Tales of the Unexpected

Rating:
Summary: First Great Book I Ever Read!
Review: I used to think books were boring. I would always avoid the library. But when I got this book, I started reading the first page. And then I couldn't put the book down! I would read this book in class, at reading time every day, until the ending. This is my favorite book. It always will be. Thanks to Roald Dahl, I'm starting to read lots of books now!

Rating:
Summary: Okay if you've got absolutely nothing else to do
Review: I ussually like Roald Dahl but this one just doesn't follow in his other books greatness. For one thing, the charecters stunk. Each one seemed to be alike with the description he gave. Also, it was written so long ago that it is very confusing, and has no relevance to everyday life. This book draaaaaaged on. It seemed like an eternity before I was done. One last thing, is it just me or was this book twisted? Do i really want to know what happened to the skin of an old guy? Uhhm, i don't think so.

Rating:
Summary: For Short Story Lovers
Review: I was enchanted with Roald Dahl's writing as a child ever since I read CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this book while browsing through the shelves of my university's library. After reading TASTE and then LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER, I found it difficult to put the book down. I find Dahl's style of writing and his keen attention to detail an absolute delight. Every story is a treat and I relish the moments that I have a bit of time to read a story or two. As a busy student, I don't have much time for recreational reading, and that's why short stories are a favorite. I enjoyed the book so much that I decided to purchase a personal copy from Amazon because this is a book I would like to read more than once. I had just been reading some of Shirley Jackson's short stories and was delighted to find another author who is consumately skilled in the genre. For those of you who like unusual stories with a twist, this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Does anyone remember the TV series?
Review: If you remember the TV series, and/or know where to get the episodes on video, please let me know. Very similar to "Night Gallery" and the "Twilight Zone", I thought. Email: [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Does anyone remember the TV series?
Review: If you remember the TV series, and/or know where to get the episodes on video, please let me know. Very similar to "Night Gallery" and the "Twilight Zone", I thought. Email: [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Does anyone remember the TV series?
Review: If you remember the TV series, and/or know where to get the episodes on video, please let me know. Very similar to "Night Gallery" and the "Twilight Zone", I thought. Email: [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Three Tales of the Unexpected
Review: In fact , a book worth to read , to read with pleasure. We felt throbbing by reading the three short funny tales about some interesting aspects about life and death. On the one hand a surviving brain and on the other hand a vegetarian who dies in a packing-house, we really adore those special ideas, which gave us a lot of information and made us laughing. It was exquisitely funny to read and we have to recommand it to everybody who is not too tricky in that black humour. The way Roald Dahl describes his exagerated ideas full of details let them show truly. thank you Roald, we're your fans! martin and matthew from aarau, switzerland

Rating:
Summary: Three Tales of the Unexpected
Review: In fact, a book worth reading, reading with pleasure. We felt throbbing by reading the three short funny tales about some interesting aspects about life and death. On the one hand a surviving brain and on the other hand a vegetarian who dies in a packing-house, we really adore those special ideas, which gave us a lot of information and made us laughing. It was exquisitely funny to read and we have to recommand it to everybody who is not too tricky in that black humour. The way Roald Dahl describes his exagerated ideas full of details let them show truly. thank you Roald, we're your fans! Martin and Matthew

Rating:
Summary: Unexpected and stupid
Review: Review to Roald Dahl's three tales of the unexpected!

The unexpected has been well chosen from Dahl but that doesn't mean that this must be used in a negative sense. Like he does! All of the three stories have a foolish and pessimistic end, which you would never expect. The first story tells about a couple, where the husband died. He wanted to live on and so he followed the instructions of the doctor and allowed, that the surgeon takes out his brain of his head as soon as he died. The joke about this story is, that his wife who was always against this idea and she wanted at the end even take the brain home. And Dahl uses so many medical expressions, that you nearly fall asleep by reading it. The second story we don't even remember, what it was about! The third story is even more macabre than the first one and we would never recommend it to people who are still a little bit normal!

Olivia & Fabienne

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Rating:
Summary: Vintage Roald Dahl--wonderful, wonderful!
Review: Roald Dahl is at the peak of his powers in this collection. For anyone who knows him only as the author of the Willy Wonka books--or who thinks of him purely as a children's book author--this is the book to change your mind and make you think admiringly about Dahl's considerable powers as an adult writer.

The book is comprised of gem after gem. Two of Dahl's most famous stories are here. One is "Lamb to the Slaughter," about the wife of a police detective who kills her husband in a most unconventional way and then disposes of the murder weapon in a manner that would make any criminal proud. The other, "Nunc Dimittis," describes the lengths to which a society smoothie goes for revenge.

Dahl's descriptive powers are basic, but his imagination is limitless. He manages to calmly, smoothly pull you into his stories and make the most outrageous things seem perfectly in keeping and perfectly normal--while still just a bit askew.

The stories are all vintage Dahl. Each has elements of the macabre and the grotesque, couched in the comfortable trappings of middle-class life: marriage, tidy houses, bills, resentment, secrets, tidy houses, and so on. Dahl pulls off the neat trick of making the macabre laughable, though--he's not trying to scare the reader as much as make us shout with laughter and recognition and then settle back to enjoy a shiver of anticipation. In "William and Mary," the terminally ill narrator is propositioned by a neurosurgeon friend to give his brain up for experimentation after death. Despite the gruesome details, the story is hilarious:

" . . . So when I get you on the table I will take a saw, a small oscillating saw, and with this I shall proceed to remove the whole vault of your skull. You'd still be unconscious at that point so I wouldn't have to bother with anaesthetic."

"Like hell you wouldn't," I said.

"You'd be out cold, I promise you that, William. Don't forget you DIED just a few minutes before."

"Nobody's sawing off the top of my skull without an anaesthetic," I said.

Dahl doesn't get any better than this!