Book Title: The Martian Chronicles
Author: Ray Bradbury (http://www.raybradbury.com/)
Pages: 181
Publisher: Bantam Books/Doubleday
Genre: Science Fiction/Short Story Collective
Genre: Science Fiction/Short Story Collective
(Scale Explanation: 1) Meaning awful, 5) Meaning not good, but not bad-equal, 10) Meaning wonderful)
PLOT - 9
CHARACTERS - 8
BEGINNING - 8
ENDING - 8
FLOW - 7
FLOW - 7
OVERALL - 8
What I liked about this book: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though it is quite rough around the edges and slightly choppy at times, and well, some of the chapters strewn together do not completely make sense. Though, it was very eye opening and entertaining. I loved the science fiction aspect of the book and the interestingly dark wit that Ray Bradbury used throughout. I will most likely pick this book up again at sometime during my life, but for sure, I will read more Bradbury books as I obtain them. The man was a mastermind of imagination and I believe that he has received too little credit for all of his genius work. My favorite chapter of the book is a chapter in which he incorporates Edgar Allan Poe's story about the House of Usher. Very detailed and morbidly funny, I enjoyed this chapter the most.
What I disliked about this book: Obviously from my ratings above, there were issues that I had whilst reading this work of literary art. Though I love it, I had a problem understanding the actions of the characters. Most of the characters weren't very developed, but one can truly appreciate it given the style that this book is written in.I found it quite choppy and it seems to jump from different characters all around. If you are not a fan of quirky and different styles, you won't like this book.
Who I would recommend this book to: Obviously, as I stated above, I would not recommend this book to anyone that isn't a fan of quirky and untraditional styles. Bradbury just didn't care about following the rules when he wrote this book and possibly his other books that I have yet to venture into. I would recommend to those that are open-minded when it comes to reading and enjoy different styles of writing, anyone that is not faint of heart, there is some violence and Bradbury has described the way blood flows from a body a few times. Other than that, the murder scenarios are quick and to the point, basically, stating "And he was dead." Also, I would recommend to people that like science fiction, this would surely be an enjoying read, and possibly those interested in philosophy, because I have a sneaky suspicion that Bradbury has thrown some philosophical ideas of his own in the text.
What I felt this book was about: Well, as I have explained above, I felt like Bradbury poured himself all throughout this book. A lover of literature bad-talking those that burnt the books back in a time when fantasy literature was forbidden, the main characters are depressed and often on the brink of insanity, which I believe Bradbury must have passed at some point in his life, but as Cornelia Funke quoted in Inkspell, "So what? All writers are lunatics." So, basically, this book is about the colonization of Mars and what we stupid humans do to the beautiful planet that has survived through the Martians for eons, because they knew how to balance nature and technology. There's not much else to tell as the story has so many sub-stories strewn throughout it, to tell about all of them, would be re-telling the book. Read it!
Favorite excerpts or quotes from the book:
""Well, what about this name: Edgar Allan Poe?"
Mr. Bigelow shook his head.
"Of course." Stendahl snorted delicately, a combination of dismay and contempt. "How could I expect you to know blessed Mr. Poe? He died a long while ago, before Lincoln. All of his books were burned in the Great Fire. That's thirty years ago-1975."
"Ah," said Mr. Bigelow wisely. "One of those!"
"Yes, one of those, Bigelow. He and Lovecraft and Hawthorne and Ambrose Beirce and all the tales of terror and fantasy and horror and, for that matter, tales of the future were burned. Heartlessly. They passed a law. Oh, it stated very small. In 1950 and '60 it was a grain of sand. They began by controlling books of cartoons and then detective books and, of course, films, one way or another, one group or another, political bias, religious prejudice, union pressures; there was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves."
"I see."" - Page 105
I hope you enjoyed this review. Now, go out and read!!!
Paige, that's an interesting and perceptive review. I just thought I would add a couple of comments about the "choppiness" of the book.
ReplyDeleteThe first is that the book was originally written as short stories, which Bradbury only later wove into a novel. So it has a kind of patchwork quality to it.
