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lah_reads's review against another edition
5.0
From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury (Mr. October, himself) was a fun read that started as a collaboration with Charles Addams. Yes, that Addams. It was fun, spooky, silly, and sometimes a bit sad. Amazing as always. Mr. Bradbury never disappoints with his poetic style and unparalleled imagination. This one had me hanging on his every word. I loved every second I spent with his quirky, haunting family. The only fault I can find is that it's too quick a read. I would have loved for it to last me at least another week, but I couldn't stop myself from reading it.
jabletowns's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
scylla87's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
I was a little surprised to not like this one that much since I have read everything else of Bradbury’s I’ve read so far, but this was just not the book for me. It drug bit and it was hard to really care about any of the characters. Not necessarily horrible, just not the book for me.
giantarms's review against another edition
2.0
I understand why this book didn't actually become the Halloween classic Bradbury hoped it would have been. He took a few stories that had been published separately and sewed them all together with these sloppy little vignettes that serve no purpose but to signal that you're supposed to be reading a unified story now. There were one or two pieces in here that I liked very well, and when I looked them up, they were the previously published things.
I picked it up because it was supposed to be a kind of an Addams family precursor, but the appeal of the Addams family was that yes, they were weirdos, but they didn't make a big deal about it. Bradbury is so busy telling us how spooky everything is that the connection between the "family" members just doesn't ring true to me.
But I did like the bit about the old man and the nurse on the train.
I picked it up because it was supposed to be a kind of an Addams family precursor, but the appeal of the Addams family was that yes, they were weirdos, but they didn't make a big deal about it. Bradbury is so busy telling us how spooky everything is that the connection between the "family" members just doesn't ring true to me.
But I did like the bit about the old man and the nurse on the train.
nataliejohansen's review against another edition
3.0
This is a beautiful book. I only wish it were longer! There were so many avenues left unexplored, so many fascinating characters I would have loved to know more about.
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/42619.html[return][return]Whimsical ghost story, a little light for my taste. Marketed as his new novel" but it turns out several bits date from the 1940s.
nerzola's review against another edition
4.0
She looked upon reality and decided her wild and special world was the very world she preferred and needed.
alexctelander's review against another edition
4.0
FROM THE DUST RETURNED BY RAY BRADBURY: Ray Bradbury’s “other” Halloween book, From the Dust Returned, is over some fifty years in the making, beginning as a spark from a single story in his early twenties that he would continue to add on throughout his career. This spark of a first story, “Homecoming,” was originally published in Mademoiselle magazine and featured unique artwork (which is here reproduced on the cover of the book) by a then relatively unknown artist by the name of Charles Addams.
In the style of his Martian Chronicles, this book feels very much like a collection of stories that are linked together through the characters, as well as specific chapters that provide the cement, binding them all together. From the Dust Returned consists of a most unique haunted house where the dead that unite and meet there are of all the same family, with exotic and incredible names like Cecy, Uncle Einar, and A Thousand Times Great Grandmére. Cecy is a unique corpse of a woman who spends her times in the dust dunes in the attic, sending her soul and spirit out into the world to occupy and experience anything and everything, whether it be a drop of rainwater on a rock, a young lover’s heart, or a giant eagle flying across the sky. Uncle Einar is a special uncle with thin veiny wings that allow him to take flight like a giant bird and travel wherever he pleases. And A Thousand Times Great Grandmére, who has existed in her decrepit state for many thousands of years has stories and experiences to tell that make everything else seem short lived and mundane. And then there are many more brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces from all over the world who come to visit.
The main character, a young boy called Timothy, is also unique compared to the family for he is an ordinary human boy who is left as a babe in a basket on the doorstep of this doomed mansion, and is raised in this very strange family. But with his humanity, he has a different viewpoint, and his job is to record the stories and experiences of these most strange and unusual family members.
While From the Dust Returned seems to unravel a little sometimes, with some stories going on tangents that never quite return to the coherent plot, there are gems in this book that are unlike any other I have read. Along with The Halloween Tree, it is a perfect book to be read, and to read aloud, around and during Halloween.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
In the style of his Martian Chronicles, this book feels very much like a collection of stories that are linked together through the characters, as well as specific chapters that provide the cement, binding them all together. From the Dust Returned consists of a most unique haunted house where the dead that unite and meet there are of all the same family, with exotic and incredible names like Cecy, Uncle Einar, and A Thousand Times Great Grandmére. Cecy is a unique corpse of a woman who spends her times in the dust dunes in the attic, sending her soul and spirit out into the world to occupy and experience anything and everything, whether it be a drop of rainwater on a rock, a young lover’s heart, or a giant eagle flying across the sky. Uncle Einar is a special uncle with thin veiny wings that allow him to take flight like a giant bird and travel wherever he pleases. And A Thousand Times Great Grandmére, who has existed in her decrepit state for many thousands of years has stories and experiences to tell that make everything else seem short lived and mundane. And then there are many more brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces from all over the world who come to visit.
The main character, a young boy called Timothy, is also unique compared to the family for he is an ordinary human boy who is left as a babe in a basket on the doorstep of this doomed mansion, and is raised in this very strange family. But with his humanity, he has a different viewpoint, and his job is to record the stories and experiences of these most strange and unusual family members.
While From the Dust Returned seems to unravel a little sometimes, with some stories going on tangents that never quite return to the coherent plot, there are gems in this book that are unlike any other I have read. Along with The Halloween Tree, it is a perfect book to be read, and to read aloud, around and during Halloween.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
ozgold's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up From the Dust Returned from the Daedalus Bookshop, three stories of used books in downtown Charlottesville, VA. As a Bradbury fan, my hopes were particularly high after reading the opening pages and beginning a story of a boy running to see his grandmother, who lives in the attic, and happens to be an Egyptian mummy. Ridiculous? Obviously. But I sure do swoon over mummies.
Unfortunately, the book read less like a cohesive novel and more like a series of vignettes strewn together based on their mutual spookiness.
I had very little connection to most of the characters and plots, and ended with the feeling of 'eh, it's alright.'
But oh Ray, you had me with the mummy.
Unfortunately, the book read less like a cohesive novel and more like a series of vignettes strewn together based on their mutual spookiness.
I had very little connection to most of the characters and plots, and ended with the feeling of 'eh, it's alright.'
But oh Ray, you had me with the mummy.