Missing You

Roald Dahl was twenty two years of age when Shell Oil hired him. A boat trip from London to Tanzania, via the Suez Canal, would be a life-changing experience for him. The passengers fascinated him, as many of them would appear in his works.

"It would seem that when the British live for years in a foul and sweaty climate among foreign people, they maintain their sanity by allowing themselves to go slightly dotty."

This was Dahl's first overseas trip. He wasn't like Joseph Conrad, who became disillusioned about the British Empire. He wasn't like Karen Blixen, whose "Out of Africa" didn't interest him one bit. If the Welshman was older, then his fans might not get to know Willy Wonka and his other characters.

The beginning of a great adventure

"Going Solo", published in 1986, was a continuation of Dahl's memoir. "Boy", which came out two years earlier, recounted his childhood. Such memory - and creativity - would make an impression on his readers. But his recollections were something else. It could be the author's way of confessing that he missed the (British) expatriates he met. They were reminders of a remarkable period, even if the war would left scars on those who survived it. Perhaps it helped that Dahl penned both books later in life. However, his fans would point out that Dahl became dotty himself. There would be no doubt about it, even if he tried to keep a deadpan expression while describing the events.

What would readers learn from the memoir? Plenty, as Dahl's imagination had no limits. Here are a few insights:

There's no place like Africa. The native of Cardiff didn't forget the herds of elephants near Lake Tanganyika. He dreaded the poisonous snakes. These animals would appear in his works, but his description would recall the untamed continent. These drew the colonizers - and settlers. They also encountered lanky natives, who were proud of their capabilities whenever there was a conflict. It happened during the colonial years, which wasn't pleasant most of the time. But Dahl looked at the bright side of things.

The war happened for a reason. Dahl admitted he was one of the lucky few pilots who survived World War II. They were young men who worked for corporate firms, with stations all over Africa. They enlisted after Great Britain declared war on Germany. They were trained in a hostile terrain somewhere in Iraq, which wasn't enough preparation for the real battle. Dahl survived a plane crash in no man's land. He was blind for a while. He lived to tell this episode of his story.

There's nothing wrong about being eccentric. Dahl's children's books wouldn't be classic if not for his strange characters. They would get into you, even if you don't like them.