Kiss Kiss (book)

Kiss Kiss
Dust-jacket from the first edition
Author(s)	Roald Dahl
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy Science fiction short stories
Publisher	Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date	1960
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	309 pp
ISBN	NA

Kiss Kiss is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl, first published in 1960 by Alfred Knopf. Most of the constituent stories had been previously published elsewhere.

It contains the following short stories:

• "The Landlady"
• "William and Mary"
• "The Way Up to Heaven"
• "Parson's Pleasure"
• "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat"
• "Royal Jelly"
• "Georgy Porgy"
• "Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story"
• "Edward the Conqueror"
• "Pig"
• "The Champion of the World"

Without becoming horror, these are some of Dahl's most macabre stories. Delicately, the naive punish the wicked, but also the other way around.

Most of the stories are presented as typical narratives, albeit with imaginative characters. The horror of each story is built around implication, and many horrific endings, involving death or unpleasant situations, can only be implied, since nothing is directly stated.

"The Champion of the World" is a condensed version of the story that would become Dahl's 1977 children's book, Danny the Champion of the World.

Editions

• Knopf, New York, 1960, 309 pp
• McCleland, Toronto, 1960
• M. Joseph, London, 1960, 255 pp
• Hayakawa, Japan, 1961, Paperback, Japanese as Tales of Menace 1
• Dell:F128, New York, 1961, 288 pp, Paperback
• Bonnier, Stockholm, 1961, Swedish as Puss puss
• Penguin:1832, Harmondsworth, 1962, 233 pp, Paperback, ISBN 0-14-001832-8 (1973 reprint)
• Feltrinelli, Milano, 1964, 276 pp, Italian as Kiss Kiss: 11 storie macabre (con humour)
• Rowohlt, Reinbek, German as Küßchen, Küßchen

See also

• Switch Bitch
• Tales of the Unexpected (book)

References

• Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. p. 125. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.