Behind the Books: a story review

ROALD DAHL
1. Dahl wrote many of his stories in a little shed at the bottom of his garden
2. He was a fighter pilot in World War II
3. Dahl wrote for around 4 hours every single day
4. When Roald Dahl died in 1990, he was buried with some of his favourite things
5. Dahl was a spy during World War II
6. Dahl invented over 250 new words
7. Many of Dahl’s characters were based on people he’d met in real life
8. Dahl was born in Wales, but his parents were Norwegian
https://time.com/4487573/roald-dahl-100-years-biography-video/

ROALD DAHL

Roald Dahl, quotes:
“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
“I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.”
Two hours of writing fiction leaves this writer completely drained. For those two hours he has been in a different place with totally different people…
A little magic can take you a long way…

About the Story
"Lamb to the Slaughter" (1953) is a short story by Roald Dahl. It was initially rejected, along with four other stories, by The New Yorker, but was published in Harper's Magazine in September 1953.
It was adapted for an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that starred Barbara Bel Geddes & Harold J. Stone.
The narrative element of the housewife killing her husband and letting the policemen partake in eating the evidence was used by Pedro Almodóvar in his 1984 movie What Have I Done to Deserve This?, with a leg of mutton.
"Lamb to the Slaughter" demonstrates Dahl's fascination with horror (with elements of black comedy), which is seen in both his adult fiction and his stories for children.
The story supposedly was suggested to Dahl by his friend Ian Fleming: "Why don't you have someone murder their husband with a frozen leg of mutton which she then serves to the detectives who come to investigate the murder?"

https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lamb.html

Behind the Books:
Types of Exercises
TYPE I: Linguistic tasks, e.g.: find the equivalent/ synonym, guess the meaning, world riddle/ puzzle, etc
TYPE II: Creative tasks, e.g.: compare, find the allusions, comment on the title, create an alternative ending, etc.

Behind the Books:
Interesting words (1)
Alight
Merely
Placid
Tranquil
Translucent
Luxuriate
Swirls
Dazed
brightly lit up; burning
Only; nothing more; used to emphasize that you mean exactly what you say
calm and peaceful
Same + without noise, violence, worry
almost transparent, allowing some light through it
to get great pleasure from smth
to move quickly with a twisting, circular movement
very confused and unable to think clearly

Behind the Books:
Interesting words (2)
Fuss
Swaying
Congealed
Spanner
Giggle
Footle
Consoling
a show of anger, worry/ excitement that is unnecessary/ greater than it deserves
to move slowly from side to side
changed from a liquid or soft state to a thick or solid state
a metal tool with a shaped end, used to turn nuts and bolts
to laugh repeatedly in a quiet but uncontrolled way, often at smth silly
Nonsense, absurdity
Making or intended to make someone feel better when they are sad or disappointed

Checklist for short stories review & analysis!
https://check-list.behind-books.com/first

Behind the Books:
Questions for discussion/ PLOT
Would the police ever find Mary guilty? Does she deserve a punishment?
What was the alibi of Mary Maloney?
Why did she want the policemen to eat the lamb? What was her plan?
What was Mary’s emotional state after the crime?
Is Mary different at the beginning and end of the story? Explain your viewpoint.
Was it important that Patrick was a policemen? Did it help Mary in any way?

Behind the Books:
Questions for discussion/ GENERAL
Why was this story rejected by the New Yorker several times?
What is the climax of "Lamb to the Slaughter"? What happens and why?
Is "Lamb to Slaughter" an example of noir mystery? Explain.
What's the symbol hidden in the title?
What ironic things have you noticed?

Best roast leg of lamb
With proper homemade mint sauce
“A classic Sunday lunch, with no fuss and masses
of flavour – perfect for Easter. ”
Ingredients
2 kg leg of lamb or hogget
1 bulb of garlic
½ a bunch of fresh rosemary
1.5 kg potatoes
1 lemon
olive oil
MINT SAUCE
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons wine vinegar

METHOD
Remove the lamb from the fridge 1 hour before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºC/gas 6 and place a roasting dish for the potatoes on the bottom.
Break the garlic bulb up into cloves, then peel 3, leaving the rest whole. Pick and roughly chop half the rosemary leaves. Peel and halve the potatoes.
Crush the peeled garlic into a bowl, add the chopped rosemary, finely grate in the lemon zest and drizzle in a good lug of oil, then mix together.
Season the lamb with sea salt and black pepper, then drizzle with the marinade and rub all over the meat. Place on the hot bars of the oven above the tray.
Parboil the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 10 mins, then drain and allow to steam dry. Gently toss the potatoes in the colander to scuff up the edges, then tip back into the pan.
Add the remaining rosemary sprigs and whole garlic cloves to the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle over a good lug of oil. Tip the potatoes into the hot tray and place back under the lamb to catch all the lovely juices.
Cook the lamb for 1 hour 15 mins if you want it pink, or 1 hour 30 minutes if you like it more well done.
Meanwhile, make the mint sauce. Pick and finely chop the mint leaves, then place in a small bowl. Mix in the sugar, a good pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of hot water and the vinegar.
When the lamb is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 mins or so. Carve and serve with the roast potatoes, mint sauce and some seasonal greens.

Behind the Books
We’d like to hear your feedback & suggestions
on the following questions:
Contents: are any changes required?
Quality of the tasks: types of tasks, quantity, format, etc
3) Is this type of work helpful?
4) Shall we try online reading? (test format)
5) Closed group + chat (test format)

Behind the Books
Keep in Touch!