Kiss kiss door Roald Dahl

Kiss Kiss

I Essential information

The title of this book is 'Kiss Kiss' and it's written by Roald Dahl. It's first published in 1959 and I read a reprint from 1988. Penguin Books in Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, published it. Roald Dahl dedicated this book to P.N.D.

II First reaction

Why did you choose this book?
I choose this book because we already read a big part in class and because I like to read this kind of stories.

What is your own first reaction on this book?
My first reaction was something like: 'This is horrible!' and at the same time: 'I like it’. I won't mind to read more like this.' (That was after the first story).

III Deepening

I read the following stories:
- The Landlady
- William and Mary
- The Way Up To Heaven
- Royal Jelly
- Georgy Porgy
- Genesis and Catastrophe
- Pig

Write a short summary

The Landlady
Billy Weaver travelled from London to Bath for his work. He arrived a bit late and he went to look for a place to stay. On his way he came by a bed and breakfast and he stopped to look through the window. There he saw a bird and a dog in the livingroom. He decided to ring the bell and he took the offered room there. In the guestbook he saw two other names that were vague familiar, but he couldn't recall from were. Later on when he and the landlady were having a conversation she told him that she stuffs all her little pets, like her dog and bird in the livingroom. And when he asks about the other guests she says they haven't left, but that they're on the 3rd floor.

The main characters are Billy Weaver a young office worker and the landlady, the owner of the bed and breakfast.

William and Mary
William and Mary are a married couple. When William dies Mary gets a letter written by William, in that letter he tells her about a plan from him and a friend of him. The plan is to keep his brains alive apart from the body, so his knowledge won't die with the body. The letter also says that she could visit him if she likes to and she does. She sees the brain floating in a bowl and there's also an eye he still can use. When William was alive he forbid Mary to do a lot of things like smoking, well now he couldn't say anything so she did what she wanted and even asked when she could take him home.

The main characters are William a strict man, his wife Mary and Dr. Landy who takes care of the brain.

The Way Up To Heaven
The Forster's live in a big house in New York. Mrs. Forster is horrified by the idea of being late somewhere and missing a bus or a plane or something like that. Mr. Forster likes to tease her with that by letting her wait extra long. One day Mrs. Forster is about to visit their daughter in Paris and she's afraid to miss her plane after long waiting her husband shows up and they leave for the airport. When they arrive the weather is to bad to fly so the go back. The next morning they go again and then Mr.. Forster forgets a parcel and goes back into the house. Mrs. Forster finds it in the car and goes to the door to get her husband, she heard a funny noise coming out of the house and she went back to the car and said she didn't want to wait anymore and she went. She had a lovely time with her daughter and wrote a letter to her husband every week when she comes home she sees all her letters unopened on the floor. And she also calls the repairman, because her elevator seems to be stuck between the 2nd and 3rd floor.

The main characters are Mr. and Mrs. Forster people who irritate each other.

Royal Jelly
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have a little baby-girl, but she doesn't eat and grow like she should, she's to small. Her father thinks of something and feeds her with royal jelly, which is the food what the little queen bees get to eat. He doesn't tell his wife and their daughter does eat and grow now. After a while he tells his wife and she disapproves it and tells him to stop. When she looks more closely she sees that her husband gets all kinds of little brown and yellow hairs and her daughter's body did grow, but her legs and arms hardly did.

The main characters are Mr. Taylor a beekeeper, his wife Mrs. Taylor and their daughter.

Georgy Porgy
A man who is good at everything is only afraid of women. When a woman only touches him, he gets all weird. His mother tried to explain everything to him also sex. So when a rabbit gave birth she took him to see it, but the mother rabbit eat her young and his mom started to scream and he got afraid of her mouth and ran away. She followed him and got hit by a car and died. A lot of years later he still doesn't want women to be close to him. One day he does goes to a group of women to drink a bit and the women say there's no alcohol in it, but there is. So when he drunk one of the women goes with him and kisses him, he gets scared and thinks he' swallowed.

The main characters are the main character and his mom.

Genesis and Catastrophe
A married couple gets a baby, but the mother is really worried because she lost all of her preview babies. Her husband is much stiller and doesn't seem to be really worried. The doctor tries to calm her down and says their son will live. He asks her what the baby's name is gonna be, and she says: 'Adolfus'. Then they turn out to be Mr. and Mrs. Hitler.

The main characters are Mr. and Mrs. Hitler and their son.

Pig
Lexington lost his parents in one of the first weeks of his live and he grows up with an aunt. She is a strict vegetarian and so is he. He has got a talent for cooking and she advises him to write the recipes down. When his aunt dies he goes to the city for the first time. There is a jerk of a lawyer that gives him the money from his aunt. He goes into a restaurant and they don't have something vegetarian so he eats pig meat. He really likes it and goes and sees the cook. And after that he goes to the slaughterhouse and get a guided tour were he'll never return from.

The main characters are Lexington and his aunt Glosspan.

Is there a closed or an open end? Explain.
In the most of the stories is an open end, so you have to figure out for yourself what happened.

Perspective

Who tells the story?
The writer does, it's not someone involved in the story.

Is this person reliable? Why?
Yes, because he doesn't show his own opinion.

How much does this person effect the way you read the story?
Not much, but if the main characters would tell it, it would be rather different.

Style

Do they use strikingly language?
No not really, understood most of it and I don't know strange ways of saying things in English.

Does the language fit with the person who tells the story?
Yes, it's a normal grown up.

Its place in history of literature

What do you know about the writer?
Mister Roald Dahl was born on September 16, 1916 in Llandaf, South Wales. Soon after his birth his mother died and his father remarried. Roald attended English schools and graduated from Reton Public School. In 1939 he became a fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force. On July 2nd, 1953 he married actress Patricia Neal. They had five children together: Olivia, Tessa, Theo, Ophelia and Lucy. Roald and Patricia separated in 1979. On November 23rd, 1990 Roald died in Oxford England

What do you know about the time it's written in?
Not much, I know that it's just after the 2nd World War and just before the time of the hippies.

Is this book typical for the writer or the time it's written in?
I think it typical for the writer, because he wrote a lot of short stories with macabre elements in it.

IV Judgement

Would you read another story from this writer? Why (/not)?
Yes, because his way of writing is good to read it's not boring or anything.

Which part do you like best? Why?
I liked 'Pig' best, because it misled me the most.

Would you recommend this book to someone else? Why (/not)?
Yes, because it's easy to read and you can laugh about it as well.