Book: The Twits
Author: Roald Dahl
Published: 1980

I am not sure I needed to read The Minpins and The Magic Finger, but I did. All three of these stories came packaged together in the audio book. I am not sorry for it as I loved The Minpins. I suppose read isn’t the right verb to use in this context. Listened it is.

Roald Dahl is obsessed with our ethical responsibilities to the other living creatures we share this planet. His sense of ethics are clear in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All of the children aside from Charlie suffer unfortunate ends due to character flaws and poor behavior. Hints reveal his concern for life apart from human; in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he’s careful to justify how the Oompa Loompas turned up in the factory.

I wonder if the current trend toward sustainability isn’t in part due to a generation raised on Roald Dahl books coming into middle age. Dr Seuss was a contributer here too with The Lorax. I never considered the role that writers might play in shaping the minds of the next generation until now. This is due to my own struggles with reading as a child.

I didn’t have any favorite books growing up. I didn’t read. Couldn’t is perhaps a more accurate word. I am dyslexic and failed to sort out my reading issues until I was 16 or 17.

When people describe a love of childhood stories, I can’t relate. But had I been a little reader, I would have loved The Minpins. This is about the secret world in trees. And I loved that world. One of the characters rides a swan to other hidden worlds. The story is beautiful and fantastic. I loved every word of it.

I know that I’ve not mentioned The Twits. It was an entertaining read, but my heart was stolen by The Minpins. Roald Dahl would have captivated me as a child. He continues to captivate me as an adult.