The Books and Booze Readers discussed The Twits and Matilda, both by Roald Dahl.
 
I was sure that everyone would get together after having read these books (many people for the second or third time) and rave about the beauty of childhood and how wonderful these books are.  The discussion ended up taking a totally different direction to the one I had envisaged.
 
It was agreed that these books would, undoubtably, appeal to children of all ages because of the fact that they were well written and that even though - particularly in the case of The Twits - there is some complex language this does not detract from the stories.  The first point that came up was the fact that in The Twits, the first impressions were negative of bearded men.  Most people felt that it was too 'real' to talk in a negative way about bearded people and that perhaps people would think negative thoughts about bearded relatives.  We then went on to discuss the fact that the book was made up of a whole series of 'nasty' jokes which was not what people wanted to read about.  However boys of a particular age might well enjoy it, but hopefully not get too many ideas!  All in all, this book was amusing and would appeal to children.
 
Matilda was a first time read for many, with most people having see the film first.  It was discussed that there was not a great deal of difference between this book and a fairy tale because children like to be frightened.  There was a distinct happy ending, but this was due to the fact that Matilda was unloved.  There were clear aspect of child abuse and neglect.  The group thought that this was disturbing in places because of Trunchbull trying to get children to 'keep secrets' from their parents.  If this happened in real lfe, there could be dangerous consequences.  The general feeling was, if it was alright for Matilda to go home with Miss Honey without permission, surely it would be alright for other children?  The question was also asked as to whether this book was still politically correct?  Should it, like the original Noddy books, be removed from library bookshelves?  In conclusion, it was decided that this was a terrific read, pacy and well structured but the underlying element of abuse was worrying.
 
In saying that, both of these books were read by an eight year old who is an avid reader, and he gave them the seal of approval.  It seems that when these books were read through the eyes of an adult they were worrying, whereas if they were taken at face value - from the point of view of a child - they were seen as being an entertaining read.
 
Jennifer
The Books and Booze Readers