This is one of Ray Bradbury's earliest collections of short stories, and the concept behind is quite brilliant. On an early September day in Wisconsin, the unnamed narrator meets the eponymous Illustrated Man - a wandering carnie with incredible images tattooed across his body. They are detailed, colorful and mysterious, and able to move on their own; the narrator counts eighteen different illustrations, each depicting what the Illustrated Man claims to be the future.

Unfortunately, both the concept and character of the Illustrated Man is never expanded upon - and the Illustrated Man is nothing more than a framing device for eighteen unrelated stories (most if not all of which were published previously). The stories themselves have nothing to do with the carnival, the Illustrated Man and his life - all are set in the future, and explore universal themes via science fiction. In Kaleidoscope, a group of astronauts shares their last moment as they float through empty space after their rocket blew up; The Long Rain has a group of explorers marooned on Venus, struggling to find shelter from constant rain which has soaked them to the bone. A man purchases a robot identical to himself so that he can go on a vacation to Rio in Marionettes, Inc.; Mars has been colonized entirely by black people in The Other Foot, who plan to institute racial segregation and Jim Crow laws for white travelers who are bound their way from earth.

They're good, engaging stories, and it's difficult to pick a favorite - thought if I had to I think I'd pick The Rocket, which is about Fiorello Bodoni - a poor junkyard owner who has finally saved enough money to be able to afford his lifelong dream - a trip to outer space. However, the money can only buy one ticket, and Fiorello and his family have to choose who will go. I found this story to be the most touching and memorable of all in its simplicity, and a great way to conclude the volume.

Luckily, Bradbury himself considered the Illustrated Man to be too good to waste, and later made him one of the antagonists in his famous novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes - but I still wish that the stories would revolve more about his character. I was expecting stories more in tone and theme with Bradbury's other collection, which I read and reviewed last year and recommend highly - The October Country. The Illustrated Man is not a bad collection by any means - just don't expect pumpkins, carnivals and Halloween when you'll begin to read it.

Phải nói là đỉnh và đầy ám ảnh huhu. Cứ để đây và mình hứa sẽ viết 1 bài hẳn hoi

Βαθμολογία: 9/10

Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα βιβλίο του Ρέι Μπράντμπερι ήταν τον μακρινό Μάιο του 2015 και ειλικρινά σας λέω ότι δεν ξέρω για ποιο λόγο τον έχω αμελήσει τόσο, μα τόσο πολύ, ενώ μου αρέσει σαν συγγραφέας. Αυτό είναι το τέταρτο βιβλίο του που διαβάζω, ενώ επίσης είναι η δεύτερη συλλογή διηγημάτων, μετά το "Χρονικά του Άρη". Λοιπόν, ποιοτικά μου φάνηκε ένα πολύ μικρό σκαλοπατάκι πιο κάτω από την άλλη του συλλογή που έχω διαβάσει, αλλά γενικά πρόκειται για ένα καταπληκτικό έργο επιστημονικής φαντασίας, γεμάτο ενδιαφέρουσες ιδέες, ωραίες εικόνες και δυνατά συναισθήματα, που πανάξια θα τσιμπήσει πέντε αστεράκια από μένα. Ο συγγραφέας θίγει για άλλη μια φορά διάφορα σημαντικά θέματα που αφορούν την ανθρώπινη κοινωνία και τις σύγχρονες τεχνολογίες, χωρίς ιδιαίτερες επιστημονικές ορολογίες, μιας και δίνει έμφαση στον άνθρωπο και όχι τις μηχανές ή τα διαπλανητικά ταξίδια. Η γραφή του είναι πολύ όμορφη και οξυδερκής, χωρίς περιττές και κουραστικές λεπτομέρειες. Με τις ιστορίες του ο Μπράντμπερι λέει κάποια πολύ σημαντικά πράγματα, όμως με τρόπο απλό και άμεσο, δίνοντας μπόλικη τροφή για σκέψη στους αναγνώστες. Όλες οι ιστορίες της συλλογής μου άρεσαν... πολύ έως πάρα πολύ, αλλά έστω και με δυσκολία θα ξεχώριζα αυτές τις έξι, νιώθοντας όμως ότι αδικώ τις υπόλοιπες: "Ο άνθρωπος", "Η ατέλειωτη βροχή", "Η αλεπού και το δάσος", "Ο επισκέπτης", "Μαριονέτες Α.Ε." και "Ο πύραυλος".

