Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl

I suspect many of my peers must have been an Enid Blyton fan when they were young, probably in their primary school days. Either that, or they could have been reading Famous Five novels or Nancy Drew. (I hope i didn't get the names wrong, for they all seem so yesteryear.) I do remember reading one or two Enid Blyton books myeslf - there were many, many titles - but i was never enamoured of them. These days, besides that immensely popular Harry Potter series, i wonder what books our young are now reading.

I do have a favourite children's author though, and to this very day i still relish reading his books, which are absolutely delightful. I wanted to write something about this because of two reasons. First, i had bought a book by the said author during the holidays - and no, it's not one of his children books but his collection of Unexpected stories (hint!). Secondly - now this is a giveaway - the cinema is showing a film by the same title of one of his books: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Incidentally, i just read that the film was given a good rating by Ong Sor Fern, the film critic with the Straits Times.

He is Roald Dahl of course. Right in the back of my precious little bookshelf is a series of his books that i had begged my mum to buy them for me when i was still very young. They are a treasure and i wouldn't for anything give them up. Although many of the plots of the stories have somewhat faded in my memory, there's no doubt that reading them had once given me infinite joy. Titles like The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, Matilda, The Magic Finger and - yes - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are true gems which simply nourish the imaginative powers of any child and adult alike. And that's because Roald Dahl writes with amazing wit and charm. He is able to write about characters that readers like me would find sympathy in and rally behind, and these characters are juxtaposed with delightfully caricatured nasty guys whom we all know too well and detest (because such characters are all around us). In short, as many novelists and critics have pointed out, Roald Dahl is that famous, superb master storyteller - that 'absoulte master of the twist in the tale'.

His adult short stories are equally fascinating, and every one of which indeed has an ironic, almost sardonic twist that accompanies the development of the story. For someone who is able to inject ironies into his stories with such seeming ease, i reckon he had lived an enriching life, where his keeness of mind and penetrating eyes had observed the many ironies that are replete in our lives. Yet it takes someone who has a certain wit and gift for writing to be able to produce those engaging stories.

My teacher used to read my class wonderful stories, using those gigantic books that are held on her laps to aid her story-telling. But when it comes to Roald Dahl's books, which were thicker and not available in those massive book sizes, she would simply sit us around her and read out the story to us as would a master storyteller. The class would listen intently, and sometimes, there would be illustrations in the books which my teacher would stretch her hands out and show to us. That's when little brats like us start to get excited and incorporate those pictures into our own mental pictures so as to visualise what and how the story would play out in real life. I still remember that Quentin Blake did the illustrations for many of Roald Dahl's novels. The pictures resemble the caricatured characters and they are somehow long and malleable-like. Most important, Quentin Blake's illustrations and Roald Dahl's vivid and ironic descriptions make a formidable pair. In any case, this was how i fell in love with Roald Dahl's books.

I wish i had time to revisit his books all over again. I tried in the holidays but ultimately, other necessary books and readings, plus many excuses and procrastination, had meant that i couldn't finish reading. I've started reading Tales of The Unexpected although i'm far from finishing. But it's all right. These are short stories which i intend to read every now and then - they are not like novels and my academic readings that need longer time and consistency to finish. Only thing is i have too many of both leisure reading and academic reading materials!