Boy and Going Solo: Tales of Childhood

Originally published in the nineteen eighties, "Boy" and "Going Solo" were, sadly, Roald Dahl's only forays into autobiography. "Boy" chronicles Dahl's early childhood as the son of Norwegian émigrés to England. It is by turns hysterically funny, touching, charming and always deeply entertaining. His account of a prank which incorporates a dead mouse, a gobstopper jar and a cantankerous sweet-shop owner had me in conniptions of laughter on public transport (as did another which incorporated Goat faeces disguised as Tobacco and an irritating uncle with a penchant for smoking a pipe). His descriptions of the barbarity he suffered during the course of a public school education in Interbellum England will no doubt shock many adults and children today - suffice it to say, the ominous maxim "spare the rod and spoil the child" was clearly a philosophy which was adhered too quite literally - but it is a uniquely fascinating insight into a vanished time and methodology. "Going Solo" chronicles Dahl's burgeoning career as a Shell attaché in Dar Es Salaam, the outbreak of war, his enlistment in the RAF (and subsequent combat in the Aegean) and is as fascinating a tale as you could hope to read; It is at once a snapshot of the last days of the British Empire, a scathing indictment of Military Intelligence (the lapses in judgement that find Dahl and a handful of barely trained fighter pilots left to fend for themselves and "hold the line" against overwhelming and vastly more experienced Luftwaffe forces during the allied retreat from Greece are shocking), and a deftly touching coming of age tale; and while there are as many laughs to be found as in the previous volume, Dahl does not spare his readers the horrors of war or attempt to condescend to them. The parents of more sensitive children should perhaps bear this in mind before purchasing. A fascinating volume which combines the formative experiences of a man who managed to squeeze the experience of several lifetimes into his allotted 'four score and ten' years, I recommend "Boy" and "Going Solo" unreservedly for children everywhere from ages eight to eighty five.

For reading with an 8 year old boy, you can't do better. Roald Dahl replays his childhood with enthusiasm, excitement and joy. It's a funny, sad and an incredibly accurate description of being a young boy.

Boy Tales of Childhood The book Boy is a biography that tells the childhood of Roald Dahl. He tells stories about his life in boarding school, his punishments, and his funniest moments as a kid. The book talks a lot about he's problems growing up and his experiences in boarding school. One of my favorite stories is about how everyone in the boarding school would get free Cadbury chocolates. The reason why everyone got chocolates was because the company wanted feedback on the chocolates so every kid would be very careful and try each chocolate and write whether they liked it or not. When Roald Dahl was younger he wanted to make the perfect filling for chocolates he had all these ideas about what a chocolate factory looked like. I liked this story because I think it is really cool to be able to test chocolates and I also like this because the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was based on the chocolates from boarding school. Roald Dahl wrote this book really well and I recommend it.

This was the first Roald Dahl book I read. My now-husband gave me Boy for my 22nd birthday because it was one of his favorite books as a child. I loved it and read it and Going Solo as quickly as I could. I recommend it to anyone of any age and will definitely read it to my children. Dahl had an eventful childhood which he narrates with the compassionate and mischievous tone of his other books. Boy is perfect for parents and children alike because Dahl remembers how life feels from the child's point of view whilst, a parent himself, appreciating the difficulties of parenthood and adulthood. Few books better help children and their parents to see eye-to-eye. Also admirable are the strength and acceptance that allows him to overcome childhood hardships without a trace of bitterness or melodrama. More than anything, it is a beautiful, interesting and down-right amusing look at a world not so far away in distance or time.

This is a wonderful combination of Roald Dahl's childhood and schooling, followed by stories from his life in east Africa and experiences as a pilot in the war. It is written in the same eloquent style as his children's books with seemingly amazing stories about home surgery, the village sweet shop and trips to Norway. You can see the beginnings of a number of his books in his experiences. I can thoroughly recommend as a great read.