Customer Reviews

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As far as I'm concerned, this book should be reachable on every child's bookshelf (and by the way - every child should have a bookshelf). I read it years ago and can still recall the way the book made me feel - truly wonderful. I still remember the story of the hitchhiker so many years after I read it. Dahl is one of the best storytellers of our time.

A recent discussion with several friends left me fending off accusations that the only material I read or watch pertains to the horror genre. I had some difficulty convincing these misguided souls that I do indeed like to read literature and watch films that don't contain a masked maniac. Exhibit A in my defense is Roald Dahl's "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More," a book I adored as a child and one that fully deserves to sit alongside the author's better known "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach." Dahl the man had an interesting life; he worked in the oil business in Africa before joining the RAF during World War II to fight the Luftwaffe. Injuries incurred from a plane crash briefly sidetracked Dahl's military career, but eventually gave the world something to sing about because it directly led to the beginning of his writing career. You get all of this information from one of the stories in the book, but Dahl's fiction deservedly receives the most attention. Fortunately, we get a lot of that here too. Roald Dahl died in 1990.

The non-fiction pieces here are wonderful. His first story, "A Piece of Cake," is here, along with an account of how Dahl became a writer. Entitled "Lucky Break," this story is really a short autobiography of the writer from his early school days through his war experiences. The sections outlining his years at one of England's public schools should be read by anyone who thinks American places of learning are terrible. English public schools, Dahl writes, are actually very private academies devoted to the total education of their pupils. During the writer's childhood, this meant harsh, rigid discipline of a type usually seen in the military. The brutality exhibited by teachers and elder classmates at the school is shocking: the older students routinely whipped younger pupils with switches, an activity mirrored by the teachers whenever students misbehaved. There are great, tension filled descriptions of the beatings endured by Dahl at the hands of these tormentors. The author advises that wearing thick pajamas and undergarments will protect one's posterior from the brunt of a switching administered by a fellow classmate, but nothing will save you from the headmaster's canes. Yikes! And to think the worst thing that happened to me in school involved losing my locker combination. School wasn't a total loss for the young author, however, as it was the place where he learned to love literature.

The centerpiece story, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar," is one of the best in the book. It's really two stories in one, about a wealthy but frivolous soul named Henry Sugar and his discovery of an unusual book in a friend's library. The book tells the story about a man in India who has learned to see through objects without the use of his eyes. Sugar gets the sudden inspiration to attain this ability and soon discovers that he is a natural at it, one of the rare people with the amazing gift to learn this art in just a few years. Henry's motivations are highly suspect at first: he wishes to use this newfound talent to cheat at the casino, thereby earning himself a fortune. But something rather odd occurs during his training process when Sugar soon discovers that he has little interest in accumulating money for selfish ends. He decides instead to use his gift to fund orphanages for the world's poor, and over the next several decades bilks casino after casino out of millions of dollars. Sugar soon becomes so well known to the owners of these gambling houses that he must assume disguises to keep the game going. Dahl writes the story in such a way that the reader becomes convinced Henry Sugar was a real, breathing person.

"The Swan" is another gem about a precocious child named Peter Watson who runs into two local tormentors, Ernie and Raymond, while out bird watching. The two goons march Watson around at the point of a gun for no other reason then alleviating their boredom on a weekend. They first tie Peter to the railroad tracks and trick him into believing he will be hit by a train. The final indignity occurs when Raymond and Ernie shoot a beautiful swan, tie its wings to Peter's arms, and force him to climb a tree so they can see him "fly." No spoilers here, but there is something magical and memorable about what happens next as Peter learns that he is one of those precious souls which all the bullies in the world will never triumph over. Along with "The Swan," you get "The Hitchhiker" and the less interesting "The Boy Who Talked With Animals."

"The Mildenhall Treasure" is an incredible story about an amazing discovery. On a cold winter morning, a farmer plowing another man's land stumbled upon the greatest cache of Roman silver ever found in Britain. Regrettably, Gordon Butcher didn't know what he had found because the silver had tarnished during its years in the ground. His boss did know what it was and took the stuff home where hid it for a few years before the authorities discovered it. The crux of the story centers on a British law that says the person who FINDS any treasure receives compensation for the full market value of the items. The Mildenhall plates, bowls, and spoons would have netted Butcher nearly a million pounds. By allowing his boss to walk off with the silver, Butcher received only one thousand pounds. In a way, this book is similar to the Mildenhall Treasure: a great find even if you have little idea of it at first glance. Roald Dahl's works are genius and everyone should read a few of them.

I loved Roald Dahl books as a child but I recently realized that I still haven't read a lot of his work. This book contains a wonderful collection of stories, offering a clever mix of fantasy and reality. There's the young boy who rescues and talks to a giant sea turtle, the plowman who discovers an incredible buried treasure, the cunning hitchhiker who pick-pockets faster than the eye can see, and the wealthy man who learns how to read playing cards face-down. In addition to memorable characters and fantastic plots, this book also contains the story of how Roald Dahl became a writer, as well as a copy of the very first nonfiction story he wrote for the Saturday Evening Post.

this is the only story i have read from the book so far, having just read it this last saturday to my 7 year old cousing before he drifted off to sleep. I'm seventeen and have read a fair share of literature. I enjoy Vonnegut, Lewis, steve Martin, Camus etc..., and I must say that this was one of the most captivating stories I have ever read, taking into account its short length of course. It wasn't epic, but I was driving and caustic. I loved it, and I will buy the book, even that one story would be all that was worth reading, which I highly doubt. I'm just rebuffing the last reviewers oppinion on the "Piece of Cake" story, so that someone might be given a second oppinion. Fusion is awesome, chech out billy cobham, I'm a Christian but I won't be voting for Bush when my first valid election comes around, I play the drums but I don't care for metal or rock n roll, stocks to watch are eag, emrg, almi, orch, and adzr, I'm single as might be assumed, and yes, I have a physics test tommorrow.

