I requested this book from the library just to read the title story, after my meditation teacher mentioned it. The candle gazing technique which is featured in the story is really a very powerful yogic technique (and one not just used by yogis; I’ve encountered something very similar in all sorts of other places, including my Rosicrucian studies). So, I wanted to read the story.

I really enjoyed it – it’s a lovely tale about how yoga changes a man’s life. Not as grotesque as some of the Dahl’s other work (prior to this, I’d only read his writing for children), but still somewhat whimsical, and I enjoyed the narrative voice.

I’ll also admit that I didn’t read all of the “Six Others;” I did read three of them, and enjoyed them well enough (but didn’t love any of them, and obviously I wasn’t inspired to keep reading the final three). The one about the boy and the turtle was charming in a way, but also disturbing. Come to think of it, that’s a pretty good description of much of Dahl’s writing, isn’t it? 7/10