Roald Dahl

Going solo

Avarni B

The stillness was overpowering. There was no sound at all, no voice of bird or insect anywhere, and it gave me a queer godlike feeling to be standing there alone in such a splendid hot inhuman landscape - as though I were on another planet, on Jupiter or Mars, or in some place more desolate still, where never would the grass grow green nor a rose bloom red.

In Going Solo, the world's favourite storyteller, Roald Dahl, tells of life as a fighter pilot in Africa. 'They did not think for one moment that they would find anything but a burnt-out fuselage and a charred skeleton, and they were astounded when they came upon my still-breathing body lying in the sand nearby.' In 1938 Roald Dahl was fresh out of school and bound for his first job in Africa, hoping to find adventure far from home. However, he got far more excitement than he bargained for when the outbreak of the Second World War led him to join the RAF. His account of his experiences in Africa, crashing a plane in the Western Desert, rescue and recovery from his horrific injuries in Alexandria, flying a Hurricane as Greece fell to the Germans, and many other daring deeds, recreates a world as bizarre and unnerving as any he wrote about in his fiction. 'Very nearly as grotesque as his fiction. The same compulsive blend of wide-eyed innocence and fascination with danger and horror' Evening Standard 'A non-stop demonstration of expert raconteurship' The New York Times Book Review Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.

Going Solo

Emily

Grace O'Callaghan

I personally preferred this one more than ‘Boy’ despite not really liking the setting of WW2.

I love learning about authors and how their lives influence their work. Roald Dahl did so much with his life, and this is only the first 25 years of it.

I did think however that children who usually read Dahl’s work would find it quite boring at times, so I’d recommend reading this only if you’re interested in WW2 and Dahl’s life.

Jeni Enjaian

A review from my old blog...

Dahl's writing has always intrigued me. There are many times when I would not recommend one of his books to someone else or certainly to kids because of some of the crassness in his writings.

He has a captivating writing style though and when he avoids some things that are simply unpleasant I enjoy his writing such as with this book Going Solo. This book is a partial autobiography and centers on Dahl's time as an RAF pilot during the first years of WWII. My opinion? Pretty great book.

François Declercq

Francisca Rubio Wenk

Rachel B

maitha mana

Ananya 

Erika

Karen Hinh

Pierke Bosschieter

As a young man working in East Africa for the Shell Company, Roald Dahl recounts his adventures living in the jungle and later flying a fighter plane in World War II.

Going solo

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