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The Twits #1
The Twits
Roald Dahl has such an unusual first name due to fact that his parents spelt his name wrong on the Register of Births. From this non-literary background came one of the masters of children's literature.
The Twits is one of his many successful and highly entertaining books. The Twits are a couple that nobody would like to know. They are hairy, dirty, smelly and generally unpleasant. Roald Dahl's characters are possibly the most horrid people you will ever read about. Mr and Mrs Twit spend their days inventing new ways to be be nasty to each other. Each time Mrs Twit does something bad to Mr Twit, he just invents something worse to do to her. The Twits are not only unpleasant towards each other but they also hate animals. It is because of the Twits' attitude towards animals that we see their really awful side: Mr Twit keeps a family of monkeys that have to spend their days upside down and Mrs Twit likes to make pies with freshly caught birds.
Dahl's story, as is characteristic with all his books, has a happy ending. Only how will the animals beat the Twits? --Jon Smith
87 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
1884 people are currently reading
50724 people want to read
About the author
Roald Dahl
1,473 books26.6k followersRoald Dahl was a beloved British author, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter pilot, best known for his enchanting and often darkly humorous children's books that have captivated generations of readers around the world. Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl led a life marked by adventure, tragedy, creativity, and enduring literary success. His vivid imagination and distinctive storytelling style have made him one of the most celebrated children's authors in modern literature.
Before becoming a writer, Dahl lived a life filled with excitement and hardship. He served as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II, surviving a near-fatal crash in the Libyan desert. His wartime experiences and travels deeply influenced his storytelling, often infusing his works with a sense of danger, resilience, and the triumph of the underdog. After the war, he began writing for both adults and children, showing a rare versatility that spanned genres and age groups.
Dahl's children's books are known for their playful use of language, unforgettable characters, and a deep sense of justice, often pitting clever children against cruel or foolish adults. Some of his most iconic titles include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Witches. These works are filled with fantastical elements and moral undertones, empowering young readers to challenge authority, think independently, and believe in the impossible.
Equally acclaimed for his work for adults, Dahl wrote numerous short stories characterized by their macabre twists and dark humor. His stories were frequently published in magazines such as The New Yorker and later compiled into bestselling collections like Someone Like You and Kiss Kiss. He also wrote screenplays, including the James Bond film You Only Live Twice and the adaptation of Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Despite his literary success, Dahl was a complex and sometimes controversial figure, known for his strong opinions and difficult personality. Nonetheless, his books continue to be treasured for their wit, originality, and the sense of wonder they inspire. Many of his stories have been adapted into successful films, stage plays, and television specials, further cementing his legacy.
Dahl's impact on children's literature is immeasurable. His ability to connect with young readers through a mix of irreverence, heart, and imagination has made his stories timeless. Even after his death, his books remain in print and continue to be read by millions of children worldwide. His writing not only entertains but also encourages curiosity, courage, and compassion.
Roald Dahl's work lives on as a testament to the power of storytelling and the magic of a truly original voice. He remains a towering figure in literature whose creations continue to spark joy, mischief, and inspiration across generations.
Before becoming a writer, Dahl lived a life filled with excitement and hardship. He served as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II, surviving a near-fatal crash in the Libyan desert. His wartime experiences and travels deeply influenced his storytelling, often infusing his works with a sense of danger, resilience, and the triumph of the underdog. After the war, he began writing for both adults and children, showing a rare versatility that spanned genres and age groups.
Dahl's children's books are known for their playful use of language, unforgettable characters, and a deep sense of justice, often pitting clever children against cruel or foolish adults. Some of his most iconic titles include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Witches. These works are filled with fantastical elements and moral undertones, empowering young readers to challenge authority, think independently, and believe in the impossible.
Equally acclaimed for his work for adults, Dahl wrote numerous short stories characterized by their macabre twists and dark humor. His stories were frequently published in magazines such as The New Yorker and later compiled into bestselling collections like Someone Like You and Kiss Kiss. He also wrote screenplays, including the James Bond film You Only Live Twice and the adaptation of Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Despite his literary success, Dahl was a complex and sometimes controversial figure, known for his strong opinions and difficult personality. Nonetheless, his books continue to be treasured for their wit, originality, and the sense of wonder they inspire. Many of his stories have been adapted into successful films, stage plays, and television specials, further cementing his legacy.
Dahl's impact on children's literature is immeasurable. His ability to connect with young readers through a mix of irreverence, heart, and imagination has made his stories timeless. Even after his death, his books remain in print and continue to be read by millions of children worldwide. His writing not only entertains but also encourages curiosity, courage, and compassion.
