Addressing Dahl

The problems rereading a childhood favourite

In 2022, for various reasons, I wanted to reread Roald Dahl’s catalogue of children’s books that I had been so obsessed with as a kid. It was Dahl’s stories that got me into reading as a young boy and ultimately made me want to write my own. I started writing at 6 years old and never stopped. So in December 2022 I found a boxset of all Dahl’s children’s books for a ludicrously low price and bought it, looking forward to diving back into my childhood. As I began my reread it became clear that not only did I still love these stories but they all still hold up remarkably well. There was a lot worth talking about in these stories and rediscovering my love for the books was something I wanted to share.

And then 2023 became ‘The year of Roald Dahl’…

As the months went by and I read more of his books, falling more and more in love with the stories, so too did Roald Dahl’s name continue to appear in the headlines. As a result, contextually, any discussion of Dahl right now must come with some enormous caveats and all praise must be qualified. As such, I am writing this article as a prelude to the article I actually want to write about how much I love those books.

In this piece I just want to confront all of the current discussion surrounding Roald Dahl, that would otherwise…