Originally published in 1946 by Reynal & Hitchcock, Over to You is a collection of ten short stories written by British novelist Roald Dahl. Dahl joined the Royal Air Force after the Second World War broke out and stayed in active service until his discharge in 1942. Thereupon the stories heavily draw from his experiences in the war and more specifically as a fighter pilot. They are war fiction majorly revolving around World War II air force and the challenges and perils they were exposed to.
The protagonists of the stories are almost all fighter pilots thereby entail near-death experiences that Dahl himself encountered in war. The story “Piece of Cake” is more autobiographical in nature as it involves a fighter pilot crash landing with the plane ablaze and suffering severe injuries. Dahl had a similar crash in Libya but went on to amass more air battles and missions in Greece and Syria before shifting to Intelligence. The narratives are as poignant as they are amusing whilst displaying the gruesome violence and horror of warfare.
The stories are a departure from a typical Dahl narrative as they are lacking the suspense and terrific twists he is known for. That said they lean towards more of a somber tone with no particular plot giving a unique set of reflective stories. Kirkus Reviews wrote, “In these stories, mostly of fliers and flying, there is a combination of humor and easy approach to the more serious aspects of character and perception, an affinity for the legendary possibilities of airmen and their tasks.”