Roald Dahl's work lives on as a testament to the power of storytelling and the magic of a truly original voice. He remains a towering figure in literature whose creations continue to spark joy, mischief, and inspiration across generations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,552 reviews
May 30, 2025
I read a lot of Roald Dahl books as a child, and have read quite a few more to my own children, most recently to my disabled youngest daughter. The Twits was one of those.
The Twits, although it has its moments, is one of my least favourite Dahl books, perhaps the least favourite.
It's easy to be too po-faced about humour in children's books, and perhaps my reaction is coloured by the knowledge that Dahl was not a particularly pleasant man and had some rather nasty opinions ... but even so, my reaction predates knowledge of his anti-Semitic views and other prejudices. And other of his books have not struck a sour chord with me in the same way.
The book opens with a rather strange tirade against men with beards. But fair enough, it's just a fashion choice. What I found far less palatable as something being channeled into the heads of children was the assertion that ugly people are evil (have ugly thoughts). This is basically an extension of medieval thinking in that bad things happen to bad people and if misfortune befalls someone it's safe to assume that they had it coming.
He says that if a person thinks good thoughts it will "shine through" and even if they have features that are technically ugly we will see just by looking that they are a nice person. This is of course bollocks, and not just that, it's dangerous bollocks, and should not be told to children.
The idea that someone who looks ugly to us is ugly inside too is sufficient reason on its own to cast this book aside.
A fuller discussion can be found here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2...
Moving on.
The rest of the book comprises two unpleasant people being unpleasant to each other in not particularly humorous ways, followed by the addition of monkeys and a magical bird who then outwit them in a rather unconvincing manner.
I really was not taken with the story, but it wasn't terrible. Give me James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or The Fantastic Mr Fox any day.
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...
The Twits, although it has its moments, is one of my least favourite Dahl books, perhaps the least favourite.
It's easy to be too po-faced about humour in children's books, and perhaps my reaction is coloured by the knowledge that Dahl was not a particularly pleasant man and had some rather nasty opinions ... but even so, my reaction predates knowledge of his anti-Semitic views and other prejudices. And other of his books have not struck a sour chord with me in the same way.
The book opens with a rather strange tirade against men with beards. But fair enough, it's just a fashion choice. What I found far less palatable as something being channeled into the heads of children was the assertion that ugly people are evil (have ugly thoughts). This is basically an extension of medieval thinking in that bad things happen to bad people and if misfortune befalls someone it's safe to assume that they had it coming.
He says that if a person thinks good thoughts it will "shine through" and even if they have features that are technically ugly we will see just by looking that they are a nice person. This is of course bollocks, and not just that, it's dangerous bollocks, and should not be told to children.
The idea that someone who looks ugly to us is ugly inside too is sufficient reason on its own to cast this book aside.
A fuller discussion can be found here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2...
Moving on.
The rest of the book comprises two unpleasant people being unpleasant to each other in not particularly humorous ways, followed by the addition of monkeys and a magical bird who then outwit them in a rather unconvincing manner.
I really was not taken with the story, but it wasn't terrible. Give me James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or The Fantastic Mr Fox any day.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
December 9, 2025
Unfortunately, I don't have any rose-tinted glasses for this one.
So, as an adult, all I could think of is, "Dahl, what were you on??"
They own a troop of trained monkeys and take particular delight in forcing the poor animals into doing difficult (and painful) tricks.
Well, the final straw landed on the camel's back (so to speak). The monkeys are fed up. They (along with a few friends) seek revenge through creative and inventive methods.
Much like The Magic Finger, the character's vengeance is swift, clever and almost disproportionately brutal. And while it was cute because the animals were inventive and the evil folks certainly got their comeuppance, it still had me raising my eyebrows.
Kids books were so not PG back in the day.
I did, however, enjoy Dahl's level of pettiness. In real life, he hated beards. Thought them dirty and nasty. So, when he really wanted to convey just how disgusting the Twits were, he would throw in details like this:
So, as an adult, all I could think of is, "Dahl, what were you on??"
The Twits are ugly people - through and through. They think nothing of animal neglect or outright abuse. They are horrible to each other and everyone around them.
"Mr. Twit was a twit. He was born a twit. And, now at the age of sixty, he was a bigger twit than ever."
They own a troop of trained monkeys and take particular delight in forcing the poor animals into doing difficult (and painful) tricks.
Well, the final straw landed on the camel's back (so to speak). The monkeys are fed up. They (along with a few friends) seek revenge through creative and inventive methods.
Much like The Magic Finger, the character's vengeance is swift, clever and almost disproportionately brutal. And while it was cute because the animals were inventive and the evil folks certainly got their comeuppance, it still had me raising my eyebrows.
Kids books were so not PG back in the day.
I did, however, enjoy Dahl's level of pettiness. In real life, he hated beards. Thought them dirty and nasty. So, when he really wanted to convey just how disgusting the Twits were, he would throw in details like this:
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"By sticking out his tongue and curling it sideways to explore the hairy jungle around his mouth, he was always able to find a tasty morsel here and there to nibble on."
