Going Solo by Roald Dahl: Book Review

Title: Going Solo
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin Books, 1988, YA up
Pages: 210

Believe it or not, this was my first Roald Dahl book. Lucky me, it was geared more for adults, as I found the book in a Roald Dahl collection for children. Wonderful read. I highly recommend this memoir. 

Dahl tells the story of his life as a young twenty-something British employee in east Africa working for the Shell Company. The adventures with his sometimes dangerous surroundings and the people he meets along the way are daring enough, but with the outbreak of World War II, his life turns on a dime. 

With minimal training, he finds himself flying all makes of planes for the Royal British Air Force in active combat against incredible odds. Few in his squad survive. Told with humor in great detail you will laugh and marvel he even survived. He was one very "green" pilot. 

~Sharon

Sharon M. Himsl

Published: Evernight Teen 

The Shells of Mersing

 

So What's Everyone Doing?

Well, I'm reading and probably should be writing but I found a good book and I can't stop reading.

This is Roald Dahl on steroids for adults. Honestly, I had no idea the book existed. And did you know he's Norwegian? Really....now that I should have known. I'm half Norwegian after all.

But seriously, the guy really knows how to write. I discovered 'Going Solo' in a Roald Dahl children's collection I had purchased to divide up among my grandchildren.

I'm embarrassed to admit I have never read the children's books he's most known for. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, to name some.

But if you like memoirs with a sense of humor that focus on the WWII period, flying airplanes, and living in Africa, Going Solo is for you!

Well, I have been typing too.... Not my own work, but my mother's memoir. I love the little miner sitting on the keyboard. He's 'panning for gold' and that's exactly what writing about a life history feels like. Mother is 93 so you can imagine there's quite a bit of life to glean from there.

But I'm back to thinking about writing for myself too, and will use this miner for inspiration. Just 500 words a day someone on Instagram posted today. Now that feels doable. My current novel is around 22k, so I have a ways to go if I'm going to reach 60k.

How about you. What have you been up to?

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing