Uncle Oswald, the great rogue and fornicator, has discovered the world's most powerful aphrodisiac and a method of quick-freezing sperm. So with the help of the gorgeous Yasmin Howcomely, he sets out to preserve 51 living geniuses and crowned heads, from James Joyce to King Albert and Henry Ford.
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The nameless narrator has revealed snippets of the lovable, lascivious Uncle Oswald's life in other collections, but this is the only novel--brief though it is--dedicated solely to the diaries of "the greatest fornicator of all time." Inspired by stories of the aphrodisiac powers of the Sudanese blister beetle, the palpable seductiveness of the lovely Yasmin Howcomely, and the scientific know-how of Professor A. R. Woresley, Uncle Oswald anticipates the concept of the Nobel sperm bank by some 40 years, flimflamming crowned heads, great artists, and eccentric geniuses into making "donations." The life of a commercial sperm broker has a few surprises even for a sophisticated bon vivant, and Dahl manages his signature sting-in-the-tail ending even in one of his lightest comic works.
About the Author
From the publication of James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the 1960s to his death in 1990, Roald Dahl became the most successful children's author in the world. Nearly twenty years later, a fresh generation of children seek out his work with instinctive fanaticism. His creations endure - through Hollywood movies, theatre adaptations and musical works, but still most potently of all through the pure magic of his writing upon the page.
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First Sentence
I am beginning, once again, to have an urge to salute my Uncle Oswald. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I am beginning, once again, to have an urge to salute my Uncle Oswald. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By hjonkers
Format:Paperback
Those who only knew Dahl as a writer of funny short stories and haunting children's books, should look here. This is one of his more lengthy stories, although it doesn't have much more than 200 pages. His witty and capricious style hasn't changed either: this is a book as funny as you'll seldom read them. It's not for the youngest kids though, mainly because of its main subject. For there is just one thing this whole book depends on: sex. Not the kind of it you meet in most books, though: the story is rather a caricature of all sexual values that have ever existed. The story's main person, Oswald Cornelius (who is called 'uncle' because the whole story is quoted from his 'diaries' by a nephew), is, according to Dahl, "the greatest rogue, bounder, connoisseur, bon vivant and fornicator of all time". He seems to get every lady, not regarding age or whatever else, into bed with utmost ease. This gentleman comes across a lot of absolutely ridiculous adventures that are all described in this wicked book.
This story takes place around 1912, when Oswald is barely seventeen. In spite of his young age, he is already a great diplomat and communicator. When he hears about a mysterious African beetle that, when stamped to powder, increases a man's potency highly, he's the first to go on expedition to Africa and get hold of some of these beetles. He accomplishes his mission and gets back to Europe where he sells his 'high-potency pills' at exorbitant prices to noble people from all over the world. But then he realizes there's much more (money) to get. Oswald then develops an ultimately ridiculous plan. Take a look at the cover if you're curious about it, I'd say. Anyway, to execute this plan he needs help. He picks out two people as his sidekicks: a chemist called A.R. Woresley and his schoolmate Yasmin Howcomely, "a girl absolutely soaked in sex" as Dahl describes it. And off they go for their mission...
While Oswald is presented as a great bon vivant in the beginning, I need to say that his person changes during the story. At the start he's an audacious boy who fears nobody and even dares to challenge older ladies, but during the second part of the story Oswald is mainly a witness of Yasmin's actions. He has become a businessman who lets others do the work for him. And as with real businessmen, not everything goes as they had planned it... But in the end any kind of character development doesn't matter all that much, for this novel is just a very humorous story that made me laugh as I'd seldom did before with any book. The undertaken actions, and especially the way Dahl describes these, are incredibly funny. You're really in for a (hopefully positive) shock if you haven't read anything like this before. I can absolutely recommend this book for anyone who likes a very lucid and deliciously weird read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By "buster225"
Format:Paperback
When encountering dahl's metaphysical view of man and nature it's best to approach his works from a geo-sensitive literary mindset. This I say, of course, with all neo-pretentions aside.
His characters have an opaque luster and that sheen only grows as the character reveals himself through dahl's social-societal inclinations to reveal that which has thus far remained cloaked.
And the book is cloaked, in a sense. Cloaked with an aged, starched blanket enriching words and breathing life into paradigms once left unexplored save for the recesses of a sharp yet dusty mind. But this you see, of course, and don't you?
Format:Paperback
This book is sexy but not pornographic, an adult book which is clever, funny and ironic. If you liked any of RD's children's books and you are an adult now, who possesses a raunchy sense of humour and an appreciation of subtlety, you will LOVE this book.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Everything we would come to expect from Dahl
This is a typical Roald Dahl book, which shows the authors fantasy and imagination at work.
I read somewhere that Dahl was embarassed about this book being published but it is an... Read more
Published on Nov 2 2003 by Bret Addison
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Uncle Oswald
As a child I was a huge Roald Dahl fan. When my sister told me that he also wrote Adult books, I was so excited. I read this one a few weeks ago, and it was so entertaining! Read more
Published on Jan 7 2003 by Allie S
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dahl, the master of children's tales
When I read this book I...knew little about the act of procreation (besides what I had seen in pictures). Dahl exhibits here not a realistic, but an idealistic view of sexuality. Read more
Published on Jun 26 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quick witted, quick read
Roald Dahl is one of the most compelling yet unpretentious writers I have ever read. He is infinitely clever and can master children's books, short stories and erotic novellas. Read more
Published on April 9 2002 by A. Whitney
4.0 out of 5 stars
shine on you crazy dahl diamond
When encountering dahl's metaphysical view of man and nature it's best to approach his works from a geo-sensitive literary mindset. Read more
Published on Mar 1 2002 by "buster225"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dahl's gem shines on
When encountering dahl's metaphysical view of man and nature it's best to approach his works from a geo-sensitive literary mindset. Read more
Published on Mar 1 2002 by "buster225"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing but Inferior Dahl
For completists, a necessity, but not his best work. He clearly had some fun writing it-- you'll have fun reading it. Read more
Published on Dec 27 2001 by Chris Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute hoot
What can I say? I've read this book three times, and each time I laugh so hard that my socks fall off. Read more
Published on Dec 5 2001 by dfunqued
3.0 out of 5 stars
My Uncle Oswald
I think this is one of the inferior books of Dahl. He is a great short story teller but as far as novel is concerned it lacks maturity. Read more
Published on Jun 27 2001 by Libri Mundi
3.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, Creative, but not Great
I enjoyed this book totally, but was astounded by the large amount of perfect reviews. This was a funny, funny book, but there was a lot of overblown craziness. Read more
Published on April 19 2001
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