I’m ashamed to admit, that if you look on my shelf, you will find a copy of Roald Dahl’s The BFG with a bookmark (a leather one, hand-decorated by my 8 year-old self) still marking the page where, for some reason lost to time, I stopped reading it. This bookmark has long remained untouched, but has not been forgotten. The shame of not finishing that book has haunted my reading life the way a faded stain on the carpet might haunt a tenant who is hoping for their entire bond back.
So, yesterday, I had a day where I would be in the car for a number of hours and thought to myself that I would finally lay the ghost of my youth to rest, and listen to the audio book right through.
If you haven’t read it, you must! I now find myself scolding my 8 year-old self for being such a fool in not finishing it, but at the same time, revelling in the fact that I could appreciate this book as an adult reader.
However, if you get the chance, you should definitely listen to the version read by Geoffrey Palmer. His voice for the Big Friendly Giant had me laughing out loud as I drove up the freeway. Then, when I thought it couldn’t get better, in come the Queen of England… Between those two characters, I thought it was just hilarious! Anyone who has read it will know that the BGF has a very particular way of talking. So, imagine hearing him talk, without having to make your brain process what the word in front of you looks like, and then how it would sound. Geoffrey Palmer reads it all like he’s been speaking that way for his entire life.
The whole thing was so enjoyable! So, if you’ve got a shame-faced child somewhere inside you, that is blushing because they either didn’t finish The BFG like I did, or perhaps they didn’t read it at all: Do away with the guilt! Do away with the shame! Get your hands on this marvellous book and laugh! … and live!
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