July 4, 2018
“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.
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 it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
I do love this quote. The Twits are the epitome of nastiness and everything a person shouldn’t be. They are vile and small, silly little people that enjoy inflicting pain on others for no reason other than their own amusement.
So in typical Roald Dahl fashion they get exactly what is coming to them. They may be caricatures, though they are a very good example to children about why we should never hate. Even though they are horrible, hating them is the wrong thing to do because we are just as bad as them. Toxic people should be removed from our lives. There’s no point hating them, just walk away from them like the animals attempt to do here.
That being said, why does Roald Dahl hate beards so much? You'd think he'd heed his own words.
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 it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
I do love this quote. The Twits are the epitome of nastiness and everything a person shouldn’t be. They are vile and small, silly little people that enjoy inflicting pain on others for no reason other than their own amusement.
So in typical Roald Dahl fashion they get exactly what is coming to them. They may be caricatures, though they are a very good example to children about why we should never hate. Even though they are horrible, hating them is the wrong thing to do because we are just as bad as them. Toxic people should be removed from our lives. There’s no point hating them, just walk away from them like the animals attempt to do here.
That being said, why does Roald Dahl hate beards so much? You'd think he'd heed his own words.
September 9, 2021
ENGLISH (The Twits)/ ITALIANO
«What a lot of hairy-faced men there are around nowadays»Ugly, dirty and bad. It's not about the movie of Ettore Scola about the slums, with Nino Manfredi as memorable protagonist. We are talking, instead, about the Twits, Mr and Mrs Twits, spending their days tremendously pranking each other with jokes of unnecessary cruelty. Mr Twits, moreover, has his own dreams: training monkeys to carry out acts upside down. In short, the Twits are evil.
But revenge comes as a judgment.
Vote: 7.5
«Quanti uomini con la faccia pelosa ci sono in giro al giorno d'oggi»Brutti, sporchi e cattivi. Non si tratta del film di Ettore Scola sulle baraccopoli, con Nino Manfredi memorabile protagonista. Si tratta invece dei disgustosi signori Sporcelli, che passano le loro giornate a farsi scherzi tremendi, di una crudeltà ingiustificata. Il signor Sporcelli, poi, ha un sogno nel cassetto: addestrare delle scimmie a compiere azioni a testa in giù, capovolte. Insomma, perfidie su perfidie.
Ma la vendetta arriva lapidaria.
Voto: 7,5
December 25, 2023
پنجاه دقیقهی شیرین رو صرف گوش کردن به کتاب صوتی عالی این کتاب کردم. با تقلید صداهای محشری که نمی تونید لذت نبرید
رولد دال این بار منزجر کنندهترین زوج تمام کتاب هاش رو بهمون معرفی میکنه. دو موجود کثیف، بدجنس و زننده که روز و شب به فکر اذیت کردن همدیگه و دیگران هستند و مدتها نقشه میکشند تا حقههای کثیفشون رو اجرا کنند
این مسئله که رولد دال چقدر نکات مهم لابهلای داستانهای عجیب و غریبش جا داده همیشه من رو متعجب میکنه. برای مثال وقتی که یک موجود بسیار زشت رو توصیف میکنه، توضیح میده این فرد چون از درون زیبایی نداره زشت به نظر میاد
نکته دیگه اینکه رد پای علاقه زیادش به حیوانات و آفریقا رو در خیلی از آثارش میشه پیدا کرد. البته این برای مردی که روزی در آفریقا از ماشین پیاده میشده تا به زرافهها سلام کنه اصلاً عجیب نیست (معلومه چقدر رولد دال رو دوست دارم؟)
کانال تلگرام ریویوها و دانلود کتابها و صوتیشون
Maede's Books
۹۶/۱۰/۸
May 27, 2021
this is the book that contains this page:
enough said.
this is part of a project i am doing where i review books i read a long time ago, and also prove once and for all that i do not have a way with words.
enough said.
this is part of a project i am doing where i review books i read a long time ago, and also prove once and for all that i do not have a way with words.
June 22, 2020
Another re-read for the fun of it!
