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jesus_wept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
solypoly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Feel like I have a lot to think about with this one. I’ve noticed several reviews where people say they feel like they would have liked this book if they had read it when they were ~13 (the age of two of the main characters) but I think there is a lot I would have missed from this had I read it as a child.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Death, Racism, Violence, and Kidnapping
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Published in 1962, this novel is considered a Halloween classic. It's easy to see why -- Bradbury masterfully blends sci-fi and fantasy to create some very scary forces. At the heart of this book's spookiness is a magical carousel that can age its riders either forward or backward. This carousel, plus the inner monologues of Will's dad Charles Halloway, all point towards the true terror of mortality: aging. This particular theme is incredibly well-executed.
The merits of Something Wicked are evident - Ray Bradbury celebrates both the golden days of youth and father-son bonds. That being said, this book is probably best targeted towards middle grade audiences. I found it to be a little too childish for my taste. On top of that, Charles Halloway's monologues are all a bizarre and distinct brand of mid-20th century sexism. The passages about women being innocent and always sleeping soundly were strange and grating.
Overall, perhaps the best part of this book is Bradbury's talent for poetic prose. Here are a few of my favorite sentences:
"And if it’s around October twentieth and everything smoky-smelling and the sky orange and ash gray at twilight, it seems Halloween will never come in a fall of broomsticks and a soft flap of bed-sheets around corners."
"God, how we get our fingers in each other's clay. That's friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of each other."
"The dust was antique spice, burnt maple leaves, a prickling blue that teemed and sifted to earth. Swarming its own shadows, the dust filtered over the tents."
The merits of Something Wicked are evident - Ray Bradbury celebrates both the golden days of youth and father-son bonds. That being said, this book is probably best targeted towards middle grade audiences. I found it to be a little too childish for my taste. On top of that, Charles Halloway's monologues are all a bizarre and distinct brand of mid-20th century sexism. The passages about women being innocent and always sleeping soundly were strange and grating.
Overall, perhaps the best part of this book is Bradbury's talent for poetic prose. Here are a few of my favorite sentences:
"And if it’s around October twentieth and everything smoky-smelling and the sky orange and ash gray at twilight, it seems Halloween will never come in a fall of broomsticks and a soft flap of bed-sheets around corners."
"God, how we get our fingers in each other's clay. That's friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of each other."
"The dust was antique spice, burnt maple leaves, a prickling blue that teemed and sifted to earth. Swarming its own shadows, the dust filtered over the tents."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
rory_john14's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Body horror
budge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This novel is wildly imaginative and deliciously spooky in parts. The story seemed to be about both coming of age and coming to terms with our own mortality. <<Spoilers>> I also liked the final reveal of the metaphor for life and simple message of how to cope with the nightmare of existence and resist the temptation to be manipulated by people who like to prey on human weaknesses. I'm glad I didn't read the introduction in this 2015 edition because it reveals that message before you've even started the story, so you wouldn't get that satisfying feeling when everything falls into place. The message is slightly disappointing though in the same way as the resolution of most of Dr Who's cliffhangers are, ie it's a bit too easy and doesn't quite ring true. I also found the style so richly bejewelled with hyphenated meta-adjectives that it was a bit difficult at times to follow the thread of what was going on, although I did enjoy them individually and often went back to savour them a bit, which is meant it took me an awfully long time to read the book.
The other problem I had with it was that I felt a bit excluded as a woman. I had no problem identifying with the two boys who were the main characters in the book and to a lesser extent their Dad, but then they start saying that women don't have trouble sleeping because they can have children and are therefore immortal in a way, so don't have to worry about dying, and they cry a lot. The female characters in the book are a sad spinster who wants to be young again, a crying girly, a terribly sensible mother who doesn't understand things like wanting to escape into the moonlight by climbing down from the bedroom window at night, and a wicked ugly witch who tries to control the main characters and and gets shot by the hero man. At least there isn't a beautiful sexy mysteriously knowing fantasy woman to complete the set.
The sideshow "freak" characters seem to be either possessed or evil as in so many books/ films etc and, as with the women, they are not given any sort of personality that you can relate to. It also has the main characters combatting that evil by singing part of an extremely racist song. Oh dear. <<Spoilers>>
Having read the whole Ray Bradbury section of my local library (they didn't have this one) when I was quite young I fell in love with him and don't remember them being at all problematic in that way, but I have a strong suspicion that it's because it was the seventies and we were so steeped in discriminatory attitudes then that I just didn't notice, so I'm thinking maybe best not to re-read the others now.
The other problem I had with it was that I felt a bit excluded as a woman. I had no problem identifying with the two boys who were the main characters in the book and to a lesser extent their Dad, but then they start saying that women don't have trouble sleeping because they can have children and are therefore immortal in a way, so don't have to worry about dying, and they cry a lot. The female characters in the book are a sad spinster who wants to be young again, a crying girly, a terribly sensible mother who doesn't understand things like wanting to escape into the moonlight by climbing down from the bedroom window at night, and a wicked ugly witch who tries to control the main characters and and gets shot by the hero man. At least there isn't a beautiful sexy mysteriously knowing fantasy woman to complete the set.
The sideshow "freak" characters seem to be either possessed or evil as in so many books/ films etc and, as with the women, they are not given any sort of personality that you can relate to. It also has the main characters combatting that evil by singing part of an extremely racist song. Oh dear. <<Spoilers>>
Having read the whole Ray Bradbury section of my local library (they didn't have this one) when I was quite young I fell in love with him and don't remember them being at all problematic in that way, but I have a strong suspicion that it's because it was the seventies and we were so steeped in discriminatory attitudes then that I just didn't notice, so I'm thinking maybe best not to re-read the others now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
Minor: Death and Violence