine marketing test group strategy by them, but, better yet, another childhood memory that contributed to Charlie & The Chocolate Factory!

At eighteen, opting out of university, Roald begins prosperous career at The Shell Company in England. Two years later, the company reassigns him to a post in East Africa, to his delight. Unfortunately, a few short years later, in 1939, World War II dawns, relocating Roald again, this time to Nairobi, then all over The Mediterranean, serving as a Royal Air Force pilot. Alas, as the author promises, that is another story (later published as Going Solo). Going Solo

Included in this are personal portraits of Roald at various ages (an adorable child,an ambitious teenager, a handsome and charming young man), family photographs, places he lived, attended for his early education, visited, etcetera. Of course, for everything else there are the iconic sketches and doodles by Quentin Blake (readers will remember the same hand that illustrated all their favorite children's stories).

For twenty years, from 1925 to 1945, his mother conscientiously saved Roald's more than six hundred letters to her, equally diligently, lovingly written year after year. A priceless archive, especially for a writer such as himself, given to him as a gift on his mother's deathbed. Parts of these are interlaced between the text (thus exhibiting young Roald's evolving penmanship), colorfully but authentically supplementing, telling a tale almost as grand as the fiction he wrote for decades.

This was such a pleasure, as Roald Dahl is one of my favorite children's book authors. Many share my sentiments. May he rest in peace.

...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs-biographies , ya-realistic , language-italian , owned , 5-star , reread , read-in-2014

Roald Dahl è il mio mito.
Lo è da quando, a sette anni o giù di lì, l'ho scoperto per la prima volta, e probabilmente lo sarà per sempre.

Ha una voce inconfondibile, una visione del mondo che fa invidia e una vita splendidamente eccitante. C'è qualcosa nel suo modo di scrivere che rende ogni aneddoto, ogni capitolo e ogni personaggio assolutamente memorabile e facile da visualizzare. È divertente, a tratti esilarante, confortante e spaventoso, e a volte serio. È questo, forse, quello che ha dato a Roald Dahl è il mio mito.
Lo è da quando, a sette anni o giù di lì, l'ho scoperto per la prima volta, e probabilmente lo sarà per sempre.

Ha una voce inconfondibile, una visione del mondo che fa invidia e una vita splendidamente eccitante. C'è qualcosa nel suo modo di scrivere che rende ogni aneddoto, ogni capitolo e ogni personaggio assolutamente memorabile e facile da visualizzare. È divertente, a tratti esilarante, confortante e spaventoso, e a volte serio. È questo, forse, quello che ha dato a questo libro la spintarella che mancava per raggiungere la valutazione massima: la capacità di trattare argomenti un po' più importanti, un po' meno aneddotici, con un tocco leggero ma istruttivo, di un istruttivo che non indottrina ma fa pensare.

Le illustrazioni di Quentin Blake, che accompagnano questo libro come ogni altro romanzo per ragazzi di Dahl, sono la ciliegina sulla torta che invece di farmi sentire nostalgica mi mette addosso una gioia quasi infantile. È meraviglioso vedere come la stessa storia possa rendermi felice oggi esattamente quanto lo faceva sette anni fa, nonostante una prospettiva attuale più matura e analitica. Dahl, per me, è sopra qualunque giudizio - e non perché abbia preconcetti che mi fanno amare ogni suo libro allo stesso modo indipendentemente dalle sue qualità individuali, ma perché lui, come autore, è invariabilmente, costantemente fantastico.

Non c'è niente da fare - lo adoro.