This story pulls the reader to the edge, injecting silliness, fear, and all-around revenge into a larger plot that will have children giggling and washing their faces in short order. What is a twit? Not so easy to explain, is it? Well, Dahl seeks to provide the reader with a slight understanding by offering up some of their hygienic deficiencies (especially among the men whose hairy faces are receptacles for anything that could land therein), persistent ugliness (which stems from thoughts of that nature), and utter disregard for anyone else. However, the greatest (worst?) trait of a twit would be their incessant need to seek revenge. Mr. and Mrs. Twit find themselves always trying to out-revenge one another, their hatred surely having been cemented into their wedding vows. One thing about which they agree wholeheartedly, though, is a love of Wednesday bird pies, and Mr. Twit has concocted a way to ensure his crust is always full of a variety of birds. Painting a super-sticky glue to the branches of his dead tree, Mr. Twit is able to trap many flying friends and eventually stuffs them into his rotting gullet. One day the Twits head out to handle an errand, at which time the local avian community teams up with some of the pet monkeys belonging to the Twits and the end result is the ultimate revenge. However, to outwit a Twit takes more than simple cunning, as the reader will soon learn. Perhaps of the great shorter stories of Dahl's that I have read since returning to him so many years later. Well crafted with all of the traditional Dahl wit and attempts at child-based humour. Worth a read, but perhaps not too late into the evening for the younger ones.
Dahl reminds me (loosely) of a children's Stephen King, in that he is so full of ideas that are seemingly independent of one another, yet have loose threads that connect, at least for the attentive reader. Dahl is able to dazzle the reader with his array of spooky adult characters (another usual trait for Dahl books in that adults are most often evil or oppressive to the child in the story) and their antics to bestow revenge or pain on others. Dahl weaves the story from the early exploration of the Twits to the ultimate battle between good and evil (in this case fauna versus Twit) and there is little hope that it will end peacefully. Children can attach themselves to the ever-evolving narrative and laugh at key moments throughout. A wordsmith and gifted storyteller for sure, Dahl is in a class all his own.
Kudos, Mr. Dahl for scaring us silly at times and making us laugh three pages later. I am sure Neo will love these books when he is a little older. If not, I will enjoy them for him!
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
This story pulls the reader to the edge, injecting silliness, fear, and all-around revenge into a larger plot that will have children giggling and washing their faces in short order. What is a twit? Not so easy to explain, is it? Well, Dahl seeks to provide the reader with a slight understanding by offering up some of their hygienic deficiencies (especially among the men whose hairy faces are receptacles for anything that could land therein), persistent ugliness (which stems from thoughts of that nature), and utter disregard for anyone else. However, the greatest (worst?) trait of a twit would be their incessant need to seek revenge. Mr. and Mrs. Twit find themselves always trying to out-revenge one another, their hatred surely having been cemented into their wedding vows. One thing about which they agree wholeheartedly, though, is a love of Wednesday bird pies, and Mr. Twit has concocted a way to ensure his crust is always full of a variety of birds. Painting a super-sticky glue to the branches of his dead tree, Mr. Twit is able to trap many flying friends and eventually stuffs them into his rotting gullet. One day the Twits head out to handle an errand, at which time the local avian community teams up with some of the pet monkeys belonging to the Twits and the end result is the ultimate revenge. However, to outwit a Twit takes more than simple cunning, as the reader will soon learn. Perhaps of the great shorter stories of Dahl's that I have read since returning to him so many years later. Well crafted with all of the traditional Dahl wit and attempts at child-based humour. Worth a read, but perhaps not too late into the evening for the younger ones.
Dahl reminds me (loosely) of a children's Stephen King, in that he is so full of ideas that are seemingly independent of one another, yet have loose threads that connect, at least for the attentive reader. Dahl is able to dazzle the reader with his array of spooky adult characters (another usual trait for Dahl books in that adults are most often evil or oppressive to the child in the story) and their antics to bestow revenge or pain on others. Dahl weaves the story from the early exploration of the Twits to the ultimate battle between good and evil (in this case fauna versus Twit) and there is little hope that it will end peacefully. Children can attach themselves to the ever-evolving narrative and laugh at key moments throughout. A wordsmith and gifted storyteller for sure, Dahl is in a class all his own.
Kudos, Mr. Dahl for scaring us silly at times and making us laugh three pages later. I am sure Neo will love these books when he is a little older. If not, I will enjoy them for him!
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
July 17, 2009
Twits are ugly people who do horrible things to each other and others. They are not nice, and they are negative people who have been negative so long that the negativity has made them ugly.
On Monday I was going to write a review that just said that I'm a twit. Which isn't really true, I'm generally a only a slightly negative person, bordering on neutral and I don't do things intentionally to try to cause other people harm. Sometimes I do turn incredibly negative though and then I come out swinging at anyone close to me. I get angry, feel incredibly destructive, make life hell for anyone nearby and then it passes and I just get really depressed for awhile. I hope, even when I'm in my shit mood, that I don't do anything to hurt anyone else in anyway, so I guess I'm not quite a Twit.
Instead, I guess I unintentionally wait to wade through the bullshit of my depression, and do something then to fuck everything up, or at least start a chain reaction. Yay me, huh?
