Book #10
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Five-year old Matilda longs for her parents to be good and loving and understanding, but they are none of these things. They are perfectly horrid to her. Matilda invents a game of punishing them each time they treat her badly and she soon discovers she has supernatural powers.
This is my favourite Roald Dahl book, and also one of my all time favourite books. What's not to love?
I must have read this book over a hundred times, it was never out of my hands when I was younger. I thought at the time that this book was surely written about me; I read books too, so why couldn't I move things with my mind? I tried and failed; I am not Matilda. Despite my supernatural failings, I will always come back to this book. It is wonderful, touching, interesting, enchanting, and evokes the same emotions in me every single time.
Matilda is such an amazing character, and one of my favourites. She comes from a sad home life, where no one appreciates her, but she maintains a positive attitude and eventually begins to teach herself to read to pass the days. She plays hilarious tricks on her parents when they are foul to her, and eventually develops supernatural powers due to her excessive brain power.
Dahl writes fantastically from a child's perspective - he is a man who never forgot what childhood felt like. He captures Matilda's triumphs and defeats perfectly, and she is a wholly believable and loveable character.
I think Dahl shows us here how Matilda uses her intelligence to overcome obstacles in her life. This is a nice message, and Dahl does it in such a subtle way. He is essentially sending us messages like believe in yourself and don't give up, which is something I love about Dahl's books in general.
This book made the world a better place for me when I was younger. I read it countless times and it showed me a world I wanted to live in, people I wanted to meet, and one little girl who I wanted to be. I honestly think everyone should read this; it's mesmerising.