Imaginative and intuitive for someone of his time.

I’ve read a few Bradbury books over the past few years and this one held up with the strength of the others.

I opened this book not really knowing anything about it. Of course the tattooed man gave a small part of the book away, but covers can and will do that from time to time.

The book is broken up by several short stories each touching on a particular issue, like all good sci-fi books do. The story of the tattooed man was an interesting one which I found fascinating and rather sad. The others were also fun to read. Overall this was a breath of freshly recycled Martian air.

Sin palabras
No esperaba que me gustara tanto!!!! Me voló la cabeza.

What an incredible read this was! It's full of futuristic settings yet relevant, modern themes. I'm not normally into the sci-fi stuff but every single one of these stories was utterly captivating. These are the kind of stories that draw you in instantly, hold you tight and keep you thinking about them long after you finish reading.

I had a couple of favourites: I loved the way The Rocket explored the power of the imagination, along with how the family dynamic was portrayed. I enjoyed the cleverness of Usher II, and its rebellion against censored creativity. I appreciated the simplicity of life in The Highway, and the chilling consequence of naive expectations of childhood innocence in Zero Hour. I loved the twists and the cliffhangers, and the more still chapters that invoked quiet contemplation. The compilation was assembled well, with a great balance of fast and slow to keep the brain working and the heart racing. I felt a full range of emotions reading this!

The language is simple enough, and even the futuristic elements are easy to grasp and accept. The themes run deeper than the superficial stories, so if you're not a deep-thinker you may be underwhelmed or even confused by some of the tales. If, however, you're someone who likes to read between the lines and consider the human condition, you'll receive immense value from reading this. Different personalities will relate to different stories - as a writer and lover of the imagination, the stories with similar themes drew me in, however parents may prefer tales like The Veld or The Playground, with their parent-child relationships, and soul-searchers might enjoy mulling over Kaleidoscope, The Man, or The Last Night of the World. There is something in here for everyone; all tied together by the the man inked with these stories. It's a striking concept, and tattoo/visual art aficionados will appreciate the added image of illustrations coming to life as well as - hopefully - its symbolism.

Highly recommend for all lovers of literature. The stories are short and sweet so easy to read, and the themes are varied enough to cater to all tastes. An absolute masterpiece of the written word.

This book was first published in 1951, a mere six years after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. By reference, the fear the atom bomb created had managed to threateningly worm its way into some of the short stories. There were many other accounts of death and total annihilation by one means or another though not necessarily at the hands of the "A bomb". The author may have likely found himself caught up with the overwhelming paranoia of the times that ran rampant in the world. These worries were clearly expressed in his imaginative style of writing.

There were eighteen outlandish short stories most of which had us either being invaded by or colonizing our neighboring planets. Mars by far the most popular. Commuting by rocket had become commonplace in Ray Bradbury's future of the 1960's, 70's and 80's. On a side note, with all the interplanetary travel going on, the author was not aware of nor either addressed the issues of weightlessness in Space - a biggie. Then again, it must be remembered, it was 1951. It sounds like the "Stone Ages".

Some of the latest advances, actually gadgets that every household could not live without included: an electrical breakfast maker, mechanical book reader, food-delivery tubes, disposable clothing and remote control lawn mowers just to name a few. Wow! Looks like we've missed out! I'm reminded of the dreams and schemes that flourished back then. It was a thought-provoking ride. This was after all just a sample of one talented writer's indulgence into "Sci-Fi thinking" at the middle of the twentieth century." Hats off to Ray Bradbury.