Don't vote for this. I meant to say, Vote for This. Who cares if it's not a review. I generally don't write reviews, I write opinion pieces and rants peppered with confessionals from my life. Sometimes I write very critical things, and I guess they might be considered a review, but really they are just throwing venom and spite at a target that won't swing back. Very few of the many words I've used on this site are anything that would really give someone a sense if they want to read a book or not.
That said, the book is amusing. You might like it.
On Monday I was going to write a review that just said that I'm a twit. Which isn't really true, I'm generally a only a slightly negative person, bordering on neutral and I don't do things intentionally to try to cause other people harm. Sometimes I do turn incredibly negative though and then I come out swinging at anyone close to me. I get angry, feel incredibly destructive, make life hell for anyone nearby and then it passes and I just get really depressed for awhile. I hope, even when I'm in my shit mood, that I don't do anything to hurt anyone else in anyway, so I guess I'm not quite a Twit.
Instead, I guess I unintentionally wait to wade through the bullshit of my depression, and do something then to fuck everything up, or at least start a chain reaction. Yay me, huh?
That said, the book is amusing. You might like it.
February 11, 2017
یکی از فانترین و بامزهترین داستانایی بود که تا حالا خوندم :)) خلاقیتش عالی بود، عالی! کلی باهاش خندیدم و حس خوب پیدا کردم.
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بخشهای ماندگار کتاب:
اگر کسی فکرهای پلیدی در سر داشته باشد، آن فکر پلید کمکم در صورتش معلوم میشود.
...
شخصی که فکرهای خوب در سر دارد، هیچوقت زشت نمیشود. شاید شما دماغ بیریخت دهانی کج یا چانهای دو تکه داشته باشید یا دندانتان از دهان بیرون زده باشد ولی اگر فکرهای خوبی در سر داشته باشید، آنها مثل پرتوهایی از نور خورشید در چهرهتان خواهد درخشید، شما همیشه دوستداشتنی به نظر خواهید رسید.
----------------------------------------
بخشهای ماندگار کتاب:
اگر کسی فکرهای پلیدی در سر داشته باشد، آن فکر پلید کمکم در صورتش معلوم میشود.
...
شخصی که فکرهای خوب در سر دارد، هیچوقت زشت نمیشود. شاید شما دماغ بیریخت دهانی کج یا چانهای دو تکه داشته باشید یا دندانتان از دهان بیرون زده باشد ولی اگر فکرهای خوبی در سر داشته باشید، آنها مثل پرتوهایی از نور خورشید در چهرهتان خواهد درخشید، شما همیشه دوستداشتنی به نظر خواهید رسید.
March 14, 2017
I originally read this book in either elementary school or middle school and really enjoyed it. Since I am reading all of Roald Dahl's books again, I thought "why not," and re-read this one. Surprisingly, I don't remember this story at all.
This book is about the grossest couple: Mr. and Mrs. Twit. They are the smelly and ugly. They hate everything! They even hate each other and they keep pulling pranks on each other. They're mean! They catch innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies and make their monkeys stand on their heads all day. Thankfully the birds and monkeys have had enough and they fight back!
This is a super cute and short story :)
This book is about the grossest couple: Mr. and Mrs. Twit. They are the smelly and ugly. They hate everything! They even hate each other and they keep pulling pranks on each other. They're mean! They catch innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies and make their monkeys stand on their heads all day. Thankfully the birds and monkeys have had enough and they fight back!
This is a super cute and short story :)
March 20, 2019
-Ejemplo de una forma de literatura infantil que tuvo muchos seguidores, tanto lectores como escritores.-
Género. Novela corta.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Los Cretinos (publicación original: The Twits, 1980) nos permite conocer al señor y la señora Cretino, una pareja cuya maldad es tan intensa que, incluso, se molestan entre ellos mediante acciones y bromas pesadísimas. Comen pájaros, capturan monos (y si se dejan, niños) y solo la intervención del Pájaro Gordinflón podrá poner fin a tantas tropelías.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
Género. Novela corta.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Los Cretinos (publicación original: The Twits, 1980) nos permite conocer al señor y la señora Cretino, una pareja cuya maldad es tan intensa que, incluso, se molestan entre ellos mediante acciones y bromas pesadísimas. Comen pájaros, capturan monos (y si se dejan, niños) y solo la intervención del Pájaro Gordinflón podrá poner fin a tantas tropelías.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
January 11, 2019
Who doesn’t love a good villain? And Mr and Mrs Twit are a delightfully nasty pair! When they’re not having a go at one another - she mixing in live worms into his spaghetti, he trying to send her off into space with balloons - they’re trying to eat children, actually eating the local bird populace and torturing a family of monkeys. Then one day the monkeys decide to push back…
The Twits still holds up as one of my favourite Roald Dahl books. Dahl’s speciality is over-the-top baddies and he delivers with Mr and Mrs Twit who’re as grotesque as can be. Quentin Blake’s illustrations are perfect as always - his art is as inseparable from Dahl’s prose as John Tenniel’s is from Lewis Carroll’s.
