Danny the Champion of the World

Danny the Champion of the World is probably my favourite Roald Dahl book. I don't claim to have read them all or to be some kind of massive Dahl fan but this one particular book is the one that has resonated the most with me, and stayed in my thoughts past childhood like no other Dahl book.

Danny the Champion of the World seems to get less recognition than some of Dahl's other books... the more well-known Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, BFG, The Twits and The Witches all seem to get mentioned well before Danny. Even James and the Giant Peach gets the goggle-eyes on the kids swivelling around in excitement more than Danny. It could be the lack of fantasy or grotesque elements... Danny has no telekinesis, oompa-loompas, dream-catching giants, disgusting couples or club-footed, bald-headed crones. No, all Danny has is heart.

Danny lives with his father in a caravan. His father used to own a small piece of land once coveted by a greedy and unpleasant man named Mr. Hazel. Mr. Hazel used his various contacts to bully Danny's father off the land so that he could buy it and build a new town. The local villagers don't like Mr. Hazel. Danny's father, quite rightly, bears a grudge against Mr. Hazel and poaches pheasants off Mr. Hazel's land in revenge.

It's a fairly simple story told effectively well in Dahl's own inimitable style. Through Danny's eyes we're introduced to the bitter and unfair world of adults and the all-too-real villainy of Mr. Hazel. Although the events in this book are a good deal more realistic and sombre than those in Dahl's other books, his wickedly anti-authoritarian code of morals still shine through, and it's through Danny that the book's imagination is wielded. As a result, I dare say it's a good deal more uplifting than Dahl's more popular books. It just feels like a more relevant story. I've got nothing against the wonderful Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or the adventuring BFG, it's just that Danny really connected with me.