Having whet my appetite for Roald Dahl’s Adult novels with “Switch Bitch” I immediately found myself reaching out for the next one.I was going to exhausted the entire collection beginning with “My Uncle Oswald”; given that Oswald’s character in “Switch Bitch” was most unforgettable and prominent, I just had to read it, devour it!. But my hunt was vain; so, I settled with “Someone Like You”, which was another concoction of short stories by this marvellous, creative, sarcastic, Master of similes and adjectives of a Man.Dom Joly’s ‘Forward’ (like a preface) gave nothing away; however, what he had to say was rather intriguing and so I got cracking with the little treasures of delights which await me with every page turn. Starting with "Taste"; which was a fantastic tail of men displaying their masculinity, proposing a rather amusing but outrageous bet on a sensory tasting wine session. The concept was most invigorating as both of them were equally as stubborn and refuse to back down. But what was at stake is what made this tail electrifying. It was a clear demonstration of the inner demon which lurks deep within ever well-off male that is more often than not concealed by a calm and collective exterior.As I am sure if you were to ask either of these gentlemen whether they were “a Gambling man” am sure quite gracefully and with great clarity they would respond in offense, that such attribution to a scrounging sport is distasteful. But when the stakes are irresistible; it can change ones persona significantly. I read anxiously waiting for the outcome of this bet; on the name of the vineyard from which this great wine was extracted from. The suspense was immense as Richard condensed his thoughts and began his process of elimination to uncover the desired name; the process, although described in a gross and fowl manner on the contrary, it came off most fascinating as I was astounded by Richards ‘Gift’ he had acquired and refined to taste and detect the finest of flavour down to core of any ingredient, his highly developed senses was something to marvel at indeed. But only towards the end when the pieces came together I lost all respect for this man and his so-called 'Gift'!. "Lamb to the Slaughter"I was astonished how very little pages could express such a vivid amount of detail and imagery with every scene.The juxtaposition of this woman’s character who seemed to have this dying love for her beloved husband where she was engrossed and infatuated with him and pretty much worshiped the ground he walked upon, conflicted my thoughts to how that very person could perform such a vile performance and act so calmly about it? Furthermore, a reason behind her AWOL like behaviour wasn’t mentioned, given that; the reason behind the separation wasn’t addressed... did he leave her for another woman? Or just in general? due to the lack of information in the passage it is was hard to suggest whether her actions were just, and the punishment which was bestowed on him was deserved? Or it could be that this woman was totally demented. Either way, it was hilariouslt witty and the irony left me in stitches in the end. Now having read 46% of the book, I became restless and started to lose interest; all of them copied the same dreary structure. Whereby, they all take on an interesting trail like a good folks tail with a strong core/backbone and exciting punch line only to have the same disappointing end. The endings however humorous and amusing they maybe; still didn’t compensate for the short story mounting to nothing; so in turn it felt unfulfilled and pretty pointless. Fact of the matter was that; I wanted to put the book down and call it quits; but my rule never to leave a book unfinished came into play, and it felt like a sin if I was to give up. So I was compelled to continue, although I was reading the words without swallowing them."Man from the South" It was just another take on 'Taste'. "My lady love, my dove" This had a mischievous beginning, but once again the short tail failed to end with a reasonable level of satisfaction.However; reading “Skin” put me back on alert and reawakened my senses and I became fond of the book once more. Only then did I realise what the cover title meant “someone like you” because one time or another each individual can find themselves in these positions maybe as the main character or side one, the scenarios may differ; however the characteristic remain intact. As I am an “artist by profession” who was asked by a tattoo artist to drawing something upon his buttocks“The Wish” This story further highlights the title "Someone Like You" as everyone has once in the lifetime picked at a scab with delight or invented some sort of imaginary game with the ground beneath them?So somewhere along this fictional book is a fact! That the reader can relate to. My sudden though struck like a bolt of lightning Does this man struggle or not have the courage to undertake the task to entertain and keep hold of his mature audience for more than 200 pages based on the same characters and storyline or is it that other writers have a more knowledge and a better understand to what the Adult mind desires and seeks from Adult reads?. This is why getting hold of “My Uncle Oswald” became a priority rather than an option. To unmask the true genius of this great Writer; to whether or not he has the ability to concur both the Children’s and Adult’s world of literature. “Numeric”Reminded me of “black and scholes” when they fabricated up the equation to Price Options to hedge and eliminate risks. But this genius-ness suddenly turned into something Del Boy and Rodders would conjure up to make a cheeky, mischievous profit at trade (machine). The irony kills me when he uses the word, amusing, witty of roald dahl, coz he puts himself in that situation as a writer (page 200)“Rummins”As the story draws to an end it is very sad; as the old mans fait wasn’t in his hand. Stripped of a future.“Nunc dimittis”Unlike the majority of endings in this selection of short stories; the ending of this specific tail was brilliant. Furthermore having a keen interest in art myself; learning the techniques of another artist is always fascinating. “Mr Feasy”The ending was very sad and simply heart-breaking, I let the reader decide that.“My hoddy” was extremely funny; especially the maggot bit, after all the anticipation he comes out with MAGGOT however the ending was poor. Overall “Someone like you” gives a ray of multiple characterises which a person may possess or acquire. Therefore with this diverse variation of characteristics it is easy for any reader to relate to any of the characters within this book.
