5 reasons matilda is the best roald dahl story

1. Our hero is a girl. A girl who can, above all, conduct an orchestra of flying of cards with her mind. She is all of seven, and yet, and yet... she is independent, exceptionally intelligent, and more perceptive than most periscopes. She is a moral creature and possesses a charming sense of humour (read: superglue in hat, newt in Trunchbull’s glass). In her short life she has managed more difficult books than I probably ever will[i] and, as I noted before, she has extraordinary mental powers. Is she merely a paragon of virtue, though, a tool for teaching the kiddies? Maybe. However, she does get up to mischief and is clever with her tricks. Anyway, compare her to Stephen King’s Carrie and I think you’ll decide that’s a criticism you can forgive.

2. Insert second feminist reason here. Miss Honey, the Trunchbull, Mrs Wormwood (in the end), are all exemplary female characters. Each differ greatly, but all have something to offer impressionable children, and indeed, adults. Miss Honey, as the name suggests, is sweet, and perhaps just an older projection of Matilda. Though the Trunchbull is essentially a menacing, no-fringed deviant, she is still quite fiercely independent. It's not her fault she looks like a boiled toad. And Mrs Wormwood eventually does the right thing and hands over little Matilda, which actually, ironically, suggests that she has some kind of maternal or moral instinct.

3. Roald Dahl’s distinct storytelling voice. It is easy to imagine sitting by the fire, with a daschund on your lap, as Papa smokes his pipe and imparts his wisdom. I know this is not unique to Matilda, but for children who do not have daschunds and wisdom-imparting papas, Dahl’s narration, complete with a generous vocabulary and respect for his audience, provides a convenient substitute.

4. Bruce Bogtrotter. He’s the type of boy I wish I could have a crush on. Then I would be totally random. Actually, I suspect that I probably do have a crush on him. That whole forbidden desire thing. It’s random, I know.

5. The cards, the cardss! The jiving, twirling, flying cards! I know, I know, I’m thinking specifically about the movie, and movies aren’t always true representations of the book and blah di blah di blah, but watch this and shut up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujc71mev9qc

[i]The only reason I know the first line of Moby Dick is because of Matilda (i.e. Call me Ishmael.). Will I ever know the second line? Probably not. No.