Come sempre Dahl si conferma una garanzia di grande intrattenimento, intelligenza e scrittura impeccabile. Ne Il G.G.G. l’autore elabora la formula che seguirà anche ne Le streghe, il suo romanzo successivo: prende un cattivo da fiaba, in questo caso il gigante, e lo catapulta nella realtà moderna, con tutto ciò che letterariamente ne consegue. Se ne Le streghe, però, la suddivisione fra bene e male, è netta, e tutte le streghe sono cattive, ne Il G.G.G. la situazione è leggermente più complessa. Il protagonista, il Grande Gigante Gentile, è l’unico della sua stirpe a essere buono: rifiuta il cannibalismo dei suoi simili, ma sa anche di essere uno di loro. E per quanto la cosa venga solo suggerita e mai trattata esplicitamente, l’aspetto controverso del protagonista non è poco, in un libro per l’infanzia.La narrazione.Il G.G.G. si divide in due momenti principali: la prima metà è un lungo dialogo fra il Gigante e la piccola Sofia, la sua controparte umana, nella quale apprendiamo usi e abitudini dei giganti moderni. Nella seconda parte, invece, si entra nel vivo dell’azione, con il viaggio a Londra, l’incontro con la Regina e la cattura dei giganti cattivi. Memorabile, di quest’ultima sezione, è il cammeo di Mr. Tibbs, il maggiordomo della regina, sempre impeccabile, anche davanti all’onerosa incombenza di dover allestire su due piedi una colazione da giganti. Un personaggio che mi ha fatto pensare a quanto fosse bravo Dahl come autore caratterista, e di quanto sia stato saccheggiato dal mondo dell’intrattenimento in generale.Il linguaggio.Continuando il parallelo con Le streghe, passiamo ora al linguaggio dei protagonisti. Dahl evidentemente la sapeva lunga ed era consapevole che a personaggi fuori da ogni termine di paragone, come un gigante, o nel libro successivo una strega, dovevano corrispondere voci altrettanto straordinarie. La Grande Strega Suprema, la cattiva de Le streghe, si esprimerà con un linguaggio gutturale, ricco di consonanti, che fa il verso al suono della parlata tedesca. Per Il G.G.G. il compito era più gravoso. Da un lato bisognava rendere la sua parlata abbastanza maldestra da risultare credibile per un gigante, dall’altro doveva essere comunque simpatica e accattivante, trattandosi di un personaggio positivo. Ed è qui che affiora tutto il genio di Dahl, la sua capacità di giocare con le parole. Sfido chiunque a leggere i dialoghi de Il G.G.G. e a trattenere il sorriso per più di una pagina. E un grande complimento va fatto anche a Donatella Ziliotto, la traduttrice del romanzo, che di sicuro ha messo parecchio di suo nella resa del colorato idioma del protagonista.I contenuti,Per concludere, Dahl era un autore politicamente scorretto, e grazie a Dio era così! Non aveva nessuna paura di addentrarsi nelle ansie, negli incubi di adulti e bambini. Di raccontare che i giganti mangiano gli esseri umani e li trovano pure gustosi. Di provocare i lettori, e soprattutto, di provocare i piccoli lettori. E, anche, di metterli in guardia:Si verificò un solo incidente: un giorno, tre stupidoni che avevano bevuto troppi boccali di birra decisero di scalare l’alto recinto che circondava la fossa, e caddero sul fondo. Si udirono allora le grida di giubilo dei giganti, e un crocchiare d’ossa sotto i loro denti. Il capo guardiano decise così di appendere al recinto un grande cartello, che diceva: VIETATO DARE DA MANGIARE AI GIGANTI. Da allora non si è più verificato un solo episodio drammatico.Se non avete letto Dahl, rimediate, non vene pentirete.
