Scan barcode
vendea's review against another edition
4.0
Reads a little bit more like a series of vignettes than one continuous story, but they all tie together. I enjoyed it.
bee324's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I really wanted to like this, but I much preferred the short stories (a few of which I'd already read). Even if I hadn't known it was the case, this book felt like it was built around short stories. By which I mean it felt fractured and slow, and at certain points it would randomly pick up and be interesting for a chapter or two. I really like the idea of the overall story (a weird, loving family full of supernatural beings and one little human), but the execution, more than anything else, just bored me. Which is not something I usually say about Bradbury's work. I wouldn't necessarily say it's bad, but it is very not for me.
One of Storygraph's questions for these reviews is "Is this book mainly plot- or character-driven?" - to which my gut instinct is to say "No." There is little in the way of a plot, but nor is there much character development to speak of.
Uncle Einar is probably my favorite part of the book (though I also really like Cecy, and Timothy was endearing with his little critters as were the parents), and I loved his chapter (titled Uncle Einar). I'm guessing it was one that was already a short story, though I hadn't read it prior.
Personally, I think it would've been much better if it had kept to its roots as a bunch of loosely connected stories with recurring side characters all set in the same universe/house/family. What there was of a plot could've even been kept under such a structure, perhaps even been made more interesting with it being weaved subtly into a bunch of the stories and paid off/tied up at the end with a final story.
One of Storygraph's questions for these reviews is "Is this book mainly plot- or character-driven?" - to which my gut instinct is to say "No." There is little in the way of a plot, but nor is there much character development to speak of.
Uncle Einar is probably my favorite part of the book (though I also really like Cecy, and Timothy was endearing with his little critters as were the parents), and I loved his chapter (titled Uncle Einar). I'm guessing it was one that was already a short story, though I hadn't read it prior.
Personally, I think it would've been much better if it had kept to its roots as a bunch of loosely connected stories with recurring side characters all set in the same universe/house/family. What there was of a plot could've even been kept under such a structure, perhaps even been made more interesting with it being weaved subtly into a bunch of the stories and paid off/tied up at the end with a final story.
danidep's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
pugloaf's review against another edition
2.0
This book starts out strong, introducing Timothy and Cecy. Timothy is who we follow and see the world through. It's interesting following his life as he grows up in a family of ghouls while he is a human without any supernatural abilities. Cecy is the best. The best character, the coolest premise for powers, an interesting personality- she is the best. So when the book begins with Timothy and Cecy stories and introduces different types of supernatural beings it is pretty good.
However, about halfway through the premises for the story sections become dull and monotonous. Most characters are essentially shades or ghosts needing a Sandman-style belief in order to survive. It turns mysterious, powerful- but quirky characters into pitiable homeless. A few stories crop up that shock a little life into the system but the back half is a slog that I don't think Cecy can entirely buoy.
However, about halfway through the premises for the story sections become dull and monotonous. Most characters are essentially shades or ghosts needing a Sandman-style belief in order to survive. It turns mysterious, powerful- but quirky characters into pitiable homeless. A few stories crop up that shock a little life into the system but the back half is a slog that I don't think Cecy can entirely buoy.
lorenaalexia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
kellian901's review against another edition
4.0
I got well into this without feeling very positively about it. (And worrying a great deal because I had bought a twin copy for a friend’s birthday gift.)
The words were beautifully put together… I just couldn’t connect. Perhaps it’s because I have never read Ray Bradbury before. I wasn’t prepared.
Then somewhere about halfway, in the chapter titled “On the Orient North”… I fell in love. And it all started coming together and making sense.
“When autumn trees shower bullions are we that Midas stuff, a leaf-fall that sounds the air in crisp syllables? What, what, oh what are we?“
And in Make Haste to Live…
“Death is mysterious. Life even more so. Choose. And whether you blow away in dust at life‘s end or arrive at youngness and go back to birth and within birth, that is stranger than strange, yes?“
It’s Shakespeare and Poe and Tim Burton.
The second half is such a feast of metaphor and imagery that I wanted to start over and scoop up all the goodness that I missed in the first half.
I would read this again next Halloween. Make it a tradition.
And I definitely will read his other books.
The words were beautifully put together… I just couldn’t connect. Perhaps it’s because I have never read Ray Bradbury before. I wasn’t prepared.
Then somewhere about halfway, in the chapter titled “On the Orient North”… I fell in love. And it all started coming together and making sense.
“When autumn trees shower bullions are we that Midas stuff, a leaf-fall that sounds the air in crisp syllables? What, what, oh what are we?“
And in Make Haste to Live…
“Death is mysterious. Life even more so. Choose. And whether you blow away in dust at life‘s end or arrive at youngness and go back to birth and within birth, that is stranger than strange, yes?“
It’s Shakespeare and Poe and Tim Burton.
The second half is such a feast of metaphor and imagery that I wanted to start over and scoop up all the goodness that I missed in the first half.
I would read this again next Halloween. Make it a tradition.
And I definitely will read his other books.
krytygr's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I absolutely adore Ray Bradbury. This is probably my favorite of his works.. he has such a unique talent with words. Sometimes they almost seem contradictory within the sentences, and that’s what makes his stories so different. It’s really quite beautiful!