Sinister: Even More on Roald Dahl [non-B&S]

[Lawrence Lek]

OK so he might have been a _tiny_ bit twisted sometimes, but honestly, when
you've eight years old, you expect the annoying little children in the
books to die a horrible death. At least you hope they die a miserable
death. And some of the kids in Willy Wonkas should have died (which they
did). Kids don't like bad endings, of course. I've got to say that I
completely *LOVED* his books (well childrens ones at least)... didn't
everyone???

Larry

At 16:19 02/03/98 EST, you wrote:
>Ha! After writing that bit on Roald Dahl's adult novels I decided to do more
>investigating of his works intended for children. On Amazon's page for WILLY
>WONKA there is this very amusing review from a traumatized reader:
>
>>I hate this book SOOOO much. I was seven when I read it for the first time.
>It scarred me to irrevocable fear and forced its malicious, acrid
depiction of
>the murder of four innocent children down my vulnerable throat. Many have
>argued with me and have said that the children didn't die. However, I argue
>intensely. First of all, Willy Wonka is a liar and anything that expels from
>his horrid monstrous mouth can be regarded only for the sake of malevolence
>and remain at that. Second of all, even if they didn't die, they most
>certainly lost their sanity - for who would not if one was nearly drowned and
>sucked up a pipe only to be despensed in a boiler, turned into a blueberry
>only to be mocked and rolled by evil little creatures, forced to fall down an
>opening into a garbage disposal to be burned in a nightmarish furnace, or
>shrunken beyond recognition by harmful rays of light? This book has caused
>horrible nightmares to haunt me and every movement I make for the past nine
>years. I have not even tasted a blueberry or anything blue colored since for
>fear I will suffer the same fate as the characters. I hate this book and
movie
>with all the hatred I could possibly hate anything with. <<
>
>Ha! Although I like this book & movie very much, I've always seen Mr.
Wonka as
>the embodiment of the worst sort of evil. I do wonder if it is influences
such
>as these that caused many of my malevolent urges, or if Mr. Dahl was merely
>trying to provide comfort to the awful beast that resides within many
>children, saying through Willy Wonka: "you are not alone." Hmm. Once again,
>does art create sociopaths or does the sociopath create art?
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