The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Roald DahlAs a child I was enthralled with Roald Dahl’s Hammer House of Horror series on the TV, as a father I delighted in reading all his children’s books, and now I got to his short stories for adults - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – collection. In addition to (spoiler alert) the card-trick-yogi being a modern reincarnation of Robin Hood converting money from casinos into orphanages, he has six other stories – all worth reading.The magic of these stories is the elegance of the plot and the way the main characters effortlessly weave the story. Seven stories like seven rivers or streams. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is definitely a river in this classification, undulating from beginning with a bored rich English bachelor who cheats on his friends, to an Indian who is more than a conjurer, to the temptation and metamorphosis of Henry Sugar. (Spoiler alert: he doesn't sell his soul like Doctor Faustus, and doesn’t turn into a cockroach; it is almost the opposite).The Hitch-hiker, The Boy Who Talked to Animals and The Swan are more like fast moving streams. Each treat honour and danger in different ways. The Swan was for me the most terrifying – a tale of two extraordinary bullies and their victim.The collection also contains two non-fiction pieces - The Mildenhall Treasure and A Piece of Cake. The Mildenhall Treasure is more a slow-moving river - an honourable farmer ploughs a field and… I won’t say more. Read it. A Piece of Cake is the story that launched Roald Dahl’s career and is about the author’s plane crash in the war, echoing (in a very different way), the crash of Antoine de Saint Exupery, or the artist Joseph Beuys. Three amazing artistic careers were launched by these near-death experiences. Not to be recommended as a means of literary or artistic development of course!The collection also contains advice from Roald Dahl on writing and how he became a writer, and his childhood at school, which reminds us that schools aren’t what they used to be; in this case that is a good thing.So, for writers looking for tools of the craft – Roald Dahl’s advice is to find a good plot. Keep paper handy and write down plots when they come to you. A sentence can be enough, even a single word - seeds for future stories.

In my eyes, Roald Dahl is the greatest children's author that ever lived, and even for adults he is in my top 5. I first read this book when I was 7 years old - at the time I was struck with the wonderful magic that he seems to work into all his stories. Upon reading it again as a young teen, I started to get the feeling that he had a wicked sense of humor, without malignity but wicked nonetheless. Now as an adult, I decided to revisit this wonderful book, and suddenly the subtle social nuances, the author's sarcastic wit, and the fantastical but totally believable characters jump to life. I know someone who IS Henry Sugar, have met him at parties, and wished this story was true. The hitchhiker obviously is exaggerated, and yet I feel as though I could meet him in the pub tomorrow without raising an eyebrow.Below are some general guidelines to reading this book:1) If you don't have a sense of humor, do not expect this book to wow you. This is very much high-brow humor, so if your favorite show is Family Guy or the like, you will be disappointed. The humor in Dahl's short stories is found hidden behind the psyche of the characters involved. Whether in the devilish grin of the hitchhiker as the policeman walks up to the car, or in the mysterious man who watches as the lighter is flicked again and again, to gain a true understanding of the characters, you must read what Dahl does not write, but only implies in his description of his inventions.2) If you have lost your child-like wonder of the world, you may not GET these stories. Dahl himself said that we must rigidly grasp our child-like wonder before it is gone, and I am a firm believer in this. That said, if you loved Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) and have not yet experienced Dahl, BUY THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY. You will fall in love, and your children eventually will too.Parents - you may or may not want your kids to read this book...I won't spoil any plot lines for you but the themes are sometimes adult, but rarely inappropriate.Adults - buy this book, set aside an afternoon without your cellphone or laptop, and relish in the fantastical, but very real worlds that Dahl creates.

My 6th grade teacher read these stories to our class after recess. I loved that story time, and I loved Henry Sugar. Because of these stories, I read several of Roald Dahl's books as a kid. I recently came across this while looking for a book to get my 9 year old daughter for Christmas. I ended up buying a paperback of BFG for her and ordered this for my Kindle so I could read the stories to both of my daughters, as my 6th grade teacher did for me.My daughters love the stories and beg me to read another chapter, even if it's past their bedtime. My 9 year old was very happy to see that the book in her stocking was written by the same author as these stories.I'm not going to write a book review, as there are several already written, several of which do a better job than I could do. I will say that this book is definitely worth it, whether you're reading it yourself, reading it to your children, or reading it to others. I've loved reading these stories again and am very happy I stumbled across this book several years after I was first introduced to Roald Dahl.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I so enjoyed it. I love his stories. Everything he writes is so special and sincere, I love it.

Roald Dahl was a master of the short story - esp for adults. Often darly sinister, and these days called misogynist by the usual pc suspects, his short stories and the TV series TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED (which the wonderful SKY ARTS TV channel is at last repeating every weekday at 1pm), are a real treat.ANY collection of Roald Dahl short stories is a real treat.I have always loved The Chocolate Factory (Dahl's original title). The Oompa-loompas were black pygmies in the 1964 US edition which makes sense as most cocoa beans for chocolate have been grown in Africa for a century or more, and Dahl worked there in the 30s. Some journalists involved in civil rights in 1964 complained (mother woke maybe?) and his publisher made the second edition free of ANY Oompa-Loompa descriptions - something I found so annoying when I first read it aged 8. But not as annoying as the orange make-up done for the early 70s US movie, then copied by the naff musical (great special effects, no memorable melodies).It is a classic BIG CONCEPT story, originally with 10 kids before Dahl revised his script.Not so sure about other of his kids' books - they tended to get silly, But none are as trite, derivative and tedious as the Poundland Roald Dahl, David Walliams.This collection of short stories is good for adults and children - who can cope with WAY MORE than paranoid hysterical over-protective parents think, as Roald Dahl well knew. SO let your kids read it! They CAN cope with death in stories - yes, really. It's called childhood and growing up in the real world.

Roald Dahl is universally loved and this book for slightly older readers, keeps the magic of his stories accessible (although I enjoy reading his children's books still). Henry Sugar is a rather silly rich man, who reads the tale of an Indian man who develops great mental powers, allowing him to do amazing things. Henry sets out to achieve the same and use the powers to make even greater riches. It is a wonderful story, full of magic and really makes you believe that these mental powers could be achieved (I still half-believe it now).

Our primary teacher read this to us in 'story time' over a period of time. It left such an impression that over the years, I've looked out for a copy of the book. Found it on amazon kindle, and after reading it, it's still as fascinating as first time round. Definitely worth a read for any age over 10ish.

Bought for my daughter for Christmas. I remember reading this when I was younger so I read it again too. I love these stories. They are ideal for pre teens and teens and is a perfect bridge between his kids stories and his adult stuff.

I first read this book when I was in primary school back in the 1980s. After I had borrowed the book recently from my local library, I decided to purchase it from the site.From stories in set in the UK to stories as far as foreign lands, this book is enjoyable for any Roald Dahl fan and is not a let down.