Ho qualcosa da criticare però, perchè altrimenti non sarei io.
Per quanto la traduttrice abbia reso bene il tono della storia e selezionato il lessico in maniera tale da renderlo accessibile a ragazzi più giovani ma comunque maturo e forse anche un po' nostalgico, per quanto sia rimasta complessivamente fedele alla stesura originale, e per quanto la qualità grammaticale sia notevolmente sopra la media attuale in fatto di traduzioni italiane, ho trovato una manciata di errori che mi hanno infastidita non poco - prevalentemente virgole fuori posto e un paio di congiuntivi cannati.
Ma non ho la minima intenzione di valutare la traduzione qui.
Soltanto uno dei miei libri preferiti. ...more

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Aug 08, 2015 Terri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015

I really enjoyed this book. You don’t even have to be interested in Roald Dahl himself to enjoy this book, if you are just intrigued about what it must have been like to grow up in the ‘olden days’, then you should definitely read it. Full review on my blog --> http://lebookchronicles.weebly.com

Question: Does anyone actually go to my blog?

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Feb 13, 2009 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not usually one for autobiographies, but this one rocked. Ronald Dahl was a fortunate child. Fortunate that he wasn't killed many times by events in his life and by the awesome adventures and memories he was privileged to have.
I will give you my favorite excerpt from this book.
"It won't take two seconds, " the doctor said. He spoke gently, and I was seduced by his voice. Like an ass, I opened my mouth.
The tiny blade flashed in the bright light and disappeared into my mouth.

You must read the ...more

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Oct 30, 2008 Eleanor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think Roald Dahl is probably the best children's storyteller. When my third grade teacher read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to our class I remember thinking, "This guy is really good." But as good as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is (or The Twits or The Witches or Matilda or pick your favorite), it is "Boy", his memoir or childhood written for children, that I read so many times that the copy I found in my basement last week is completely ripped to shreds. He writes for children a ...more

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Jan 25, 2011 Nikki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Normally I would only give this about three stars, but I remember being fascinated by this book as a child. Now I think that there's very little real content -- I read it while my girlfriend was having dinner, for god's sake, and she didn't take that long, not even as much as an hour I'd say -- but of course what there is is well written and fun, and you can see the seeds of Roald Dahl's books in his autobiography. Not just the big ideas, but the sense of fun and even the way he describes things ...more

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Apr 22, 2014 Grady McCallie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Roald Dahl's fiction for adults is often dark and twisted. In his fiction for kids, that impulse is usually kept in the background, displaced in the main thread of the story by the sheer likeability of the main character, even if there are periodic signals that the world of the story has a lot of cruelty in it.

Boy, Dahl's memoir of his childhood, explains a lot of this - his remembered youth consists of wrenching losses, exile to a series of dreadful boarding schools, and brutal medical procedu ...more

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Mar 10, 2015 Christina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-the-chaser

Boy: Tales of Childhood was a marvellous autobiography. Throughout this book, I was able to see where Roald drew his inspirations from for his children's books. His life experiences were admirable, particularly because he lived through such tough times, when compared to our current lifestyles today where we take most things for granted. I can't imagine how much pain Roald suffered during his adenoids removal and broken nose without anaesthetic! And not to mention his poor bottom that suffered th ...more

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Jul 12, 2015 Meli rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maravillosamente maravilloso.

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Jan 09, 2015 Maru rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: leído-en-inglés , literatura-infantil , biografía

Como fan declarada de Roald Dahl este era un libro que tenía ganas de leer hacía tiempo. Pero como trae fotos y cartas escritas por él, me parecía necesario tener el libro y no leer una versión digital, así que esperé y ahora, en las vacaciones, llegó mi oportunidad.

Boy es un libro breve, y en el caso de mi edición, de tapa dura, lo que lo hace todavía más tierno. Dahl se ubica como un narrador con ganas de rememorar y un poco resignado (pero en el mejor de los sentidos) a contar sus travesuras ...more

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Feb 24, 2015 Parinaz Mosayebi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015

Today after an hour of sleepy studying I was hovering around the school library when I saw this Roald Daul book on a shelf and grabbed it. A few paragraphs and "that's it!" The librarian was watching me with a big funny smile on her face so I had no other way but to walk toward her like a real senior studying for university entrance test and try not to think that almost every book I pick up in the school library is a children's book. :-"
I know this is not a review! What's the point in writing on ...more

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Jun 16, 2015 Shalini rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed , ethereal , auto-biography , non-fiction

Was a breeze through read giving me a peek into the childhood and ancestry of Roald Dahl. A good overview of the British school system of those days. I also came to know about the motivation behind his book "Charlie and the chocolate factory".

