A book review: Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories

TITLE: Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories

AUTHOR: multiple authors

PUBLISHED: 1983

SYNOPSIS

A collection of fourteen of Roald Dahl’s favourite ghost stories. Featuring authors including, but not limited to: Rosemary Timperley, L.P. Hartley, Edith Wharton, and Cynthia Asquith, this collection is the result of an intense study by Dahl to find the best ghost stories ever written. The included stories are those that left him most disturbed.

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MY THOUGHTS

Luckily I was aware before I picked up this book that the stories were not written by Dahl himself, had I been unaware of this I’m sure I would have felt somewhat disappointed. As much as I would have loved to be reading a collection that he had penned himself that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy this. As with many, if not all collections of short stories by multiple authors, I enjoyed some more than others. My favourites were: Harry by Rosemary Timperley, The Corner Shop by Cynthia Asquith, Christmas Meeting by Rosemary Timperley, and Afterward by Edith Wharton.

This is a book that is easy to pick up, it’s a quick read, and can be read alongside other books due to it’s structure of short, stand-alone stories. It features an introduction by Dahl so you can get your fix for his writing if you are a big fan like me. I found it interesting to gain an insight into how the collection came to be and what influenced his choices.

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If you are a fan of ghost stories and/or you like to gain exposure to new authors then I would definitely recommend this one. This book was my first introduction to Rosemary Timperley, an author that I probably wouldn’t have come across otherwise but am so glad is part of this book because I loved reading her stories! I will definitely be seeking out more of her work.

I have to be honest, these stories did not give me nightmares, there was no desire to sleep with the light on after reading them, so if you aren’t easily scared then you will probably find the same. I can’t take anything away from the stories though, I thought they were all well written and entertaining, they just didn’t terrify me. I am a big horror fan though, both in literature and film so perhaps I am a little more desensitized than the regular reader.

If you want an easy to pick up and put down read for the colder months then I would definitely recommend giving this one a go…you never know, they may just frighten you that little bit more than they did me, and if not then you can just enjoy the wordsmanship as I did.

MY RATING: 3.5/5

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Have you read Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories? What did you think about it? If you haven’t read it do you think that you will? As always I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading, I hope that you enjoyed!

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Until the next time…Jess x