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wetdryvac's review against another edition
4.0
Every time I re-read this, I get a different impression, but there's always the sea behind and through it all. A favorite in many ways, but none of those ways include being particularly comfortable with it.
keelypat13's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Normally I like Bradbury but this one just didn’t do this for me. There were a lot of descriptions that just turned me away from the book. Honestly, the first page was my favorite.
andrewgraphics's review against another edition
4.0
In 1950s Venice CA, a struggling writer of pulp fiction stumbles across what becomes a series of murders and strange accidents, and, with the help of a police detective and a reclusive actress, he desperately seeks a murderer that leaves no clues.
A decent addition to the genre of "real-life people who solve crime" books, this one has the advantage of being written by the real-life person being featured (tho the main character is never identified by name). It's an homage to Raymond Chandler and life in the 50s, to movies and stories, and (typical of Bradbury) to life in general. I haven't read Bradbury much since I was a teenager, and this has convinced me that I should try some more.
A decent addition to the genre of "real-life people who solve crime" books, this one has the advantage of being written by the real-life person being featured (tho the main character is never identified by name). It's an homage to Raymond Chandler and life in the 50s, to movies and stories, and (typical of Bradbury) to life in general. I haven't read Bradbury much since I was a teenager, and this has convinced me that I should try some more.
doctortdm's review against another edition
2.0
In my youth I appreciated Bradbury whether my tastes have changed or his later work such as Death is a Lonely Business changed is unclear. The book in its excessive use of descriptions did not allow me to get in a reading rhythm.- 2017
tried again without success - August 2020
tried again without success - August 2020
okmlsa's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
patricia99nicole's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
quoththegirl's review against another edition
4.0
I stayed up into the wee hours to finish Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury, which is first in the first in a set of three semi-autobiographical mysteries. I didn’t realize this at first and was pleasantly surprised to meet several characters from A Graveyard for Lunatics, the second book in the set. Both novels are more fragmented and surreal than the usual Bradbury—but then, I suppose memory often is fragmented and surreal, and Bradbury was drawing heavily on memories of his own life for these. I haven’t found a copy of the third novel in the set, Let’s All Kill Constance, but I’m hoping to read that one soon. Bradbury’s life was a beautiful one. I don’t know if the circumstances were that unusual and magical, or if he just made them so, but I suspect the latter. He has the knack for making the commonplace new, fresh, and enchanting…and somehow he also excels at making the new and enchanting feel familiar and nostalgic.
rayn0n's review against another edition
5.0
Probably one of my favorite whodunnits from hereon out. There's a point where the narrator argues with the detective about their methods: Crumley deals in facts, the writer deals in feelings - and the narration really shows that. The first half of the book death is such an abstract concept that you're not sure whether it's something coincidental or supernatural after all. And all with Bradbury's usual engaging style- I fell in love with the characters. Constance Rattigan will be one of those characters I absorb into myself - a part of the amalgamation of books and people I've met in my life.