Skin and Other Stories

by Roald Dahl

Overview

How would you get rid of a murder weapon without causing suspicion? Where would you hide a diamond where no one else would think of looking? What if you found out that the tattoo on your back was worth over a million dollars? You will discover that just about anything is possible in a Roald Dahl story, and here are eleven of his very best.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141310343
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/28/2002
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.41(h) x 0.61(d)
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Wales of Norwegian parents. He spent his childhood in England and, at age eighteen, went to work for the Shell Oil Company in Africa. When World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Air Force and became a fighter pilot. At the age of twenty-six he moved to Washington, D.C., and it was there he began to write. His first short story, which recounted his adventures in the war, was bought by The Saturday Evening Post, and so began a long and illustrious career.

After establishing himself as a writer for adults, Roald Dahl began writing children’s stories in 1960 while living in England with his family. His first stories were written as entertainment for his own children, to whom many of his books are dedicated.

Roald Dahl is now considered one of the most beloved storytellers of our time. Although he passed away in 1990, his popularity continues to increase as his fantastic novels, including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, delight an ever-growing legion of fans.

Learn more about Roald Dahl on the official Roald Dahl Web site: www.roalddahl.com

Date of Birth:

September 13, 1916

Date of Death:

November 23, 1990

Place of Birth:

Llandaff, Wales, England

Place of Death:

Oxford, England

Table of Contents

	Skin	1
	Lamb to the Slaughter	22
	The Sound Machine	35
	An African Story	53
	Galloping Foxley	71
	The Wish	90
	The Surgeon	95
	Dip in the Pool	129
	The Champion of the World	144
	Beware of the Dog	179
	My Lady Love, My Dove	194

Editorial Reviews

Packed with imaginative characters, quirky plots, and surprise endings, these eleven gems are the kinds of stories readers will want to share with their friends.

Children's Literature

This volume collects 11 of the master storyteller's short stories, many of which first appeared in Someone Like You, and also includes "The Surgeon," originally published in Playboy in 1986. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Designed as a collection of so-called adult pieces by Dahl that might be appropriate for young readers, I think this group of stories would interest teenagers. Several stories have surprise endings and feature characters whose actions are driven by their compulsions. For instance, "The Sound Machine" focuses on a machine a man has invented that is so sensitive that the man can hear the sounds of plants screaming upon death. The effect of these sounds, real or imagined, on his actions drives the story to its conclusion. Another story, "Skin," asks readers to consider what might happen if a tattoo on a person's back became worth a lot of money as the artist's fame and reputation grew. These stories are not particularly contemporary, but, the author's engaging style and inventive flair would certainly entertain young readers. Genre: Short Stories 2000, Viking, 211p

In these thirteen stories, all with surprise-twist endings, things are never as simple as they seem. Some of the tales show the depths of human greed, such as Skin, in which a man contends with two art dealers who will stop at nothing to acquire the priceless painting he has tattooed on his back. Others, such as Lamb to the Slaughter, in which a wife gets away with murder—literally—or The Champion of the World, about two bungling poachers, are more humorous and poke fun at the idiocies of humanity. This collection was put together as an introduction for teens to Dahl's adult writings, but not all the entries will appeal to teens. They will like The Sound Machine, the story of a man who discovers a way to hear beyond the range of human hearing, but stories such as Dip in the Pool or Galloping Foxley are so dated that they are almost incomprehensible. Teens who loved Dahl's writing as children probably will pick up this book eagerly, and the cover—with the title tattooed onto skin—is certainly eye catching, but the stories were originally written for adults, so they do have some adult language and rather a lot of drinking. The stories in this anthology are darker than his works for children, but it is worth reading simply for the beautiful story about a downed fighter pilot—Beware of the Dog. That tale alone exemplifies the magic that is in Dahl's writing. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P J S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2000, Viking/Penguin, 144p, $15.99. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Snow Wildsmith

SOURCE: VOYA, December 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 5)

VOYA

Although this collection of previously published stories was compiled for teenagers graduating to adult fiction, Skin and Other Stories will also seduce grown-ups with its nefariously nimble wit...a posthumous treat from a devilishly funny author.
—Entertainment Weekly

Margot Mifflin