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enbyemu's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I generally enjoy Bradbury's writing and there were aspects of this one I liked, but this book seems to be just a slew of character studies of miserable people tied together with a mediocre mystery.
saylaa's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
constant_reader55's review against another edition
4.0
"Curiouser, I thought, and curiouser," as the protagonist says. Precisely what I thought of it. I loved the dark and melancholy feel of this novel.
ill_be_your_huckleberry's review against another edition
5.0
Ray Bradbury put murder, a slew of coastal-living eccentrics, and his beautiful nostalgic-laced prose in a blender and made Death is a Lonely Business. Bradbury's books are tributes to all of things he romanticizes in life: the black and white movies of yesteryear, the calliope music blasting from many a nights carnivals, and of course, the love of books, and the people who hide inside them. Too many reviews about this book talk about its Noir leanings. It might be that on the surface, but siphoned through the mind of Bradbury, and its a whole different animal. As soon as I was introduced to the 380 pound tenement-bound-mayonnaise-eating-opera-goddess Fannie, I listened to Galli-Curci while I was reading; all the way to the end. This was a lot of fun.
I had to give this five stars because it was packed with memorable characters.
I had to give this five stars because it was packed with memorable characters.
lainibop's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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? Yes
3.5
cpreli's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
took me about a year (personal AND book reasons)
enjoyable but i think mystery is just not for me especially paired with more poetic writing (sounds great but just doesn’t get me)
i loved the characters and relationships and enjoyed the ending
took me about a year (personal AND book reasons)
enjoyable but i think mystery is just not for me especially paired with more poetic writing (sounds great but just doesn’t get me)
i loved the characters and relationships and enjoyed the ending
kaisermatthias's review against another edition
2.0
Remarkably self-indulgent, slow, and meandering I only finished this book in a vain attempt to understand why the Academy of Letters presented a National Book Award to this volume. I can only conclude that the florid, at times wonderful descriptions caused them to forgive the near complete absence of plot motion.
Whike there is great artifice of writing, at times it feels like Bradbury forgot to tell a story because we're building a world. Odd how when fantasy writers do such a thing, we accuse them of gettimg lost in their world-building, but when realistic fiction does it - we give them literature's highest award.
This would receive a one-star review from me for taking so long and dragging so hard, but I did love the opera singer and descriptions of her fading world.
Whike there is great artifice of writing, at times it feels like Bradbury forgot to tell a story because we're building a world. Odd how when fantasy writers do such a thing, we accuse them of gettimg lost in their world-building, but when realistic fiction does it - we give them literature's highest award.
This would receive a one-star review from me for taking so long and dragging so hard, but I did love the opera singer and descriptions of her fading world.
annabelljar's review
dark
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
duplica123's review against another edition
3.0
This was... OK?
I guess the first problem was that I went into it thinking that Ray Bradbury always wrote science fiction, so I kept expecting the aliens or time travel to show up.
Other than that - I liked it sort of. The characters were all very vivid and strange. I wasn't sure sometimes if the main character was crazy. I don't think he was, but he definitely went a little wild.
I think I would have liked it more had I realized from the beginning that it would just be a slightly bizarre murder mystery and not a horror/sci fi book.
I guess the first problem was that I went into it thinking that Ray Bradbury always wrote science fiction, so I kept expecting the aliens or time travel to show up.
Other than that - I liked it sort of. The characters were all very vivid and strange. I wasn't sure sometimes if the main character was crazy. I don't think he was, but he definitely went a little wild.
I think I would have liked it more had I realized from the beginning that it would just be a slightly bizarre murder mystery and not a horror/sci fi book.