Skin and Other Stories

Hardcover, 212 pages

English language

Published April 4, 2000 by Viking.

ISBN:
978-0-670-89184-9
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OCLC Number:
965563622

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4 stars (4 reviews)

Who could imagine that a woman would kill her husband with a frozen leg of lamb--and then feed it to the police investigating the murder? Or that a greedy group of art dealers would stop at nothing to separate a poor man form a valuable picture--that's tattooed on his back?

These thirteen tales will keep readers spellbound from the opening lines until the surprise-twist endings that are always immensely satisfying. Roald Dahl is one of the few authors ever to be so hugely successful as an author for both children and adults. He was a master of the adult short story, and his popular anthologies showcase his skill as a sleight-of-hand artist. The stories in this new collection have been specially selected as Ain introduction for teenagers to the adult writings of one of the greatest storytellers ever. --front flap

10 editions

Review of 'Skin and Other Stories' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Roald Dahl, you marvellous, wonderful bastard. You horrible, talented prick.

Roald played with my feelings in this one. He made me feel horrible and desperate, but he did it in his funny and entertaining way. I felt happy, but in a sticky, drying-blood-on-your-fingertips sort of way. He was terse (once in flight school he was laconic) and his text flowed incredibly. I think the short story format not only suits this kind of thing extremely well, but Roald also used it masterfully, giving out information in just the right pace.

The only thing that was very bad about this book is the obvious sexism. It's quite a lot. I guess you could explain some of it away by the text's age. It doesn't make it completely okay, though.

In any case, this is the first adult text of Roald's that I have read, and I will definitely go for more.

Subjects

  • Short stories, English
  • Short stories