A few key plot points are perhaps a bit too easily glossed over, perhaps because Dahl is writing for a younger audience than his longer books like Matilda and The Witches - it is a much shorter book than either and feels a bit rushed towards the end.
And the monkeys are a bit underwritten compared to the title characters. It’s a similar setup to Fantastic Mr Fox except, whereas Boggis, Bunce and Bean are as wonderfully vicious as Mr and Mrs Twit, the monkeys and the Roly-Poly Bird are nowhere near as fully realised as Mr Fox, his family and friends.
Still, the story remains ingenious fun even some 25+ years since I last read this as a kid. And I also think there’s some truth in thinking cruel and wicked thoughts warping your outward appearance over time. Be good, everyone, inside and out! The Twits: a brilliant book about a couple of eminently hateable scumbags!
The Twits still holds up as one of my favourite Roald Dahl books. Dahl’s speciality is over-the-top baddies and he delivers with Mr and Mrs Twit who’re as grotesque as can be. Quentin Blake’s illustrations are perfect as always - his art is as inseparable from Dahl’s prose as John Tenniel’s is from Lewis Carroll’s.
A few key plot points are perhaps a bit too easily glossed over, perhaps because Dahl is writing for a younger audience than his longer books like Matilda and The Witches - it is a much shorter book than either and feels a bit rushed towards the end.
And the monkeys are a bit underwritten compared to the title characters. It’s a similar setup to Fantastic Mr Fox except, whereas Boggis, Bunce and Bean are as wonderfully vicious as Mr and Mrs Twit, the monkeys and the Roly-Poly Bird are nowhere near as fully realised as Mr Fox, his family and friends.
Still, the story remains ingenious fun even some 25+ years since I last read this as a kid. And I also think there’s some truth in thinking cruel and wicked thoughts warping your outward appearance over time. Be good, everyone, inside and out! The Twits: a brilliant book about a couple of eminently hateable scumbags!
May 19, 2021
باورتون میشه این اولین کتابیه که وقتی سواد یاد گرفتم خوندم؟😅
برای خودم که خیلی عجیبه😅
برای خودم که خیلی عجیبه😅
February 25, 2017
If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.
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 it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
This quote is one of the biggest reasons why I gave this book 5 stars. Apart from that, The Twits is an amazing short book that I would recommend to literally everyone. To conclude, I should add that with this book Dahl continues to be one of my favorite authors ever.
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 it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
This quote is one of the biggest reasons why I gave this book 5 stars. Apart from that, The Twits is an amazing short book that I would recommend to literally everyone. To conclude, I should add that with this book Dahl continues to be one of my favorite authors ever.
August 28, 2014
Dahl's The Twits is at its finest during the first half of the book which relates various highlights in the comedy of cruelty that is the marriage between the two eponymous grotesques, Mr and Mrs Twit. When Mrs Twit isn't serving Mr Twit a bowl of worms or hiding her glass eye in his after-supper beer, and when Mr Twit isn't playing a fucked-up mind game on Mrs Twit - such as carving away an inch of his wife's cane, day by day, so that he can trick her into thinking she is slowly but surely shrinking - the two put their loathsome heads together to terrorize monkeys, butcher birds, and even try their hand at eating little boys. The second half of the book is gentler and more playful with its many exotic animals banding together to make sure that the Twits get the their topsy-turvy just desserts. I for one would have loved for hundreds of more pages of Panurgian acts of vengeance between the two utterly reprehensible and revolting Twits, but we must remember the kids, of course.
Dahl once again serves up another irreverently funny story for the more astute and world-weary young readers of the world. The Twits is a sound reminder that the world is full of mostly awful people who will do mostly awful things to other people, like you for instance little boy and/or girl.
The voluble, pitch-black satirist Will Self recommended this wonderful audio recording of the book which features actor Simon Callow giving absolutely disgusting and brilliant voices to the titular twits (the only downside is that you lose out on Quentin Blake's idiosyncratically iconic illustrations): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJzlP...
Dahl once again serves up another irreverently funny story for the more astute and world-weary young readers of the world. The Twits is a sound reminder that the world is full of mostly awful people who will do mostly awful things to other people, like you for instance little boy and/or girl.
The voluble, pitch-black satirist Will Self recommended this wonderful audio recording of the book which features actor Simon Callow giving absolutely disgusting and brilliant voices to the titular twits (the only downside is that you lose out on Quentin Blake's idiosyncratically iconic illustrations): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJzlP...
