"I'm going shopping in the village," George's mother said to George on Saturday morning. "So be a good boy and don't get into mischief." This was a silly thing to say to a small boy at any time. It immediately made him wonder what sort of mischief he might get into.George is a small boy of eight, and when he's left all alone one day with his grouchy old grandmother, he determines to make her a new medicine to replace the medicine that she takes, which doesn't seem to do her any good. He mixes all sorts of fantastical things into the brew, from shampoo, to lipstick, to all sorts of animal medicines, to brown paint, to anti-freeze, and much more. In the real world, such a mixture would almost certainly kill you. But with Roald Dahl, anything is possible. And George's medicine ends up doing something truly marvelous...Don't worry, there are no spoilers here.
When George's mother and his rather excitable father arrive, the action rises, to a very amusing ending. George's Marvelous Medicine isn't one of my favorite Roald Dahl novels; it doesn't have as much of Dahl's rather morbid humor as some of his other books. However, it is entertaining, which is mainly the reason one reads Roald Dahl. There's not much depth, and the book doesn't make you think all that much, but it's not bad.
My favorite thing about Roald Dahl is certainly his general zaniness; not much in his books make sense, but that's part of why they're so magical and so popular even to this day. One thing I do love is the ending of this book: "George didn't say a word. He felt quite trembly. He knew something tremendous had taken place that morning. For a few brief moments he had touched with the very tips of his fingers the edge of a magic world." (pg. 89). That's how the book ends, and it's quite a good conclusion. I also loved the description of when George is boiling the medicine, on pages 27-28. Roald Dahl uses a lot of great adjectives, and some made-up words too.
89 pages.
 | ||||
| Very Good! I would recommend this book! |
No comments:
Post a Comment