Since childhood I've had a soft spot for the tales of Roald Dahl. The Twits were a particular favourite, I poured over his poetry and scared myself silly trying to take in The Witches. His grasp of the Grim Brothers macabre and the imagination of a child have always combined to make witty and interesting tales. I knew I hadn't read all his tales, Danny Champion of the World and his Boy books didn't particularly interest me for example, but imagine my surprise when I realised I hadn't read Mathilda. I knew the story quite so naturally assumed I must have, but as I sat and thought about it I realised I hadn't... Oh what fun, two days to whip through a new tale, to enjoy a new Dahl world.
Mathilda was charming. It suffered a little as I did know the story quite well but it was very enjoyable all the same. (I must collect all his books so I can read them to my children - is that a weird thing to do when you're not even pregnant?) The only negative part of reading it was that every now and then the actors who played parts in the US film version kept popping into my head and they didn't fit at all well with the old English feel the book. I was able to disspell them quickly though and swiftly extrapalated my own impressions of each character based on the magnificent illustrations by Quentin Blake...
Being free to create an image of characters is important to me I've realised. Maybe that's why I'm so naffed off when someone completely different is cast in film versions...
Anyway - Mathilda was charming, perfect for recovering from a very busy week. Now I'm off to the cinema and then I'll dive into my new book - Catching Fire, book two of the Hunger Games :)