Eclecticism
This is perhaps the least focused, most diverse, and most persistently surprising collection of Dahl’s writing. The word eclectic comes immediately to mind when perusing the forms of writing included: short stories targeted toward a young adult audience, short stories more appropriate for adults, an autobiographical memoir, advice on writing and a strange hybrid that tells a historically true story as if it were a fictional short story. The primary theme which unifies all the diverse examples of literature in this collection ultimately winds up being a explicit demonstration of the author’s eclectic talents as a writer in which, hidden inside, is an implicit celebration of the eclectic tastes of his readers.
Cruelty
There are some who would argue that cruelty can never really be a theme in any book by Roald Dahl because it is simply a way of life. And, indeed, nastiness permeates his body of work. Dahl’s universe is admittedly pretty dark just on general terms, but there is simply no denying that a strain of cruelty absolutely unbidden by circumstances permeates this volume and in the form of a wide diversity of characters.
The collection kicks off with “The Boy Who Talked with Animals” undergoing a remarkable physical transformation directly in response to what he personally views as a wicked case of animal cruelty. The target of his disdain is soon joined by a cop displaying sociopathic tendencies back when this was considered the exception rather than the norm. “The Mildenhall Treasure” is a true story of one poor man deceiving another—as well as himself—out of a great reward for finding hidden treasure. The epicenter of cruelty are the two very young psychopaths who shoot swans and terrorize a schoolmate for no other reason that they can.
Maturation
This book contains an unusual dedication in that it is not directed toward anyone in particular but rather to the somewhat vague group defined as those “going through that long and difficult metamorphosis when they are no longer children and have not become adults.” In other words, that period of life—which is not defined by age—known as maturation. The focus on the difficulty of this period in life is really what’s at stake in these stories, thematically speaking.
“The Boy Who Talked with Animals” seems clearly to enjoy a much less stressful and difficult childhood than the equally sensitive youth in “The Swan” but they are united together as animal creatures play a significant role in the defining moment of their metamorphosis from boyhood to adulthood. The man who begins narrating his tale of picking up “The Hitchhiker” by describing his BMW as “an exciting toy” is clear evidence that maturation into adulthood often commences well into chronological adulthood.
In both “Lucky Break (How I Became a Writer) and “A Piece of Cake” Dahl reveals separate autobiographical moments that reveal his own personal point of maturation. In one case, his maturation into a professional writer and in the other his fiery baptism by fire in the plane crash that changed the course of his life.
