Thoughts

I love Roald Dahl books and as part of my Big Read list, and just because I love them, I'm working my way through them once again. I thought I knew The Witches quite well but as I was reading it, I realised I could only remember up until the part that the Grand High Witch catches our protagonist in the hotel conference room. I wasn't sure what on earth was going to happen after that, and I certainly didn't remember that he spent the entire rest of the book as a mouse!

Thinking about it, though, it's because the first part of the book is so interesting. It's really a book of two halves, with the first part being a guide to witches and how to spot them, and the second half a demonstration of what happens when you bump into them (hint: not good things!) I much preferred all the details about how to spot witches, and why they act the way they do.

The story is good enough, and I quite enjoyed the difference between our hero and the ever-hungry mouse Bruno, plus how Bruno's parents reacted to the whole situation. That seemed much more likely to me than the way Grandma just accepted the situation, and how we were supposed to believe they were more than happy to spend the rest of their days like that. It's very Dahl and there's plenty to enjoy, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourites.

Rating: 3 / 5