The Umbrella Man by Roald Dahl

I thoroughly enjoyed one of the Roald Dahl's short stories, The Umbrella Man, a non-fiction story with a tricky plot. It takes place on the streets of London on a rainy day.

The story opens with a middle-aged woman and her twelve-year-old daughter leaving a café and waiting for a taxi to go home. Just then a polite and well-dressed man comes up to them. This one tells the mother that he forgot his wallet and can't pay for the taxi, because his old and tired legs don't allow him to walk. The lady is very suspicious of this man, until he offers his silk umbrella in exchange for the taxi-fare. The mother thinks there was no decieving on the trade, so she gives the man the money. Immediately, the old person starts running away! "What will he do with the money?".

This and many other stories by this clever author centres on ingenious thefts. One of the things I liked best about the story, apart from the intriguing plot, was the great way the story develops, because it was written so the reader gets involved at all times. My only criticism is that the ending isn't that attractive.

All in all, though, if you are a fan of gripping plots, you'll love this story, which is very similar to Roald Dahl's story called "The Hitchiker".

Student: Fernando Bliznikowich
Group: Pre F.C.E. 2 Melipal