Reading Journal 2023: Danny The Champion of the World
Author: Roald Dahl
Dahl trades his familiar penchant for magical settings with quirky, fantastical characters for a straight forward story about a father and a son set in the everyday world. He manages to retain a bit of the zany however. It’s just redirected, for example,towards life for the two in a traveling caravan, a father cloaked in mystery, late night driving adventures with a child behind the wheel.
In fact, there’s something just a little bit quirky about a plot that turns a petty thief into a celebrated figure. All in the name of robbing from the rich of course. Social inequities and economic disparity is on full display here.
The story is littered with fun descriptive, especially when it comes to the different characters. It’s all from the child’s POV, which takes the everydayness of it all and makes it feel larger than life.
Modern sensibilities might be bothered by.the heavy presence of pheasant hunting, so fair warning on that front. A commonplace affair in its day, I’m sure.
I have a preference for his other works, but I absolutely see the appeal of the straightforward childhood story and the simple adventures shared between father and son.
The Stories of my Life 