Boy: Tales of Childhood is an autobiographical book by children’s author Roald Dahl. Published in 1984, the book focuses on Dahl's memories from his childhood and adolescence in Wales, England, and Norway in the 1920s and 1930s.
The story begins with anecdotes about Dahl's father Harald, a one-armed Norwegian who established a successful ship-broking firm in Cardiff, Wales. Tragedy strikes the family when Dahl's sister Astri dies of appendicitis. Harald develops pneumonia while grieving and dies soon after. Dahl's mother Sofie, pregnant with another child, stays in the UK to fulfill her husband's wish that his children attend English schools, which he believes to be the best in the world. However, Dahl's experience in the English public school system involves perpetual fear of being beaten with a cane by sadistic school officials.
Dahl is nonetheless a playful, mischievous boy who cherishes his summer vacations in Norway with his family. While at boarding school, Dahl develops the habit of sending weekly letters to his mother. Later, while attending Repton Prep School, Dahl is asked to give his opinion on Cadbury's chocolate bars the company is test-marketing. The fantasy of working for a chocolate manufacturer later inspires him to write his most famous novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Rather than go to university after finishing school, Dahl longs to be free of the oppressive world of education. He takes a job with Shell Oil, and his boss sends him to East Africa to train employees. The book ends with Dahl recounting how he became a WWII fighter pilot before seeing out the end of his Shell contract. The story continues in the 1986 sequel, Going Solo.
Exploring themes of school corporal punishment, grief, hypocrisy, and resilience, Dahl narrates the memories that comprise Boy with a mix of humor and nostalgia. In 2008, an edition called More About Boy was released with additional text and photographs. Frequent Dahl collaborator Quentin Blake provided illustrations for Boy.
