“‘Children smell!’ she screamed. ‘They stink out the vurld! Vee do not vont these children around here!’” — Page 67
Back cover synopsis: A young boy and his Norwegian grandmother, who is an expert on witches, together foil a witches’ plot to destroy the world’s children by turning them into mice.
The Witches by Roald Dahl is the fourth book I have completed for the Roald Dahl Reading Marathon.
“She” (in the quote above) is the Grand High Witch, and along with many other witches, they are having an annual meeting at the same hotel where Boy (we do not know his name) and his grandmother are spending the holidays. Boy stumbles into the meeting by accident while looking for a quiet spot to train his two pet mice. The meeting room was vacant at first, but soon the participants (a group of ladies) enter. Slowly, he realises that these women are, in fact, witches! His grandmother has taught him enough about witches and how to identify one, though it’s difficult because they look just like any of us.
Cowering in fear, he sits through the entire proceeding and even witnesses one of the witches evaporate into thin air, thanks to the vile Grand High Witch. There, he overhears the witches’ plan and the secret recipe that would turn little children into mice. Just when he thinks he can get away when the meeting ends, one of them sniffs him out. That is when the problem begins. He is turned into a mouse but quickly escapes before they can harm him further.
Boy returns to his grandmother, who apparently takes it quite well. You see, she is a retired witch hunter. In his mouse form, Boy can still talk and think normally. He tells her about the witches’ plan, and together they form a great partnership to overturn the evil plan AND to get rid of them for good.
Boy—like all the protagonists in the earlier books I have read, such as James and the Giant Peach and The BFG—is an orphan. He is a quick thinker and does not give up easily. I like the adventure and humour in this story. Dahl’s imagination is wonderful, and he always tries to make his readers laugh, squirm, become enthralled, tense, and excited. I am happy to say he succeeded.
I am going to finish off the reading marathon with my last book for today: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.
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