I have an old, used, mass market paperback of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 on my bookshelf. I picked it up on one of my trips to the thrift store knowing I’d read it eventually, however it’s been sitting there unread for about 3 years.
Meanwhile,
My coworker, a college student, had to read The Martin Chronicles for class and she was very vocal about how much she hated it. This is what peaked my curiosity for Ray Bradbury, if his writing brings out this much emotion in the reader, he must be good.
Obviously he’s good, otherwise he wouldn’t be on the classics list, the banned and burned book list, and the required reading list for college students. So I took to the inter web to see what I was missing.
Ray Bradbury was inspired as a boy by Mr. Electrico, a carnival magician who touched Ray on the nose and said the words “live forever!”.
Bradbury wrote everyday, and is one of the most celebrated authors of our time. He has penned 11 novels and over 400 short stories and novelettes, as well as plays, operas and screenplays, despite never having gone on to college.
He writes scary stories, this was confirmed by my coworker. I’m not a fan of being scared, so this was a little off-putting. I thought back to other scary books I’ve read, the list is short, 2 of Stephen King’s, and Helter Skelter.
I’ve been experimenting with different genres lately, and it’s been quite rewarding, so I searched the works of Ray Bradbury and found Dandelion Wine. Released in 1957, the novel takes place in a small Illinois town based off the one where Bradbury himself was raised.
It’s the summer of 1928 and twelve year old Douglas compares the sweet summer carefree life to that of the dandelion wine in which his grandparents make and bottle each year.
Dandelion Wine is the first of the Green Town trilogy, and not scary at all, it’s quite inspirational actually. The second book in the trilogy, Something Wicked this Way Comes, is not a continuation of Dandelion Wine, but a separate story taking place in the same small fictional town.
I was excited for Something Wicked This Way Comes because I was ready to be frightened.
It’s not a frightening tale in the way I was preparing myself, it’s more frightening in the way it makes you think about just how unhappy people are with their current situation, always wishing to be something else.
It’s a story of good vs evil and the struggle of resisting temptation. The dark fantasy novel released in 1962, Something Wicked This Way Comes is centered around a traveling carnival who’s leader, Mr Dark, grants people’s desires of being younger, older, popular, and immortal. These desires, however, are granted at a very steep price.
Bradbury wrote the third and final book of the Green Town trilogy many years later and its a continuation of Dandelion Wine. Published in 2006, Farewell Summer is the last of Bradbury’s work published in his lifetime. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on its in my TBR pile.
Now, there is a film called The Bookshop on Netflix, and in that film there is a character who basically keeps himself locked up in his grand house surrounded by books. He is constantly searching for something new and different because he’s tired of the same old stories. A bookshop owner sends him a copy of Fahrenheit 451 and he devours it, asks for more Ray Bradbury please.
This movie made me finally decided to pick up my copy of 451 to see what all the hype was about.
Published in 1953, this dystopian novel has you truly concerned about lead character Guy Montag, a fireman who’s job it is to start fires rather than put them out. What he burns, books.
In 451, (the temperature at which the pages of books catch fire) the nation is kept obliviously happy by keeping them in the dark when it comes to history and current events. Since books and the written word awaken new ideas and original thoughts, they are outlawed, and if you are found with any, the firemen are summoned to burn down your house. While at work, Guy steals a book, and his life spirals out of control.
I highly recommend reading this one if you haven’t already, it’s way before its time, and makes you think about the direction of the world today.
Ray Bradbury has won me over in the few stories I’ve read so far, and I’m excited to see what other stories he has for me to get lost in.
Pool of Life. 