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May 05, 2015 Arystha Ayu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like how Dahl told his childhood in this book. And I like every single chapter, and sentence, and word of this incredible story.

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Sep 01, 2014 Pilar ☽ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lovely book!
I had to read this to help my little sister with her homework... I'm such a great sister.

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Jul 13, 2010 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

Reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the first time was almost a mystical experience. I was around Charlie's age and even though I knew the book was way out there in terms of reality I understood the disconnect Charlie felt towards adults and authority. I didn't read lots of Dahl's other works until I was in library school. As an older reader I was struck by how hideous and cruel the adult characters were and how hapless the lives of the kid characters were written. I don't think JK Row ...more

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Dec 12, 2009 K.D. Absolutely rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Tata J

Recommended to K.D. by: 501 Must Read Books

Shelves: 501

The beauty of this book is in the way it was written. It's like Roald Dahl was your buddy and for each time you were together, he told you pieces of his life when he was very young. It is not as grandiose as say Frank McCourt's ANGELA'S ASHES (that was not all true according to its critics). In fact, the chapters of this book, BOY: TALES OF CHILDHOOD is composed of Dahl's young life anecdotes that he would not forget. He, unlike McCourt, though, professed in this book's introduction, that these ...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Jess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-books , non-fiction , own

A must-read for lovers of Roald Dahl, this little book delves into tales from his early life, spanning his childhood up until he leaves for East Africa while working for the Shell Company (where the subsequent book Going Solo picks up the tale).

I've had this book sitting on my shelf for quite some time now, but I'm glad that I finally picked it up. It was definitely an interesting look into the life of one of my very favorite authors, and it was interesting to see what exactly made him tick. It ...more

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Sep 09, 2013 Hanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs

Leave it to the wayward and whimsical Roald Dahl to write his memoirs in a very unorthodox way: a collection of memories that prove he didn’t only have a vivid imagination, but always had a way of looking at the world that would become golden in writing children’s books.

My favourite scene without a doubt is about the candy store where they sell liquorice bootlaces which they are meant to believe are made from rat’s blood.

”Every ratcatcher in the country’, the father had said, ‘takes his rats t

”Every ratcatcher in the country’, the father had said, ‘takes his rats to the Liquorice Bootlace Factory, and the manager pays tuppence for each rat. Many a ratcatcher has become a millionaire by selling his dead rats to the Factory.”

And from his description of the lady who runs this sweet-shop, it isn’t hard to imagine some of the gruesome characters he would write about later.

Her name was Mrs Pratchett. She was a small skinny old hag with a moustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a green gooseberry. She never smiled. She never welcomed us when we went in, and the only times she spoke were when she said things like, ‘I’m watchin’ you so keep yer thievin’ fingers off them chocolates!’ Or ‘I don’t want you in ’ere just to look around! Either you forks out or you gets out!’

But by far the most loathsome thing about Mrs Pratchett was the filth that clung around her. Her apron was grey and greasy. Her blouse had bits of breakfast all over it, toast-crumbs and tea stains and splotches of dried egg-yolk. It was her hands, however, that disturbed us most. They were disgusting. They were black with dirt and grime. They looked as though they had been putting lumps of coal on the fire all day long. And do not forget please that it was these very hands and fingers that she plunged into the sweet-jars when we asked for a pennyworth of Treacle Toffee or Wine Gums or Nut Clusters or whatever.

Is this an extraordinary autobiography? No, but’s entertaining and fun to read if you like Dahl’s writing. 3,5 stars, upped to 4 because this is the whimsical Roals Dahl we're talking about. ...more

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Sep 09, 2012 K. Hosein rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone remotely interested in Dahl or his books

Recommended to K. by: Given to me on my 26th birthday by Portia Subran.