June 11, 2020
The Twits by Roald Dahl is the usual funny and clever fare that we get from this much-celebrated author. A short read it is about a married couple, The Twits, who rarely see eye to eye, plainly don't get along and lead sad, miserable lives which they feel the need to take out on the rest of the world.
To show the brilliance of Dahl as an author is easy. The Twits, as a couple, are offensive, unkind and plain rude yet the read is fun and enjoyable. Some of the content nobody else could get away with because it borders on abusive yet there is no malice in the writing at all. This is a couple that you would neither want to be nor live close to yet from a distance they are a great laugh. Perhaps the greatest part of the story is the triumph of the animals over The Twits, not a spoiler as you know it is headed there from the start, but only Dahl can write such a special demise - think of the children who don't make it to the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
To show the brilliance of Dahl as an author is easy. The Twits, as a couple, are offensive, unkind and plain rude yet the read is fun and enjoyable. Some of the content nobody else could get away with because it borders on abusive yet there is no malice in the writing at all. This is a couple that you would neither want to be nor live close to yet from a distance they are a great laugh. Perhaps the greatest part of the story is the triumph of the animals over The Twits, not a spoiler as you know it is headed there from the start, but only Dahl can write such a special demise - think of the children who don't make it to the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
September 25, 2012
An allegory on post-Communist Götterdämmerung qua Joseph Stalin or an attack on hairy-faced men?
or
We can only speculate.
or
We can only speculate.
Read
January 14, 2021My kid's grandparents gave my kid a Roald Dahl collection for Christmas, so now I'm reading the stories out loud. This was the book where I'm starting to regret the whole thing.
There's some funny stuff in this book but wow is it mean, especially in the first half.
About halfway, the story falls apart and becomes something much more random. I didn't like that. It felt like Dahl couldn't stretch the escalation anymore so just gave up. (My kid stayed interested because suddenly, there were monkeys and birds.)
Anyway, I don't recommend this one, especially not to read to your kids. It's a little too stuffed with meanness, and it was annoying to explain why awful ideas like "ugly people are ugly because they had such ugly thoughts" aren't true, at bedtime.
Also, this is my third Roald Dahl book, and it's the third one that ends with getting rid of the bad people and everyone being happy about it. That's a dangerous idea.
There's some funny stuff in this book but wow is it mean, especially in the first half.
About halfway, the story falls apart and becomes something much more random. I didn't like that. It felt like Dahl couldn't stretch the escalation anymore so just gave up. (My kid stayed interested because suddenly, there were monkeys and birds.)
Anyway, I don't recommend this one, especially not to read to your kids. It's a little too stuffed with meanness, and it was annoying to explain why awful ideas like "ugly people are ugly because they had such ugly thoughts" aren't true, at bedtime.
Also, this is my third Roald Dahl book, and it's the third one that ends with getting rid of the bad people and everyone being happy about it. That's a dangerous idea.
June 15, 2021
تقریبا یادم رفته بود که چه زیرکی بامزه ای توی داستان های رولد دال هست ، ایدهی داستان هاش محشرن ، شخصیت پردازی عالیه ، طنزش بینظیره:))))
October 11, 2013
If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.
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 it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
-The Twits, Roald Dahl
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 it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
-The Twits, Roald Dahl
March 15, 2018
One of my favourite books.
A lil gruesome but so funny. A sheer delight to read.
Such a memorable book. I will treasure.
A lil gruesome but so funny. A sheer delight to read.
Such a memorable book. I will treasure.
December 3, 2010
My birds and I got into a big literary debate this morning. The book was Dahl's The Twits. Lester the Molestor maintains that I would be more delicious in a pie. My vote is for a hearty bird pie. You are what you eat. Who would want to be me? There is a big hungry gator waiting for us to decide. She said we might settle it over a scrabble game... We lost. It was Lester's fault! He doesn't know enough Q words....
I'm scared.
I swear to myself (and on a stack of bibles) that I had already reviewed The Twits. Maybe I dreamed writing it.... I didn't write this either.
I'm scared.
I swear to myself (and on a stack of bibles) that I had already reviewed The Twits. Maybe I dreamed writing it.... I didn't write this either.
September 10, 2022
داستانی طنز در مورد زن و شوهری هپلی که از دست انداختن همدیگه و بلا سرهم آوردن لذت میبرن ،داستان خیلی بانمک و قشنگی بودʕ·ᴥ·ʔ
October 31, 2019
En Los cretinos vamos a conocer a la señora y el señor Cretino, un horrible matrimonio que pasa los días molestándose entre ellos, compitiendo por ver quien hace la jugarreta más grande al otro.