Some absolute gems in this collection!! 4 stars.

“Yine Bir Gülnihal” şarkısını duymayanınız yoktur. Günümüzden 200 yıl öncesine ait olduğunu ilk duyduğumda ise çok şaşırdığımı hatırlıyorum. Peki ya Shakespeare’a ne demeli! Cervantes, Dante, Homeros, Dede Korkut, Bin bir Gece Masalları’na! Mr. Electro’nun küçük Ray’e “sonsuza kadar yaşa” derken ne anlatmak istediği meçhul; fakat Ray’in bu sözden çıkarımının sanat olduğu, aldığı karar ve kariyeriyle anlaşılıyor. O gün de gördüğü Dövmeli Adam 19 yıl sonra edebi sanata Resimli Adam olarak geçiyor; fakat yazar gerçeği ile sanatsal tezahürünü kalem darbeleriyle birbirinden ayırıyor:

“Kadının tabelasını yolda görmüştü: DERİ RESİMLERİ! Dövme yerine resim! Sanatsal! Böylece bütün gece oturmuş ve kadının bütün iğneleri onu bazen eşek arısı, bazen de bal arısı gibi nazikçe sokmuştu. Sabah olduğundaysa, yirmi renkli matbaa makinesine düşüp, parlak ve resmedilmeye değer bir şekilde makineden çıkmış gibi duruyordu.”

Ayrıca kalın elleriyle uzun kolları olan Resimli Adam’ın yüzü de bir çocuğunkini andırıyor. Ve sirklerde çalışıyor, çoğunlukla da kovuluyor; çünkü vücudunda bulunan resimlerin yanı sıra sağ omuzundaki karalamada resimlere bir saat bakanların geleceği beliriyor. Çoğunlukla nasıl öldüklerini görenler korkup adamı kovuyorlar. Peki ya resimleri yapan kadın kim diye sorarsanız. Cevabımız ne yazık ki muallaktır: Zaman yolculuğu yapabilen bir cadı olduğu varsayılıyor.

Eserde 18 hikâye bulunuyor ve her biri özgün konularıyla birbirinden gece-gündüz misali ayrılıyor. Herhangi bir sınıflandırmanın mümkün olmamasının yanı sıra uzun uzadıya konularını yazarak bunaltıcı olmakta istemiyorum. O yüzden fragmanlar misali ve öykülerden seçtiğim cümleleri sonlara ekleyerek kısaca konularından bahsedelim; fakat beğendiğim birkaç tanesinden daha ayrıntılı bahsetmeden duramayacağımı biliyorum.

n  - Mustafa İzmirlin

İncelemenin tamamı için: https://kayiprihtim.com/inceleme/resi...

The Illustrated Man is written in the iridescent language of those kaleidoscopic tattoos it tells us about…

The nursery was silent. It was empty as a jungle glade at hot high noon. The walls were blank and two dimensional. Now, as George and Lydia Hadley stood in the center of the room, the walls began to purr and recede into crystalline distance, it seemed, and presently an African veldt appeared, in three dimensions, on all sides, in color reproduced to the final pebble and bit of straw. The ceiling above them became a deep sky with a hot yellow sun.

Years pass by but the pictures remain as bright and vivid as new…

The music went up like a flight of pretty birds. He touched the keys like a man moving his hands among the weeds of a wild garden, startling up great soarings of beauty into the hills.

And the revived music still keeps echoing right through the years.

This definitely wasn’t my favourite Bradbury I’ve read. I think his beautiful writing style much better suits full length novels than short stories. I was left wanting more after each story and I didn’t feel like I was getting my full Bradbury experience. I know it’s a favourite of many but I personally think it’s far from his best work. Some parts are still absolutely fantastic though and kept it from being a total dud. A few of the stories really caught my attention and had me very into it. Sadly they were quickly over and much too few and far between for this to be a winner for me. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it, it was just underwhelming to me.