I'm a huge, huge Roald Dahl fan. I loved him as a kid. My favorite book is a toss-up between The Witches and Matilda.Liz and I had agreed that we wouldn't read Matilda or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out loud to the kids, so they would be able to experience it themselves. I would read The Witches, but I'm not sure if all of my kids could handle it yet.So, it fell to The BFG. All three were in for most of the reading, though Poppy (being 3) left for large swaths. This was the longest book Gwen listened to in its entirety.Dad: So, what did you think? Hold on - lets go one at a time. Gwen, go ahead and go first.Gwen: It was good.Dad: What was good about it? What was your favorite part? Actually, can you just start us off by telling us what the book was about?Gwen: It was about a girl who lived at an orphanage. Her name was Sophie... and she saw a giant. And the giant got her.Dad: Eleanor, pick it up from there.Eleanor: Then, she talked with the giant - and found out that this giant did not eat human beings. He ate snozzcumbers - but there were other giants that DID eat human beings.Dad: Poppy, what did you think about the book?Poppy: Uhhh... The... The giant got her.Eleanor: Wait. Daddy. We already wrote that. Dad.Poppy: No. I just want to talk about it. (Playing with 3 My Little Ponies at the same time) No! You have to go this way. Neigh! Neigh neigh neigh neigh neigh... Mama! Mommy. Pretty. Mommy'na horsey ride... Ou can have a ride on my back.Dad: Gwen, did you like the book?Gwen: Yeah. Dad: What did you like about it?Gwen: (Thinking)Eleanor: Did you like it when Sophie was taken to the BFG's house?Gwen: I liked the dreams... all of the dreams...Dad: Poppy, what was your favorite part?Poppy: Ummmm... UH-OH! I DROPPED MY PONY!!!! Oh, there it is. Now I can talk. I liked the giant got her. *Starts playing with the ponies* Neigh. Neigh. Neigh.Dad: Anything else?Poppy: Nope. I liked when the giants fell in the hole. I liked that.Dad: El?Eleanor: If I had to choose, I would choose when they (view spoiler)[ captured all the other giants, and they tricked Fleshlumpeater, and when they had to eat snozzcumbers for the rest of their lives (hide spoiler)]
Do You like book The BFG (2015)?
Every kids' nightmare: you're lying at night in bed, awake, you hear something, you get out of bed, see a huge monstrous thing. You sneak back in bed, trembling, hoping it didn't see you, and then a huge hand snatches you right out of bed. No matter how much i like the BFG, I still don't want him to do that to me. I must admit that i'm not that adventurous.As with all Roald Dahl books, this book is full with little touches. Like the confession that all Giants are afraid of Jack. 'Jack is the only human bean all giants is frightened of. They is absolutely terrified of Jack. They is all hearing that Jack is a famous giant-killer.' Who would have guessed that Jack and his beanstalk would have such an impact on the general Giant population across books?And then of course there is the whole explanation about how Turkish people taste like Turkey, and someone from Wales smells like whales, and a boy from Wellington taste like... Can you guess? But no one is eating a girl from Greece. They're just too greasy you see.The BFG is of course also very famous for his language and grammar. Very creative. My favorite is Dahl's Chickens, you know the author of Great Expectations. But you can also find him in Roald's back garden producing eggs every other page.
—Hanne
This has got to be my favourite book of all time. Since a young age I was an avid reader, but when I was introduced to, 'The BFG' by Roald Dahl, my reading experience took a drastic turn.The story explores the adventurous relationship between Sophie, a little orphan girl who longs to belong to a family and the 'BFG' who is nothing like the other giants and is constantly being ridiculed for being a vegetarian!Their lives collide with one another when Sophie, catches the BFG lurking through her town in the middle of the night, peeping through and blowing a bubbly purple substance through the residents bedroom windows.Unsure of what to do, she yelps and quickly scurries away. Hiding beneath her bed covers,quivering, all the while trying to hide from the BFG, but it's two late...The dotting relationship between Sophie and the BFG, highlights the importance of learning to be comfortable in your skin, and accepting yourself for who you are, which in turn, could help young children to not judge others because they are different, but to embrace everyone's uniqueness.The exciting vocabulary, that consists of words such as, 'Whizzpop' allow the children's imagination to run wild, and to think outside of the box when completing their own pieces of work. The illustrations by Quentin Blake, tell the story effectively. Each picture depicts what is happening, whether it be the BFG running away from the other giants, or Sophie dining with the queen, you will never feel at loss, because the pictures are exceptional.This book is a must, it should be a part of your treasure trove of books, it is a part of mine and that is saying something.
—Sharlene
Not my fav. Dahl book by far, but entirely enjoyable. Also the kind of book I'd like to read with or to a child. Maybe this summer with my seven-year old grandson.A little girl encounters the one friendly giant - the BFG or Big Friendly Giant - out of a group of nine other really horrible, children-eating giants. (The language is crazy. The made-up words worthy of Lewis Carroll himself. I tried reading some words aloud; they are as silly-sounding as they look on the page.) In order to stop the 'children-guzzling' giants, the little girl and the BFG meet and enlist the help of the Queen of England herself. A clever and entertaining read.
—Jaksen
