1Truett
As Vharty noted in the Amazon listings thread, RAY BRADBURY is coming to the Library of America! YES!
And -- I'm guessing there will be more than one volume (with his copious stories, perhaps, filling a volume or two; after the rights with Everyman's? are worked out) -- the initial Bradbury volume is a corker: THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, FAHRENHEIT 451, DANDELION WINE and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. Like Shirley Jackson, Bradbury is a writer who should've been in the LOA a looong time ago (know-nothings like Bloom, be damned). Especially thrilled that FAHRENHEIT 451 and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES are included, since (after his short stories) those two novels are his finest (IMHO).
https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Bradbury-Chronicles-Fahrenheit-Dandelion/dp/159853700...
And -- I'm guessing there will be more than one volume (with his copious stories, perhaps, filling a volume or two; after the rights with Everyman's? are worked out) -- the initial Bradbury volume is a corker: THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, FAHRENHEIT 451, DANDELION WINE and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. Like Shirley Jackson, Bradbury is a writer who should've been in the LOA a looong time ago (know-nothings like Bloom, be damned). Especially thrilled that FAHRENHEIT 451 and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES are included, since (after his short stories) those two novels are his finest (IMHO).
https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Bradbury-Chronicles-Fahrenheit-Dandelion/dp/159853700...
2elenchus
A good volume, to be sure. I've read at least three of the four, unsure about Dandelion Wine. I've cooled quite a bit in my appreciation of Bradbury, though I read a good deal of his stuff as a lad. Re-reading The Martian Chronicles in the last decade, I found it better than anticipated -- and far less SFnal than I remembered.
I thought about screening Something Wicked This Way Comes with my family this past Hallowe'en, but didn't. I wonder where it would fall in my assessment now, either film or book.
I thought about screening Something Wicked This Way Comes with my family this past Hallowe'en, but didn't. I wonder where it would fall in my assessment now, either film or book.
3JacobHolt
>1 Truett: I'm not sure what Harold Bloom has to do with this? But I am excited for the publication as well. I'm less optimistic that there will be multiple volumes (but would welcome them); this seems to collect his best-known and best-loved works, which makes me suspect (and/or fear) the publishers could decide they've finished the job with this one volume.
4vharty
>3 JacobHolt: Chronologically, this does collect his first four "novels" (The Martian Chronicles admittedly can only be loosely deemed a novel ig), so I'm holding out hope that there could be another volume of Bradbury's later novels, and a hopefully as Truett noted a volume or two for his incredible short stories.
5JacobHolt
>4 vharty: That's a good point. Hopefully your (our) hopes are not in vain!
6Truett
JacobHolt: I was referring to Bloom as regards Jackson, another genre -suffused American genius of letters. Bloom used his (overblown) influence amongst the literati to influence their thoughts on the "American Literary Canon", and it resulted in a bias toward "genre" fiction. And he spoke out against Jackson's inclusion (sorry to sidetrack you so much via my brief aside).
As for what novels will be published: you might be correct. These four books are actually his first four novels, or story-cycles (MARTIAN CHRONICLES, DANDELION WINE), or, as the SF& fantasy community calls them, "fix-ups". FAHRENHEIT 451 began "life" as a novella (or novellete, not actually sure of the length), and then Bradbury ran with the idea and wrote a whole novel.
The books the came later weren't as powerful or influential. Although THE HALLOWEEN TREE is a very good YA novel (the script by Bradbury won an Emmy); and DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS, his first adult novel after SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, is an enjoyable bit of noir homage (two later "mystery" books are more properly mainstream, revolving around the film community, with a bit of crime involved). FROM THE DUST RETURNED, while also a very good later book, is mostly a "story cycle" book, and may nor may not be worthy of inclusion depending on what short stories LOA can, and will, publish. (GREEN SHADOWS, WHITE WHALE is mostly of interest because of the autobiographical elements; it's also a "fix-up", of sorts).
IF the LOA decides to publish THE HALLOWEEN TREE, DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS and/or FROM THE DUST RETURNED, then FAREWELL SUMMER would make a good addition to a second volume of novels and "story cycles". It's his last published, a "sequel" to DANDELION WINE (actually, this book and "Dandelion" were to have been one loooong novel, but Bradbury couldn't figure it all out when he was younger); frankly, it's not as magnificent as the first four, but it IS a beautiful final effort. It reads as if he time-traveled back to the 1950s and sat down to collaborate with his younger self.
elenchus: Ray Bradbury was never a "science fiction" writer. He was a writer of fantasy, mostly; and some horror, and mystery. The ONLY truly science fiction book he ever published is FAHRENHEIT 451. And, while every work of fiction affects every person differently -- especially if you come to it later in life -- I, personally, found SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES as beautiful and joyous and moving as it was when I read it long ago (the film, scripted by Bradbury, is quite good; but the novel is brilliant).
As for what novels will be published: you might be correct. These four books are actually his first four novels, or story-cycles (MARTIAN CHRONICLES, DANDELION WINE), or, as the SF& fantasy community calls them, "fix-ups". FAHRENHEIT 451 began "life" as a novella (or novellete, not actually sure of the length), and then Bradbury ran with the idea and wrote a whole novel.
The books the came later weren't as powerful or influential. Although THE HALLOWEEN TREE is a very good YA novel (the script by Bradbury won an Emmy); and DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS, his first adult novel after SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, is an enjoyable bit of noir homage (two later "mystery" books are more properly mainstream, revolving around the film community, with a bit of crime involved). FROM THE DUST RETURNED, while also a very good later book, is mostly a "story cycle" book, and may nor may not be worthy of inclusion depending on what short stories LOA can, and will, publish. (GREEN SHADOWS, WHITE WHALE is mostly of interest because of the autobiographical elements; it's also a "fix-up", of sorts).
IF the LOA decides to publish THE HALLOWEEN TREE, DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS and/or FROM THE DUST RETURNED, then FAREWELL SUMMER would make a good addition to a second volume of novels and "story cycles". It's his last published, a "sequel" to DANDELION WINE (actually, this book and "Dandelion" were to have been one loooong novel, but Bradbury couldn't figure it all out when he was younger); frankly, it's not as magnificent as the first four, but it IS a beautiful final effort. It reads as if he time-traveled back to the 1950s and sat down to collaborate with his younger self.
elenchus: Ray Bradbury was never a "science fiction" writer. He was a writer of fantasy, mostly; and some horror, and mystery. The ONLY truly science fiction book he ever published is FAHRENHEIT 451. And, while every work of fiction affects every person differently -- especially if you come to it later in life -- I, personally, found SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES as beautiful and joyous and moving as it was when I read it long ago (the film, scripted by Bradbury, is quite good; but the novel is brilliant).
7elenchus
>6 Truett:
That's a nudge for me to keep my eye out for Something Wicked. I've read other reviews online making the same assessment of the film script versus novel, and I lean toward the novel anyway.
That's a nudge for me to keep my eye out for Something Wicked. I've read other reviews online making the same assessment of the film script versus novel, and I lean toward the novel anyway.
