Tales of the expected

THIS collection could be reviewed in the usual way, comparing Dahl's macabre, twist in the tale stories to others of their ilk. The tales amuse, intrigue, entertain and occasionally startle but they never reach the standard of the finest in the field. For sheer mastery of suspense - achieved as much through the taut manipulation of language as through genius of plot and character - one recalls Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band, O. Henry's The Turning of the Screw, and Pushkin's The Queen of Spades. Dahl simply isn't that good, and ultimately these stories - with one exception - suit the medium where most wound up in the television series, Tales of the Unexpected.

That said, the collection was put together for a specific purpose: it is aimed at young adults, with the laudable intention of introducing them to adult fiction by reintroducing them to one of their favourite authors. And while the book could be enjoyed by any adult, this review will consider its suitability for its intended audience.

The first thing to commend it from a teen perspective is the large and well spaced print, known to appeal to readers of this age group. Secondly, the majority of the stories sport a ghoulish tint, another plus for the young, with that special touch of nastiness for which Dahl is so well known and loved. Several of the stories are also quite short, and this again suits the teen reader whose attention span tends to be in inverse proportion to their boredom quotient. For this reason alone, Parson's Pleasure should never have been included. Not only does it deal with a subject which could not possibly be of any interest to teens - antique furniture - but it is drawn out to a length that few would go.

Certainly, the inclusion and/or positioning of some of the stories is baffling, not least the introductory piece which gives the collection its unappealing title. The Great Automatic Grammatizator has a clever beginning from an adult point of view, with its tongue in cheek snipe at writers and publishers. But irony, particularly directed at literature, is hardly high on the list of what excites a teenager. Sex and violence grab their attention and since Dahl's work provides plenty of the latter in myriad deliciously wicked ways, he has not been well used to sell himself.

Neck, which ends the book, would have been ideal to begin it, instantly winning over even the most reluctant of readers with a man axing and sawing his wife's head off as it protrudes through a sculpture by Henry Moore. Now that's the kind of irony teens appreciate. The title, with its one syllable reference (albeit inaccurate in this case) to sexual play, is also far more likely to attract teen readers than the ponderous academic name the book now bears.

The second story, Mrs Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, is no more likely than the first to rivet a young reader, with its cynical tale of marital come uppance involving adultery and a mink coat. Both these stories, with a one two punch, may well lose the book its targeted audience when so many of the later stories would achieve the opposite effect. What teen could resist The Landlady, with its psychotic taxidermist who stuffs her tenants? Or Man from the South, involving wagers and the chopping off of fingers?

And then there's Katina, the proof that Dahl could transcend commercial fiction and achieve true art. Unfortunately, its subtitle, "Some brief notes about the last days of RAF fighters in the first Greek campaign", does not specify Dahl's own history as a fighter pilot. This is mentioned in the jacket blurb, unlikely to be read by a teen. Yet it is this kind of autobiographical information which particularly fascinates the young - as any writer who visits schools knows well - and I believe it would sustain them through the long and beautifully written story.

Overall, the collection smacks of the hand of an English teacher, but with any luck its young readers will dip in at random and find the treasures therein. {CORRECTION} 96082600068