Book #03
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
Picking right up where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory left off, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator continues the adventures of Charlie Bucket, his family and Willy Wonka, the eccentric candy maker. As the book begins, our heroes are shooting into the sky in a glass elevator, headed for destinations unknown. What follows is exactly the kind of high-spirited magical madness and mayhem we've all come to expect from Willy Wonka and his creator Roald Dahl. The American space race gets a send-up, as does the President, and Charlie's family gets a second chance at childhood. Throw in the Vermicious Knids, Gnoolies and Minusland and we once again witness pure genius.
This book is about one hundred times crazier than I can remember it being. The plot is completely random and all over the place, with the characters being in space fighting aliens one moment, and back in the chocolate factory turning grandparents into babies the next.
I can remember being disappointed in this book when I was younger, and I still feel the same now. Although it picks up exactly where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory left off, it lacks a lot of the charm and enchantment that was the constant static right through its predecessor. The tone of the book is so drastically different from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and there are changes in the characters too. I was particularly disappointed in Grandma Georgina, who I had taken to be a lovely old lady until she turned out to be absolutely frightful. My favourite character, Grandpa Joe, took a bit of a back seat in this story too, which I didn't enjoy.
The humour seems a bit too subtle for kids to understand. It's centred a lot around word play, which is really funny, but perhaps would fly over the heads of some younger readers.
It's very scattered, and overblown, but definitely one for someone who enjoys some random madness. I'm not sure it's a wonderful one for kids, I didn't think it was as captivating for children as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but perhaps some children will enjoy the story.