*This review may contain spoilers* What's it about?"Someone Like You" is a short story collection that brings together some bizarre, alarming and disturbing stories in true Roald Dahl fashion. There's the gambler who collects pinky fingers from losers...there's the lady who murders her husband with a frozen leg of lamb...not to mention the man who has made a machine that can hear grass scream.Who's the author? Roald Dahl is a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940's with works for both children and adults, becoming one of the world's bestselling authors. Dahl's first published work, "Shot Down Over Libya" is now published as "A Piece Of Cake" and is the book that propelled him into a career as a writer. His first children's book was "The Gremlins," and he went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th-century, such as "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory," "James And The Giant Peach" and "Matilda," many of which were made into films. He also had a successful parallel career as a writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humor and surprise ending. Many were originally written for magazines, later collected into anthologies by Dahl to world-wide acclaim. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories, some only being published in book form after his death. His stories also bought him three Edgar Awards.Was it any good? I didn't love it, but I'm not a fan of short stories. I find it difficult to disconnect from the one I've just read and engage with the next one without having the plot from the last one still stuck in my head, getting confused with the current one. Having said that, in this collection each story had distinctive characters and unique plots so that each short story stood out from the one before; eliminating much confusion. Sadly, the plots themselves were quite predictable with no red herrings or diversions to keep the reader from guessing at the ending. The stories themselves, too, were often confusing or left with open endings that raised more questions than they answered. What made this an enjoyable read, though, was the characters in each short story; they were interesting and eccentric, and Dahl paid close attention to detail when describing each one. Overall, an enjoyable read but not on a par with the children's book I used to enjoy by Dahl.Would I recommend it? Yes, if you like short stories, and dark, disturbing reads. Fans of Dahl's children's novels may find this collection interesting, if it's the first of his adult books they've read.
What do You think about Someone Like You (1986)?
I didn't even know Roald Dahl wrote children books until I was in my twenties. My first introduction to this author was the TV scripts from the Alfred Hitchcock Show of the 50s and 60s, noticeably "Lamb to The Slaughter" in which a betrayed housewife kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb, and "Man From The South" where a man bets his fortune for another man's little finger. I didn't know these clever stories came from Mr. Dahl until I found them in these nifty little collection. Dahl wrote these compact moral tales with a cynical spirit far from the children tales he is better known for. His stories usually contain a twist at the end which surprises but remains logical. They are also a bit disturbing. Other good stories include "A Dip in The Pool", "Skin" and the oh so British boys school tale, "Galloping Foxy".
—Marvin
Roald Dahl is of Norwegian parentage but grew up in England and wrote extensively in English. Over the years he has published a number of collections of short stories, a genre in which he excels. His stories are not always macabre, but they invariably have a twist, making them unforgettable many years later.Some of them, it is true, may have you writhing slightly, but even so, you will appreciate the intention, as well as the finesse. There are so many good writers around, it's hard to get to them all, but it's worth finding "Someone Like You" for a number of reasons. First of all, you might like Dahl, in which case you'll be set for quite a while (as long as you can find his books). Secondly, he is a technical wizard (in one of his stories, concerning a wordsmith, he discusses some of the aspects of the very wizardry he practices) and you should have a look at that side of him. He should not be out of print - he deserves better. There's no doubt in my mind that we'll be reading Dahl for many years to come, if we've got any sense.Comment
—Owen
As some of you may know, Monday was World Book Night. I was lucky enough to be chosen as a giver, and I chose to give away copies of Someone Like You. I chose this book because I love Roald Dahl's writing, and because I think that his adult writing is hugely under-read, and (therefore) hugely underrated. I grew up with Matilda, The Twits, Esio Trot and Fantastic Mr. Fox firmly on my favourites list, and I think I've pretty much read everything that Roald Dahl has written. As with Dahl's childrens writing, his writing for adults isn't afraid to explore the darker aspects of life. Though there are no giants snatching children in the middle of the night, no Vermicious Knids, no parent-eating rhinocerouses; but Someone Like You takes Roald Dahl's macabre humour further, with stories about gamblers who take fingers as winnings and women who murder their husbands and then go shopping for potatoes.I am always surprised at the amount of people who don't know that Dahl wrote for adults as well as children, and I hope that World Book Night might have slightly changed that. Every copy I had to give away was taken, and I hope that some of the people who took them away will love Skin, Neck or The Great Automatic Grammatizator as much as I do.
—Terri-Jane