Muchas veces pienso que es una pena que no leyera la obra de Dahl de pequeño. Lo hubiera disfrutado muchísimo. Luego caigo en que lo disfruto igual con 30 años. Y es que esa es la magia de Dahl, a través de historias sencillas e infantiles (y, normalmente, con adultos bastante crueles), nos inculca valores de la manera más divertida posible. Sus personajes, siempre carismáticos, te hacen adorarlos. Incluso a los malos. Muy disfrutable <3.
Muchas veces pienso que es una pena que no leyera la obra de Dahl de pequeño. Lo hubiera disfrutado muchísimo. Luego caigo en que lo disfruto igual con 30 años. Y es que esa es la magia de Dahl, a través de historias sencillas e infantiles (y, normalmente, con adultos bastante crueles), nos inculca valores de la manera más divertida posible. Sus personajes, siempre carismáticos, te hacen adorarlos. Incluso a los malos. Muy disfrutable <3.
April 10, 2018
This book was a major laugh riot. Especially now with beards being a big thing.
January 19, 2021
Leer a Roald Dahl es una delicia, un o de esos gustos que me tengo que daral menos de vez en cuando, esl señor era un genio, tenía una imaginación fuera de serie, pero sobre todo el mejor sentido del humor del universo, bueno además humor negro.
Los cretinos, bueno son exactamente eso, un matrimonio tan horripilante por fuera como por dentro y por supuesto los finales de Dahl siempre dejan al lector con una sonrisa enorme.
Es muy cortito, pero mientras leía me ha dado de todo, asco, repulsa, risa, ternura, coraje, porque así es este autor, sin duda el mejor relatador de cuentos infantiles que yo haya leído, aunque honestamente no estoy muy segura de si dejaría a mis hijos leer esto, sería como darle artillería a un solado.
Como siempre delicioso.
Los cretinos, bueno son exactamente eso, un matrimonio tan horripilante por fuera como por dentro y por supuesto los finales de Dahl siempre dejan al lector con una sonrisa enorme.
Es muy cortito, pero mientras leía me ha dado de todo, asco, repulsa, risa, ternura, coraje, porque así es este autor, sin duda el mejor relatador de cuentos infantiles que yo haya leído, aunque honestamente no estoy muy segura de si dejaría a mis hijos leer esto, sería como darle artillería a un solado.
Como siempre delicioso.
March 7, 2015
Funny childish story of a couple who do nasty things to each other and the birds and the monkeys. Finally the monkeys and birds take revenge by turning the Twits’ house upside down.
So creative! I loved it and yet I think there’s more to this story than just meets the eyes (the bearded face descriptions, cruelty and its relation to ugliness, standing on head instead of feet and then shrinking looks like social or even political(?) criticism to me!).
“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.”
So creative! I loved it and yet I think there’s more to this story than just meets the eyes (the bearded face descriptions, cruelty and its relation to ugliness, standing on head instead of feet and then shrinking looks like social or even political(?) criticism to me!).
“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.”
June 8, 2020
This book is made of horrible people pulling horrible pranks on each other. In the first half, husband and wife love each other so much that they feed the other worms, convince them they are shrinking and are going to disappear, and other wholesome stuff. In the second part, they get pranked by upside-down monkeys because they like to stick birds to trees to make Bird Pie. I mean, yeah it sounds pretty awful but I must admit I read worse, this was actually kinda funny. Or am I just lowering my expectations on my childhood favourite author to much???
February 10, 2019
I wonder how many kids get some good ideas from his books. Well, there is moral in the books, that nasty people always get punished, but however...
Still, favourite is Matilda.
Still, favourite is Matilda.
March 20, 2019
A simply dreadful story about Mr and Mrs Twit.
They play pranks on each other; such as worms in food, frogs in beds, psychological torture, and air space incursions.
They catch and cook all types of British birds without checking to see if any are nearly extinct.
They try to catch, cook and eat young boys.
They force a family of monkeys to perform horrible tricks that endanger the monkeys' health.
They buy shotguns without a license, and intend to shoot inside a suburb.
That is what a politically correct reviewer from the nanny state would say before banning the book. But not children!
I have read this story to many of my junior classes, who simply adored the antics of the Twits and the monkeys' revenge.
Don't tell the nanny state inspectors, but this story is Horribly Funny.
Enjoy!
They play pranks on each other; such as worms in food, frogs in beds, psychological torture, and air space incursions.
They catch and cook all types of British birds without checking to see if any are nearly extinct.
They try to catch, cook and eat young boys.
They force a family of monkeys to perform horrible tricks that endanger the monkeys' health.
They buy shotguns without a license, and intend to shoot inside a suburb.
That is what a politically correct reviewer from the nanny state would say before banning the book. But not children!
I have read this story to many of my junior classes, who simply adored the antics of the Twits and the monkeys' revenge.
Don't tell the nanny state inspectors, but this story is Horribly Funny.
Enjoy!
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