Review of The BFG

In a recent post I wrote about my recent discovery of Roald Dahl’s Danny, the Champion of the World.  I found this book thoroughly delightful and not nearly as strange as some of Dahl’s books for children.  In that post I mentioned that I had also read another of Dahl’s books, The BFG.  This reading experience was quite different, but still positive.

I really did not like this book in the beginning.  It just didn’t grab me.  In this story Sophie, a British girl in an orphanage, sees a giant looking into windows at night.  He captures her and carries her away to his home (which is far away, off the edge of the map).  This Big Friendly Giant explains to her that he kidnapped her to protect the secret of his location.  He believes that if people learned of his existence they would put him in a zoo.  When Sophie spied him, he was merely trying to bring pleasant dreams to sleeping children.

The BFG really is friendly, and silly!  He speaks a language, gobblefunk, that is part nonsense, part makes-perfect-sense.  It may really appeal to children, but I found it annoying and tiresome.  After Sophie and the BFG arrive at his home, nothing much happens for a while.  While safely hidden, Sophie encounters the nine other giants, which are much bigger, uglier and meaner than the BFG.  They subsist on humans, which the BFG finds morally unacceptable.  Instead, he eats a foul-tasting squash-like vegetable that even he dislikes.  He drinks a powerful and tasty soda whose gas escapes not in burps, but in toots that send the drinker skyward.  I feel certain many children will be amused by the carbonated pyrotechnics. 

The story gains traction when Sophie learns that the other giants intend to go by night to London schools to find their next meal – innocent boys and girls!  Sophie feels the need to do something about it, but the BFG would rather lay low and protect himself.  He knows there is no way to stop the giants that night, but Sophie is adamant that they must do something.

Parents, be warned: The idea of giants eating humans is not a pleasant one.  Nothing in the story is gory or graphic, but in at least one place it is darkly suggestive.  There are probably children who would find parts of this story overwhelming.  Many children, however, will be able to tolerate it without difficulty. 

Over a few days, Sophie and the BFG each learn important lessons. Although the BFG seems oafish and uneducated, he knows things that Sophie does not.  She comes to realize that one’s own group (team, nationality, species) is not always right, and that members of other groups deserve respect.  The BFG learns from Sophie that decency sometimes demands that we attempt things that seem hopeless and possibly extremely dangerous.  In the end they enlist the help of the most powerful person Sophie can think of, the Queen of England.  Whatever you think of the actual monarch, this Queen turns out to be wise, just and humane. 

We could all learn something from these three characters.  I’m glad I saw this book through to the end.  It may give you the opportunity to discuss some pretty grown-up things with your children. 

Danny, the Champion of the World

I’ve been on a minor Roald Dahl kick recently, by which I mean that I have read two books by this celebrated author in the last couple of weeks.  Although the first chapter book I remember receiving was Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, I am not a lifelong fan.  I have liked some of his books, including Kiss Kiss, a collection primarily of fiendishly fun short stories, definitely for adults.  I was unimpressed by Matilda; I found it two-dimensional, and I much prefer the movie version.  And I have not (yet) read the iconic Charlie and the Chocolate Family.  (I hope this admission does not alienate the army of Dahl enthusiasts.)

While sitting with a cat in my lap, I reached for a book and found Danny, the Champion of the World.  (I had forgotten that the short story upon which this is based appeared in Kiss Kiss.)  I immediately fell in love with Danny, a nine-year-old boy, and his father, William, a widower auto mechanic who is passionate about many things, but mostly about his son.  Such is their love for each other that, if given a choice, Danny would rather work on cars with his father than play with his school mates.  (In the context of the story, this is actually a lovely thing; more on that later.)

Danny discovers that another of his father’s passions is poaching.  William is intrigued by the quest for the big score, as was his own father.  Fresh fish and fowl are delicious, but equally enticing is the opportunity to put one over on the local wealthy landowner and bully, Mr. Hazell.  Those of you who know Dahl will recognize his penchant for backing the underdog.  Danny finds his father’s enthusiasm contagious, and they collaborate on the next quest: to spoil the opening day of pheasant hunting on Hazell’s grounds. 

Dahl does not shy away from the chance to introduce some nail-biting episodes – not enough to scare most children, but sufficient to add dramatic tension.  Danny is both brave and resourceful in meeting challenges.  In the end, however, laughter carries the day!

It is likely that some parents will not be happy with a story that glorifies illegal activity, although the target is so cartoonishly despicable that he virtually cries out for his comeuppance.  Others might frown on Dahl’s anti-authority stance; in Danny he ridicules not only the wealthy landowner but also a sadistic schoolmaster.  William is righteously enraged, demonstrating that he is, after all, human.  Some parents might like to see Danny playing with friends, rather than being isolated at home.  To Dahl’s credit, Danny’s father has the same concern.  I suspect that when Danny gets a little older he’ll spread his wings and find independence. 

This story of a boy and his father is in all other ways so endearing that I hope concerned parents will let their children give it a try.  I think it would be a great book to read with your child.  Many of us would envy the father-son relationship; some may strive for it.  Soon I’ll take up the other of my recent Dahl discoveries, The BFG.  Happy reading!