Second, I think we should see a clue in the title: it's the Martian CHRONICLES. So, rather than being a conventional novel of characters, it should be seen more as a history of a people. Other chronicles have a similar choppiness. The Bible is a chronicle of a people, and is very choppy - not that I am equating The Martian Chronicles to The Bible, but there is a structural resemblance.
I was amused that you liked the Usher chapter so much. Why? Because it's my least favourite chapter! My reason is that the story is probably the most incongruous of all of them, the least consistent in it depiction of Mars. My favourites are "The Million-Year Picnic" (final chapter) and "There will come soft rains". There is a poignancy to both of these.
I have a website about Bradbury's media work, which you might be interested in. It's at www.bradburymedia.co.uk
Best wishes - and Happy Christmas!
- Phil
Thank you for your comment Phil!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't downplaying the novel at all by saying that it was choppy. It's hard for a person like me to do a review, because I love almost every book that I read. I can always find a way to appreciate what has been written, but I try to convey how others may feel about the books as well.
Most people that I know would not like this book, so I tried my best to give them the benefit of the doubt by letting them know how the book is structured. I guess I'm just one of those weird people that like the rebelious authors.
Anyway, Usher II is my favorite chapter because of the character of Stendahl. I am a lot like that character. Not that I would go to the extreme in finding creative ways to murder people that doubt good literature, but his lecture to Mr. Bigelow was one that I would definitely have participated in had I lived in that era. Also, Edgar Allan is one of my fave authors, so it was only natural that I would love the chapter. In this chapter, I think Bradbury tried to convey in yet another way that western civilization would try to taint another planet. I may not know the best way to word it, but it's like he was saying that no matter what, humans will carry their belief systems with them, which was mighty interesting. Also, the chapter didn't fit in well with the other chapters and it was strange, odd, awkward; all words that I would use to describe my writing and the person that I am. :)
I had a problem with the last chapter of the book, The Million Year Picnic. I don't think that it fully closed the story for me. You must know a lot about Bradbury, so maybe you could help me out with that chapter. I liked several other chapters, especially the beginning chapters when the humans were trying to make contact with the martians, but Usher II was my fave.
Again Phil, thank you for reading my review. I'm very appreciative of any comments that I receive. I will make sure to check that website out as this book has enticed me to read more of Bradbury's work.
Happy Holidays!
Paige
Paige, thanks for expanding your comments. I now see exactly what you see in Usher II (and a lot of people share your opinion)... but I still don't like it much, not in the context of The Martian Chronicles at least. There is, by the way, some suggestion that Bradbury once felt the same way: when he published the UK version of the Chronicles (which was re-titled The Silver Locusts), he removed Usher II.
ReplyDelete(As a Poe companion piece, however, I like it a lot. I think it also goes well with an old Robert Bloch short story called "The Man Who Collected Poe". Check it out!)
Million-Year Picnic: interesting that you found it unsatisfying. Essentially, the story is saying "we are the martians now" - in the same way that there came a time when European invaders of the Americas could say "we are the Americans now" (having wiped out most of the native population!). After a whole series of encounters where the Earth people have battled with the Martians, and destroyed their own planet, Mars is their new home. They have transformed the planet, but the planet has transformed them. This story is, in miniature, a major turning point, so for me it is a fitting end to the Chronicles.
Did you ever see the old TV version of the Martian Chronicles (with Rock Hudson)? It was pretty poor, but they did the ending quite well.
Phil, so many interesting tidbits of information you have on Bradbury. I just found out yesterday that a friend of mine actually got to meet him and have her copy of Farenheit 451 signed. How awesome!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely have to pick up that Robert Bloch book, as I love Poe. I do agree, when looking at it from a perspective of a person who isn't in love with Poe, that Usher II really didn't belong mixed in with The Martian Chronicles. I still feel that it had an important meaning in going along with the chronicles as a whole, but it really didn't explain much about Mars or the martians or anything pertaining to life on Mars.
Thank you for the explanation of 'The Million-Year Picnic.' It totally makes perfect sense to end the story with that chapter. It wrapped it up into a nice little package. Thank you!
I have never seen the TV version of The Martian Chronicles, but I would LOVE to. I will definitely have to look for it!
Thank you for so much information, I feel smarter now! :)
Paige