Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
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Book Reviews of Something Wicked This Way Comes
Book Review: No one writes like Bradbury
Summary: 5 Stars
Out of all of Ray Bradbury's prodigious gifts, perhaps none is greater than his ability to capture the true essence of childhood in a timeless manner. While his most prolific period is now four decades past, Bradbury's descriptions of the hopes and fears of childhood still strike a powerful chord; in particular, he is able to capture the fears of childhood from an adult's perspective, without in any way minimizing them.In "Something Wicked This Way Comes" the reader is treated the pinnacle of Bradbury's writings on childhood. In it, he explores the most fundamental desire, and conversely, the most fundamental fear of childhood: growing older. Who among us wouldn't have leapt at the opportunity to be "grown up" at the snap of our fingers, but what about the consequences? Here, Bradbury uses the metaphor of a carnival that preys upon the fears of growing older, quite literally, in order to sustain itself.
The two main characters, Will in Jim, are fourteen, and in that awkward time that is not quite adulthood but not quite childhood either. They are torn between the desire to plunge into adult life, even as they cling to the safety of childhood. In this regard they are no different from any other child, the difference is that the carnival, and it's mysterious merry-go-round make it possible for them to do something about this situation. Juxtaposing their dilemma is Will's father, who married and had Will relatively late and life, and feels his age all the more as a result of his young son.
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" is a clever, spooky story, perfect for Halloween time. Bradbury is a master of descriptive writing, and no one sets a mood better than he does. More than that, tough, this is a novel about coming of age, about the value of youth, but also about appreciating where you are and what you have achieved. It is heartfelt and sincere in an age where far too many novels use cynicism as a mask for a lack of ideas. For that reason alone, this is a novel that is well worth reading.
Enjoy!
Book Review: A thrilling, life-affirming read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway are two best friends teetering on the edge of adolescence. They run wild like the archetypal boy has always run, free of worry and filled with a sense of anticipation and adventure. On a night indistinguishable from other nights both walk the streets of Green Town, Illinois, the kind of place where boys are allowed to roam with the world as their chaperone, the earth their toy box. There they meet the lightning-rod salesmen who deliciously warns the two of a coming storm with the prospect of lightening. What better enticement for the two than the excitement, the danger, the possibility that one of their houses--and only one--will be struck, changed by his predictions?
Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes is an evocative tale of friendship, innocence, and the horrors of death. As the two boys journey their way through a wicked carnival, they discover the temptations of life, the secret desires of people around the world that we do not leave behind with childhood, and the ever continuing battle of good against evil. There's no one who writes quite like Bradbury. It's a rare gift to possess the voice of childhood with all of its fears, joys, and sorrows, but it's an even greater gift to evoke a nostalgia for a childhood I never had. But Bradbury pulls from the reader's emotions something universal in all of us: desires of curiosity and friendship, fears of loss.
The boys grapple with their friendship and the ultimate (and literal in this sense) threat of doom: growing apart. But in searching individually, the two find the strength neither has without the other. Bonds are solidified friend to friend and father to son in this touching and horrific tale of life and the things that make our existence worth every minute: family, friendship, and laughter.
Book Review: Wonders and Chills in the Same Story
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a tale of two boys: Will Holloway and Jim Nightshade, one cautious, one adventurous and both who like to play and get in trouble as all young boys do. It also tells of the relationship between Will and his father who is an old man and has always felt that he hasn't been there for his boy because of his age.
A carnival comes into town, and when Bradbury terms it carnival that means it's bad, because circuses are fun whereas carnivals hold the freaks and are dark. And that is exactly what it is; the carnival arrives at the evil time of 3:00 am in the morning unannounced and mysteriously sets up camp in one night. The carnival, as expected, draws in all the residents of Green Town, Illinois with its promises of fun and a good time for all. What the local residents do not notice that is for a select few the carnival, run by Mr. Dark, offers even more than fun, it offers dreams fulfilled.
Jim and Will come across this revelation as they are sneaking around like young boys do, and they happen to be the only ones in town that know this carnival is evil, and they are praying on the towns people. Obviously, as boys, no one will believe them, except Will's father who for once in his life is able to help the boy and confront the carnival and Mr. Dark.
This is obviously a classic in literature, and a classic for the horror field, the way Bradbury creates such a believable fantastic setting is unbelievable. Bradbury can describe young boys better than anyone else on the planet, when reading it you feel like the boys, you can visualize everything they do because you can relate. And add the wonder that Bradbury has for Circuses he creates a unique story that is a joy to read. I love this story!
Book Review: One of the best American novels ever written!
Summary: 5 Stars
Without doubt, this is one of the best American novels ever written! In this poetic-prose masterpiece, two boys, Jim Nightshade (the dark one--hence the name) and William Halloway (the light one--i.e. Hallow=Holy or Halo) encounter an evil carnival inhabiting their small mid-western town (Waukegan, Illinois). Mr. Dark and his prized possessions--the freaks--succeed in luring and deceiving the townfolk into succumbing to their desires and fantasies, thus fueling and giving life to the evil carnival. Beware of the Autumn People! They feed on the lonely, desperate, and weak-hearted. Along with William's father, the two boys try and defeat the approaching evil and in the process they learn more about themselves and their growing and misunderstanding relationships with each other. This novel not only has a great plot and very interesting and in-depth characters, but it is well written. Also, from the reading, we learn about Bradbury's philosophy on life--ACCEPTANCE! This book should be considered a classic and every middle school and/or high school should make it a mandatory read. Although it has received great reviews, this novel is still very underrated. In my opinion, Something Wicked This Way Comes is far better than Bradbury's more popular-- Fahrenheit 451. Hollywood--NOT DISNEY--should make a major motion movie about this masterpiece. This book--along with The Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine, and Death Is A Lonely Business--are definite must reads. One day, I predict Something Wicked This Way Comes will become an American classic. BEWARE OF THE AUTUMN PEOPLE! Who knows, we could be next.Book Review: SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (SIMON & SCHUSTER/1962)
Summary: 5 Stars
REVIEW: A beautifully written coming-of-age story with a nightmarish scenario: sci-fi legend Bradbury's exquisitely crafted "SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES" makes for a swiftly moving yet spine-tingling read. In it he introduces two appealing childhood protagonists: Jim Nightshade and William Halloway both of whom are thirteen-years-old, and both of whom suspect that a newly arrived carnival in their hometown has come not to provide jovial entertainment for the locals but rather to destroy every man, woman, and child it can snare in its grasp. The ringmaster of this Satanic troup is a man by the appropriate name of Mr. Dark (a.k.a. The Tattooed Man, a.k.a. The Illustrated Man). Both he and his assistant, Mr. Coogar, prove to be very adept at zeroing in on the desires and lusts of the townspeople in order to trap them in a hellish web of their own making. When the two boys discover more than they bargained for: they soon turn to Will's dad, Charles Halloway, the local librarian and janitor for help in dealing with what seems like the Devil incarnate. The climatic battle between these unlikely heroes sets up a most satisfactory finale as Mr. Dark labors in vain against the powers of love, light, laughter, and Christian mercy. But for all the delights of the plot: what makes this book such a treaure is the sumptuous prose that Mr. Bradbury uses to tell his tale. The sheer gorgeousness of the sentences and the insights and the descriptions takes it far beyond a simple horror story and into the realm of classic literature.