Spoiler-Free Review: The Witches by Roald Dahl

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Synopsis:

    The Witches by Roald Dahl is a dark fantasy children’s book that is set in Norway and England. At the beginning of the story, the main character is a young boy, moves in with his grandmother after the death of his parents. She soon starts to tell him tales about children-hating witches led by the most powerful among them, The Grand High Witch. All the witches meet together in England where the Grand High Witch shares her most dastardly, evil plan. It’s down to the elderly grandmother and her grandson to discover the plot and defeat the witches before it’s too late!

    Before diving into my review, please note that it is based on my opinion of the book. As you consider my thoughts, remember that you are allowed to have different feelings about this book. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to pick up a copy and form your own opinion on it.

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    Content Warnings: Disturbing Descriptions, Not for people with musophobia (fear of mice or rodents of any kind). Please proceed with caution.

    Note: This book is intended for young children but still contains some disturbing descriptions and creepy incidents.

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Review:

    I read this book like 2 months ago at the very beginning of October and am only NOW just getting to share the review. Anyway, the story was adorable and as it was written for young children, it wasn’t very frightening. I definitely think that this is a book that pretty much anyone of any age can read and still appreciate, despite the fact that it does have several flaws. 

    There were some issues with the plot and things that really bothered me as I read. There are certain scenes and incidents involving the witches and the young boy that was hard to imagine ever happening in real life. This book definitely requires a great amount of suspension of disbelief! There were quite a few scenes where I couldn't quite believe what I was reading but I think that sense of disbelief and imagination is perfect for a children's story.

    This book definitely isn’t for everyone and is best suited for younger audiences. One of the side characters named Bruno provided a lot of comedic relief that I really enjoyed reading! I also loved how accepting the grandmother was of a certain situation that occurs in the story alluded to above. The description of the witches was quite odd but seemed perfect for a children’s fantasy book. I will give a fair bit of warning there are some disturbing descriptions and this book is definitely not for you if you have a fear of rodents (and I will not explain why because that would spoil the story, let's just say they're a major part of the story).

    There are definitely good guys and bad guys in this book with few morally gray characters. While this was a bit disappointing to me, it’s completely understandable for a children’s story so I can’t blame the author for how he portrayed his characters. The ending was great, definitely one of the best parts of the story! I love how certain actions throughout the story had long-term, irreversible consequences which are not something that is often found in children’s books.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Children’s 

Author: Roald Dahl 

Illustrator: Quentin Blake

Publisher: Jonathan Cape