  
 
Just finished Matilda a few evenings ago, and I think that I'm going to try to get in the habit of writing down my thoughts on books as I (or sometimes "we") finish them, even the short, less-intellectual ones, so here goes... Sam read this one to me. He and I read books to each other, generally kid lit, because it lends itself most to being read out loud. This was, I believe, a favorite of his (he is in general a huge Roald Dahl fan), and I can see why it's a favorite and, perhaps more to the point, I can see why he was eager to read this Dahl book in particular to me. I was a bit of a Matilda. Certainly not to the extraordinarily intelligent degree seen in the book, but I was a precocious lass, and in general shared many similar attitudes and behaviors seen in Matilda. I was a good girl who liked the teacher when the teacher was nice and merited being liked, and wasn't afraid to show it even if other students would think I was a kiss-up. I really related to Matilda in this way. Of course, I didn't grow up in such horrendous circumstances or have so few friends, thankfully. At any rate, overall I'm mixed. I loved the character of Matilda - five stars up there. But the antagonist in the book was a little *too* effective. To the point of making me dread the sections of the book where the antagonist appears. And while I was sparse on details, I found the ending rather easy to predict, which is never entirely satisfying, not even in the 'I *thought* so' sort of way. But overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others. It was fun and sweet in many sections, even if overall it did not lend itself well to my attempts at a stress-free lifestyle.
|
