The Witches

by Roald Dahl

[KitsuneBae]

You can also read my full review at: Thoughts and Pens


This is another feel good story by Roald Dahl, ridiculously crafted to provide a good laugh to young children and adults too.
The Witches started off by providing a narration that one of the most pressing security problems in this world was the existence of Witches. And they were notorious for plotting of purging the world of children. There’s only one reason for this: Children produces foul stench.
While the witches all over the world are busy plotting their evil plans, a young boy who is living with his grandmother was being taught on how to recognize witches. This is in the hope that whenever or wherever he goes, he will have an easy time to distinguish witches from normal women.
Then one day, when the boy and the grandma went for vacation in a well-known hotel, the young boy accidentally witnessed the yearly witches’ convention being held there. It is in that convention that the boy learned of the greatest evil plan being cooked by Grand High Witch and that is: brewing a formula that will turn all children into mice. And then she went on discussing the strategies that need to be done for the success of their plans.
It was unfortunate, however, that while the strategy was being discussed; the witches discovered the young boy and forced him to drink the formula, thus, turning him into a mouse. In his desperation to save the children from turning into mice, the young boy escaped to return to his grandmother. He then told her of the plot. Together, they draw a plan to beat the witches.
This plan turned out to be turning witches into mice by stealing the formula and pouring it to the witches’ dinner. All the witches turned into mice. There was an outbreak of vermin inside the hotel which the staff immediately solved by killing all the mice. That was one problem down the drain.
Not satisfied with just killing the attendees of the Witch Convention, the boy and his grandma concocted another plan to fully top the witches. And that is to travel to the Grand High Witch’s Castle where they will turn all her minions into mice. To manage the infestation, they will then release cats into the castle.
Just like any of the Roald Dahl books, this one left a smile on my face after reading it. It was simple yet crazy and outrageously written. A perfect read for those who would like to relieve stress in an instant. My only disappointment with this book is that the child didn’t transform back into a human. And he was ready to accept it when he could have done a lot of things against the witches when he’s human and all. And well, the grandma wasn’t a ray of sunshine either. I wish there was more in the ending than an old lady telling his grandson that he only have 9 years to live.