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At only 127 pages More
Tales of the Unexpected doesn't
offer as larger a slice of Dahl's fiction as it predecessor does. The
nine short stories that make up the pages are:
Poison
This story is set in
India. Timber arrives home his friend Harry calls him into the bedroom.
Harry doesn't look too good. He isn't ill though, a deadly snake has
found its way underneath the covers with him. In fact the snake, a
krait, is still lying on the poor man's stomach.
The
Sound Machine
Mr Klausner has invented a very special machine. It allows him to hear
sounds that are so high pitched that they would never be, in ordinary
circumstances, audible to the human ear. Perhaps, though, there are
things that it is best to remain in ignorance about.
Georgy Porgy
George isn't comfortable
around women, but they seem always to be chasing him. Even the fact
that he is a man of the cloth doesn't seem to offer much protection for
him against their advances. Perhaps if George's mother had lived a
little longer than she did, things would have turned out differently
for him.
Genesis and Catastrophe
After already having lost
all three of her children within the last 18 months, a mother prays
that the child she has just given birth to will be stronger than its
siblings were.
The
Hitch-hiker
It is sound advice that one should never pick up hitch-hikers. This is
the story of a man who doesn't take that advice and the hitch-hiker
that he picks up has a rather unusual talent.
The Umbrella Man
This is the story of a
mother and daughter's encounter with an old man in the rain. The man
has a problem. He also has a particularly fine umbrella.
Mr
Botibol
In the first Tales
of the Unexpected book there is a character
called Mr Botibol
(Dip in the Pool). Botibol is such an unusual name that I thought that
this story must surely be about the same person, but
that doesn't seem to be the case. The Mr Botibol in this story
is such an extremely strange looking man that it cannot be the same
person. Mr Botibol is, as well as being strange looking, a very unhappy
man. In the end he tries to find happiness in music, but in a rather
strange way.
Vengence Is Mine Inc
Not a story of revenge,
but, instead, a story of two people that come up with a rather unusual
idea to make some money.
The Butler
At less than 4 pages long
The Butler is the shortest story in the book. It is a highly
entertaining story though. Two things came to mind when I read this
little gem: taste is something that no amount of money can buy, and
people should be careful who they trust.
Out of these nine tales my two
favourites
are The Umbrella Man
and The Butler.
Both are subtly amusing and quite light-hearted reads.
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