The Great Automatic Grammatizator and The Umbrella Man are kind of strangely narrated.ĭahl comes across as a bit of a misogynist at times. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, Vengeance is Mine Inc. But others like The Landlady and Parson's Pleasure are definitely not the kind of stories you read for a second time. Some of the stories like Man From the South, The Way Up to Heaven and Neck are still as fresh as when I read them the first time. I’ve read a few of the stories from this collection before.
Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, the entire introduction to the story is unnecessary and in bad taste. But the protagonist is once again a man being unfairly treated by a wicked woman and he ends up turning the tables on her. Royal Jelly was kind of creepy but felt a little rambling. This is the only story of the book where the wife is being abused by the husband and not vice versa. I find it grisly in spite of the fact that Dahl never actually describes what happens to Mr. The Way Up to Heaven is a real macabre tale. It’s supposed to be sad and heart warming but I didn’t feel anything.
Katina is the only story in the book without an unexpected ending or any surprise elements in it. The Umbrella Man is a humorous story with an unexpected ending. The Landlady and Parson's Pleasure are both re-reads for me and are good stories with twist endings. The ending is what makes this story special. Man From the South is perhaps the most famous of Dahl’s stories. I loved the way Dahl manages to create a real surprise ending with so little to go upon. The Butler is a really short story with a twist ending. It couldn’t really generate the chilling effect it was going for. The eponymous The Great Automatic Grammatizator was a disappointment. Some of them are quite macabre and bizarre. Most of the stories have unexpected endings. All the stories were published elsewhere originally. These stories were selected specifically for a teenaged audience. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, The Butler, Man From the South, The Landlady, Parson's Pleasure, The Umbrella Man, Katina, The Way Up to Heaven, Royal Jelly, Vengeance is Mine Inc., Taste and Neck. The book contains thirteen stories, The Great Automatic Grammatizator, Mrs. Published in 1997, it is known as The Umbrella Man and Other Stories in the US. The Great Automatic Grammatizator is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl. They also show the strength of Dahl’s writing in unusual ideas and character development. Each story has a strange twist, and interesting characters. Some of the stories I’d read in “Kiss, Kiss,” which is another short story collection. Dahl makes her so alive, and at the same time paints how harsh war is. This story is one that has stuck in my head. The soldiers try to teach her English, give her shelter and food. When asked why she was sitting where they found her, she told them her family was under the rubble. Luckily there was a Greek interpreter with the troops to help find out about her. She had a wound and they took her to the Doc for treatment.Ĭommunication was difficult, as she didn’t speak English. A couple of the soldiers found a little girl sitting on a pile of rubble staring. The RAF are fighting to push back the Germans. It is April 1941, during the Greek campaign. It is a machine that can be given the mere basics and then write a full-blown novel!Īnother story, “Katina,” is about a little Greek girl. The title story revolves around a machine that could possibly do away with writers. The unusual names and strange situations. These are for an older audience, but they do have elements that can be found in his kids’ books. These are not the type of stories usually associated with Roald Dahl. Originally selected for teenagers, adults can enjoy the read. As the title says, this is a selection of thirteen short stories.
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