Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake: Witches (1983, Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
208 pages
English language
Published Aug. 9, 1983 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
A young boy and his Norwegian grandmother, who is an expert on witches, together foil a witches' plot to destroy the world's children by turning them into mice.
Essentially Danny The Champion of the World with magic instead of realism. Not as sweet as "Danny" but just as lovable. A mid-level solid Roald Dahl book.
I read this entirely by accident and then just couldn't put it down, which is ridiculous because I have seen the film and knew exactly what was gonna happen. Still, I quite enjoyed the read, it's got a beautiful language and a much more consistent plot than e.g. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
A few things still bothered me though:
- What happened to William and Mary the mice? It appears they've been completely abandoned
- I liked the "happier" ending of the film. It shows that not everything is as borderline-good-and-evil as the witches in this book.
- Two somewhat religious mentions would make me worried that children will put too much truth into them. I doubt the book has the power to indoctrinate children, but I would still prefer it if children's books such as this were free from such things.
A classic Childrens tale from a classic Childrens author, I grew up reading and re-reading Roald Dahl's novels time and again... This and The BFG were by far my favorites and I one day hope my Children (should I be lucky enough to have any) will get as much joy and escape out of it as I did.
It is a children book. One should not look for clarity in that.
Read when I was a child and I remember I loved it.