This is a great book. There are seven stories each one as fun and interesting as the next.

In the first book entiled the The Boy Who Talked to Animals a man goes to Jamaica and as he was sitting on his balcony several fisherman bring up a turtle. Now you may be thinking so they bring in a turtle so what. Well heres what. This was no ordinary turtle. It was atleast five ft. long and four ft. across and a big crowd of hotel guests had come to stare at this magnificent creature. In this crowed of people was a certain very special boy, the boy who talked with animals. He begs everyone to let the turtle go as here kneels down and hugs it. What happens after that is for you to find out.

In the next story entitled The Hitchhiker a man pickes up a hitchhiker who turned out to be a fingersmith (also known as pickpocket). The man drives too fast and is pulled over what happens next is for you to find out.

The next story is The Mildenhall Treasure which is a true story - in fact one of the only true stories that Roald Dahl has ever written. He wrote this story because it was so interesting that he just had to. This true tale takes place in 1946. This story is about a treasure found and a man who lost a great oppertunity. Read this story and you wont be dissapointed.

The Swan is a story about two child thugs Ernie and Raymond who go hunting and find bird wathcing Peter Watson. The two boys tourture Peter and kill a swan while their at it. Does Peter get shot? Does he live or die? find out in Roald Dahls The Swan.

After this is a story about a man named Henry Suger. In this story Henry reads a story about a indian man who learned to see without his eyes. Henry learned to do this in order to make millions off casinos but in the years it took he seemed to have a change of heart and though still making millions, he finds a way to bring joy to orphans and fear to casino owners around the world. Read to find out more.

In Lucky Break Roald Dahl explains the amazing way he became a writer.

And lastly in the true story A Piece of Cake Roald Dahl has the story that led him to his lucky break.

These 7 stories are the best stories you will ever read! This Book includes The Boy
Who Could Talk To Animals,The Hitchhiker,The Mildenhall Treasure,The Swan,The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,Lucky Break,and a Piece of cake.Please buy this book, I think you will really enjoy it!

The best book ever!!! OMG I love this book soooo much! It's just my favorite book of all time, I dunno know if it's because I'm a Roald Dahl fanatic, but I love this book!!!...

I read this book when I was 12 years old, and now again 20 years later. These are the types of short stories that immediately suck you in...entertaining fiction with just enough reality thrown in to make you think that some of the things that happen really ARE possible.

Dahl does a marvelous job with his story-in-story-in-story styles on all five of his works. The other two are his personal accounts of how he became a writer and the original text of his first non-fiction publication, "Piece of Cake."

I highly recommend this book for just about any reader. I don't want to give the stories away in this review, but the one thing I will say is that except for the two pieces I mentioned above and the "Mildenhall Treasure" story, NONE OF THE PEOPLE OR CHARACTERS IN THE STORIES ARE BASED ON ANYTHING REAL, despite Dahl's convincing rhetoric to the contrary. It is all COMPLETELY made up. I remember being left wondering for years if Henry Sugar was actually a real person, or even based on a real person, and it was a long time before I finally learned the real truth that he is completely fictitious.

Roald Dahl's popular short stories introduces a new generation of readers to his engaging writing style and unique brand of humor. The seven stories included in this volume are--"The Boy Who Talked with Animals," "The Hitchhiker," "The Mildenhall Treasure," "The Swan," "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar," "Lucky Break: How I Became a Writer," and "A Piece of Cake: First Story-1942." This wonderful collection of stories offers a clever mix of fantasy and reality--from a young boy who rescues a giant sea turtle and a plowman who discovers a unique treasure to a cunning hitchhiker who picks pockets and a wealthy man who learns how to read cards and donates all of his winnings to several orphanages. In addition to memorable characters and creative plots, this book also contains the story of how Roald Dahl became a writer, as well as a copy of the very first nonfiction story he wrote for the Saturday Evening Post. Packed with wit and sarcasm, this book truly represents the best of Dahl. He's a gifted writer with a knack for telling outrageous stories and creating unforgettable scenarios. Young adults and adults will treasure this book.

BIG DAN's OVERALL RATING - 8.9/10

If you like Dahl, you'll probably like this book a lot, but if not, you may not appreciate it. I thought that they were good stories in general if not incredibly well-written, but then again, I've just spent a month studying Faulkner. I've loved Roald Dahl since I first began reading books on my own, and I think that's probably why I like this book so much. The best stories in this book are (IMO) without a doubt Henry Sugar and The Hitchiker b/c I think they're the most interesting and creative. I read it once when I was really young just because it was by Roald Dahl, but I don't think I understood all of the stories, especially The Swan. I would recommend it for older children and adults.