'We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine.'

"Boy: Tales of Childhood" was one of the books gifted to me by my girlfriend, Portia, on my 26th birthday. She had urged me to read this before delving into Roald Dahl's other work of personal nature, "Going Solo". So I started this today and finished it today. The book is described by Dahl not as an autobiography but just a recollection of events that he could skim from the top of his consciousness, events that have stayed wi 'We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine.'

"Boy: Tales of Childhood" was one of the books gifted to me by my girlfriend, Portia, on my 26th birthday. She had urged me to read this before delving into Roald Dahl's other work of personal nature, "Going Solo". So I started this today and finished it today. The book is described by Dahl not as an autobiography but just a recollection of events that he could skim from the top of his consciousness, events that have stayed with him for decades until 1986, when he wrote the book, a mere four years before he died.

"Boy" is layered with an aspect that I appreciate most in literature, fiction or non-fiction: honesty. The tone, narration and overall nostalgic feel of the book never comes across as hokey invention, glossy or over-saturated. His wording is simple, as if telling the story himself to his own descendants, or any rounded group of intent listeners. The story itself follows Dahl through the death of his little sister and father; the challenge these deaths bestowed upon his mother; his time in boarding school and being a "fag" in Repton and having to succumb to their own prefects from hell, referred to as Boazers.

There are also stories of childish cunning and mischief as Dahl relates the tale of a prank pulled on the clerk of a local candy shop, and on his sister's pipe-smoking fiance. Towards the end, Dahl relates the difference between working as a businessman in the petroleum industry and being a writer. It is brief but he sums it up well in an astounding few paragraphs without any overindulgence. Another chapter to look out for is his ruminations after having to sample Cadbury's chocolate, which led him to write one of his most famous works: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"Boy" is an honest book, a highly personal work rooted in the reality of a writer who dwells in universes that are filled with charming whimsy. If you are even remotely interested in Roald Dahl or his writings, this should come highly recommended. ...more

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Sep 10, 2014 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Roald Dahl was one of my favorite authors as a child and still is.

In Boy: Tales of Childhood, Roald Dahl talks about his most vivid childhood memories including family trips to Norway, plots against despised grown-ups, floggings at school and much more. His description and tales of certain adults are definitely entertaining and made me laugh a couple of times. I especially enjoyed reading about his visits to the glorious sweet-shop and all the amusing things his friend Thwaites used to say abou ...more

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Apr 10, 2015 Cande rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Boy Tales of Childhood”

Boy tells the amazing story of Roald Dahl’s adventures from birth and finishing school. The sequel that follows Boy is “Going Solo” which tells the story about Dahl growing up.

Roald Dahl's autobiography focuses mostly on his unpleasant experiences at his three schools. Between ages 7 and 9, Dahl went to school in his Welsh hometown, where he and his friends put a mouse in the neighbourhood sweetshop and were caned by the schoolmaster. To save her son from such beatings, ...more

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Jan 20, 2015 César Lasso rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brit-lit

No soy aficionado a la literatura infantil: de Dahl, lo que más me gusta son sus cuentos exclusivamente para adultos, así como su novela My Uncle Oswald . De todos modos, estas son las memorias de infancia de un Dahl ya adulto y consagrado como escritor, y están impregnadas de su divertido genio y sarcasmo.

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Feb 24, 2015 Sidharth Panwar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography , british , children , humor

'Boy' is a delightful book and I wish I had read it earlier. There are times when as a kid you feel that all the wrongs in life are dished to you exclusively but reading this book makes you realize that childhood is a bitter-sweet candy and all of us wobble through it somehow. There are tales to tell, oh the tales we all carry in our hearts. While reading I could think of so many mischiefs I committed and then forgot about them. Reading Dahl's exploits brought back a hundred little things to min ...more

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About Roald Dahl

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 a ...more

More about Roald Dahl...

Other Books in the Series

Roald Dahl Autobiography (4 books)

Books by Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket, #1)

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