Esio Trot is one of Roald Dahl's gentler, but equally charming, short novels, a sweet and funny story centered on love, shyness, and a wonderfully ridiculous deception. The protagonist is Mr. Hoppy, a kind, lonely bachelor who lives in a tall apartment building. Mr. Hoppy is desperately in love with his downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Silver, a widow whose affection is entirely focused on her small pet tortoise, Alfie. Mr. Hoppy is too shy to express his feelings. When Mrs. Silver wishes Alfie would grow bigger, Mr. Hoppy concocts an elaborate, time-consuming scheme: he writes a magical-sounding spell on a tiny piece of paper, which is simply "Esio Trot" (tortoise spelled backward), and secretly replaces Alfie with a slightly larger tortoise every few days. The deception, meant to demonstrate the effectiveness of his spell, is a massive success. The book is a tender, witty tale that explores themes of unrequited love, the inventive lengths people will go to for affection, and the idea that sometimes a little bit of magic, even if manufactured, is necessary to make life exciting.
