Title:

Matilda

Author:

Roald Dahl

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

September 30, 2025

oald Dahl was a famous author of children's books, with titles such as James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but somehow I missed reading any of his books when I was growing up. After reading yet another favorable reference to his works, I decided to read one of his books to see what I had missed. Judging from the review ratings on Goodreads, Matilda appears to be his most popular book, so I checked it out of the library for a quick read - it is just 234 pages long, with much page space filled in with scratchy ink-and-wash illustrations by Quentin Blake.

I can see why Matilda would appeal to children. The five year old heroine, Matilda, is a genius but is unappreciated by her parents. How many children reading Matilda also feel neglected by their own parents, especially if a sibling seemingly gets more attention? In the end, Matilda triumphs over the awful adults in the book; this must make the story appealing to children who dream that they could do the same.

Matilda's father, Mr. Wormwood, is a used car salesman who explains to Michael (Matilda's older brother) the ins-and-outs of selling cars, but he ignores Matilda. Mr. Wormwood is a crook - he tells Michael how to roll back the odometer on the used cars and how to put sawdust in the gearbox (apparently sawdust temporarily gives the impression that the car shifts properly). Matilda decides to punish her father's criminal behavior by lining the rim of his hat with superglue. Once he gets to work, he finds that he cannot remove his hat from his head. Ultimately, Mrs. Wormwood has to cut the hat off of his head. Young readers might delight in this story of a child putting one over on the grownups. But since Mr. Wormwood has no idea why his hat stuck to the head he doesn't understand that it was meant to be a punishment for being a crooked used car salesman, even though the book depicts it as such. Matilda has pranked her father, but it doesn't lead to any change in his behavior.

Not every adult in Matilda is cruel and idiotic. Mrs. Phelps is the kind librarian who gives Matilda children's books to read, but five-year old Matilda soon graduates to adult novels such as Oliver Twist and Animal Farm. Matilda's kindergarten teacher, Miss Honey, quickly recognizes Matilda's genius and realizes she should be placed in at a much higher grade level. Unfortunately, the principal of the school, Miss Trunchbull, hates all children - the smaller they are, the more she hates them. The conflict between Matilda and Miss Honey versus the violent, easily enraged Miss Trunchbill is the heart of the story.

Perhaps the thought of having magical powers makes Matilda such a favorite with young readers, but I was unhappy that Matilda develops the power of telekinesis. This magical ability proves to be decisive in the confrontations with Miss Trunchbull. I would have preferred to read how Matilda came up with a clever solution rather than psychic powers to defeat Miss Trunchbill.

Although Trunchbull is depicted picking up children by their hair or by their ears (is this actually possible? Or would the ears rip off?), no one is grievously hurt in the end, the bad adults are defeated and Matilda and Miss Honey live happily ever after. Matilda is an okay story, but there are many children's books I liked much better, this is not something that I would hand to a child promising them that it is a wonderful book.