Dahl, R. (2000). Skin and other stories. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670891843
Plot Summary A woman who kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb, then serves the murder weapon to the hungry police, a black mamba snake who nurses milk from a cow, a man on a train confronted with his childhood abuser decades later, a passenger jumping from a ship into the treacherous sea in order to save himself from financial ruin – these stories depict a motley group of characters at their best, worst, and most calculating moments. There are stories of murder, of incredible windfall, incredible loss, treachery, deceit, and delicious cunning. Above all there is the element of surprise – it is impossible to guess how a tale will end or what the next tale will hold. This collection of stories will make the reader laugh, recoil, and cringe, and most of all, it will make the reader keep turning the pages to see what could possibly be around the next corner.
Critical Analysis
Roald Dahl is best known for his children’s fiction and its elements of the fantastic and irreverent. This collection of short stories, geared towards teen readers but with a much more adult tone than his books for younger children (such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, two of his most famous). The same quality of fun and whimsy exists in these stories, but there is a vein of darkness running through them that brings the maturity and sophistication level up significantly. He pulls no punches with his discussion of murder, death, destruction, and cruelty. There is a story in which a dog is killed, a story in which a man is murdered by his normally docile wife, a story about a man jumping unwittingly to his death, a story with scenes of horrific childhood hazing and abuse, a story in which a man invents a machine that allows him to hear plants screaming as they are killed, and so on. But despite all this darkness, there is enough of his characteristic wry humor to avoid making the collection too heavy. The writing is crisp and clean, just as it is with all of his work, and his characters are amusing and completely original. The stories themselves are concise, moving at a brisk pace so that even the longer ones seem to fly by as you are reading them. Overall this collection is very satisfying, a nice stepping stone for teenagers who read and loved Dahl when they were younger and are looking for something more serious to sink their teeth into.
Reader’s Annotation
From murder to mayhem to revenge to wild fortune, this collection of stories depicts a rainbow of human experience. The characters are funny and dark and will never fail to surprise you.
About the Author
Roald Dahl was born in Wales and served as a fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force rather than going to college. Some of his earliest writing involved his most exciting missions as a pilot during World War II. His first novel was written for Walt Disney but was not a success. Then he wrote Someone Like You, a short story collection for adults, which became a bestseller, and his career took off from there. He became successful with children’s literature when he wrote James and the Giant Peach, a story he had created for his children, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was married to actress Patricia Neal, and unfortunately passed away in 1990.
Many of Dahl’s books have been made into successful films, most notably Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, among others. He has won awards such as the Edgar Award for his works. His body of work is massive and acclaimed, consisting of novels, short stories published in collections and magazines, poetry, screenplays, essays, and plays.
Genre
Alternate Format – short stories
Challenge Issues
Possible challenge issues in this book include murder, cruelty, death, and other dark themes. In the event of a challenge, I would consult the challenge defense file prepared for this book. The challenge defense file would include: positive reviews from credible sources for the purpose of proving merit to the challenger; negative reviews in order to inform me on what might be challenged; a written explanation of my own rationale for including the book in the collection as well as a summary of the plot; the American Library Association Bill of Rights; a review of my branch’s selection policy; and, as a last resort, an explanation of the reconsideration policy for my library and an official reconsideration form.
Curriculum Ties
English and Writing: short story form, dialog, prose, and tone.
Booktalk
Who read Roald Dahl as a little kid? If you loved his weird and completely unique kids stories, you’ll love this collection of his short stories written for teenagers. There is the same element of humor and creativity, but there are darker themes all throughout that make this a fun, but not lightweight, read for an older age group.
Reading Level and Interest Age
Grades 9-12.
Why I Included This Book
Roald Dahl was one of my top favorite authors as a little kid. I didn’t even know he wrote for teenagers until I stumbled across this book, and I was thrilled to read it. Teenagers will find the same elements they loved about his younger works, but will not feel talked down to, as this is definitely not a children’s book. The stories are tightly composed and intriguing; teenagers will fly through this book and seek out more of his work for older age groups.
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