by Jennifer Ciotta
Matilda, precocious and a child genius, possesses qualities which make her unruly to her parents, yet an inspiration to her classmates, teacher and librarian. For some peculiar reason, Matilda's parents do not recognize her unique talents such as reading Charles Dickens and reciting seemingly impossible times tables at the mere age of four. In fact, poor Matilda is resented by her parents, especially her father, who is the town thief. However, by utilizing her extreme intelligence, Matilda "punishes" her father in humorous, inventive ways. At school Matilda now must face a different kind of bully, the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. Unbelievably physically and mentally abuse toward young children, Miss Trunchbull cruelly holds up a child by his ears, and throws a little girl across the playground. Even the parents fear Miss Trunchbull, but Matilda is of a unique breed. In a Dahl-esque twist at the end--representative of his children's books and adult short stories alike--Matilda champions over Miss Trunchbull, in a delightful, yet impish way.
Dahl's dark sense of humor is apparent throughout Matilda. The book teaches invaluable lessons of how to level a dictator with cunning saavy and sheer creative intelligence. As an obvious remark on the abuse of children who are educated through the strict, and sometimes oppressive English school system, Dahl never uses violence as a counter-attack. Instead, Matilda stays funny and purely adorable, even in the most dire of situations, thus sending a message to child readers to find humor in their darkest moments.
Dahl engages the reader through a fascinating and distinctive writing style, using quite advanced vocabulary for even the most studious child. Although Matilda is aimed toward a child audience, adults will find themselves equally amused and entertained by the antics of the loveable Matilda.
