On my last Fiction Friday, I reported that I would be spending a lot of time in Wonderland...and I still plan to spend that time. However, my library books were either on hold or in transit, so I was forced to pick up a book that I could read in a day. I had to do this twice, so expect two interludes before I return to Alice. This is the first of the one-night reads.
Two Fables by Roald Dahl
(Viking, 1986)
Most people know Roald Dahl as the master children's storyteller of classics such as James and The Giant Peach, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is another side of his writing career and that is his shot works written for adults. Two Fables is the meeting of these two sides of him into one collection.
The two stories in this book, "The Princess and the Poacher" and "Princess Mammalia" are traditional fables in style and theme, but have that dirty old man air of Dahl's adult fiction often contains. By using a child's format, he is able to blend what are essentially child's lessons re-imagined for adults into stories that appeal to grown-ups.
Both stories deal with the idea of beauty, or complete lack of beauty, and the power that it wields. It also about the careless passions of youth and righteousness of civility. A quick, fun, and interesting read.
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