What a disappointment. Ordinarily, Bradbury is at his best with the short story; it is truly his forte. This novel, on the other hand, is not at all typical of his usually thought-provoking and clever plots. There is only one story worth mentioning and that is "Mr. Pale."

Maybe I went into this the wrong way because I was hoping for another "Frost and Fire" or any of the other hundreds of science fiction-oriented stories he's written. His mind and imagination are genius; this collection of his stories is not.

De repente, me vi apurado almorzando, tratando de no quitarle más tiempo a la historia que, junto a sus personajes, se había quedado "pegada" en mi mente, con ese "frezze" tan carácteristico que aparecía en la imagen al poner pausa en ese viejo equipo VHS.

Así queda uno entusiasmado con los cuentos que trae ésta recopilación de Bradbury. Son veintiún relatos cargados de sorpresa, misterio y muchas gotas de suspenso.

(This will not be an actual review. This will be more of a light rant.)
Oh, Ray...
I'm sad because out of 4 books I have read of you, I didn't like 2 now. Fahrenheit and this. And you were my favourite author back in the day. The first full book in English I have read was from you. I wanted to permanently paint my hands pink through an injection (well, some people want to have tatoos at 16, I wanted whatever that was), that because of you. But as I grow up I just can't get myself to like what you write. They're just "eh", they don't struck me like before.

Sweet and melancholy nostalgia embedded in gorgeous prose . .
That's how I would describe this collection of short stories from Ray Bradbury.
They're also quirky, introspective, and surrealistic, and I loved every one!

As the Bradbury reading project nears its final quarter, I am coming across more and more of his material that is unfamiliar to me. However, as mentioned in my review of "Quicker than the Eye," many of Bradbury's later stories still feel familiar. And certainly his themes remain consistent.

This book is more focused than any of the other collections I have read. Almost every piece here is about memory and/or loss. The stories deal with the losses that come with aging (physical, mental and emotional), how childhood incidents affect our later life or even the attempt to return to that which has nurtured us before only to find that it is not what we thought it was. It's interesting to note that very few of these stories would qualify as fantasy or science fiction. They are, in the main, wistful, nostalgic and even bitter stories. In some of them, the sweetness we are used to in Bradbury is gone, and frankly, I think that makes them stronger.

My favorites in this group include "House Divided," "Someone in the Rain," "Remember Me?" and "End of Summer." Almost all of these fit the pattern and themes described above and most have an elegiac quality that I really like.

But the story that will remain with me the longest is also the one most atypical of the collection, "Fee Fie Foe Fum." This is a dark little horror story that chronicles the stand-off between a man and his aging mother-in-law, whom he hates. The installation in their shared house of a sink garbage disposal that will grind up anything (and I do mean anything) while leaving no trace inevitably leads to grisly outcomes. Bloody good.

Pensé que me iba a gustar mas las historias recopiladas en este libro, ya que son 21 relatos breves en esta edición , pero me gustaron solo 4.
- Hola, tengo que irme (fue mi favorita): Trata sobre un fantasma que va a visitar a su amigo, le comenta que esta enojado con su esposa porque ella ya no llora por el. Su amigo le promete que el llorará para que se sienta recordado.

- Casa dividida: unos chicos los visitan sus primas ya que un tío estaba a punto morir. los chicos están en una habitación y el mayor da su primer beso a una de las chicas al mismo tiempo se anuncia la muerte del tío. El chico tiene la metáfora de que con la muerte del tío le han quitado el cuerpo y el ha ganado el suyo.

- Que habrá sido de Sally: un hombre se encuentra bebiendo en el bar mientras suena una canción que le recuerda su primera novia. El barman le recomienda volver a contactarla. El hombre se entusiasma en el mismo momento. Logra dar con la casa de Sally al abrir la puerta, ella no lo reconoce y el se desilusiona porque ya estaba casada y tenia 6 hijos. Después el se encuentra con una señora que lo confunde con un antiguo amor. El vuelve al bar y comenta que por favor no pongan esa canción nunca mas.

- Nada cambia: un hombre revisa un anuario antiguo que le dio curiosidad, se percata que hay una foto de un chico que es igual a el, pero no es el. Al final, se entera que el del anuario es su hijo y el ha estado muerto durante años le comenta que se había ahogado.

Not a SF story in the while book

It's been years since I read Bradbury, and this collection was like talking to an old friend. Even though this is latter-day Bradbury (his last mostly-new collection, I think), the language is as rich and the stories as inspired as ever. Reading him, though, is sort of the literary equivalent of the insect trapped in amber. All his stories seem perpetually trapped in the 1930's (even when they're not set there), and his characters continue to speak with quaint formality regardless of who they are. I suppose in the grand scheme of Bradbury's career this is probably a minor collection, but it's still a solid reminder of what he gave us.

Quite a mixed bag here. Some of these shorts hit it out of the park, Fee Fie Fo Fum for example.

Others, well, to be frank, several, are merely strange, like the Old Dog Lying in the Dust.

But Mr. Bradbury does have a way with words, especially dialog with regional and colloquial tinges. That could not elevate my reckoning to 4*, though.

This collection is a real mix of some stories that are quite dull, but there are seven that I would rate as four or five when looked at individually and are as good as when he was writing at his pinnacle.

The excellent stories, for me, were the black comedy "Fee Fie Foe Fun", the heartbreaking "I Wonder What's Become of Sally", "Madame et Monsieur Shill", "The Mirror", "End of Summer", "Thunder in the Morning", "The Highest Branch on the Tree", and "Mr Pale".

A cover Washington Post review gushes, "These tales are more sophisticated in their presentation, more intoxicatingly unputdownable, than anything he wrote in his prime." Wow! Other than the exceptions noted above I couldn't disagree more. The majority are really rather boring. And yet, the good stories are EXCELLENT so of course the fans will want to read this, and -- of course -- tastes vary.

For Bradbury fans, you will find here at least one of the following: Mexico stories, Paris stories, Green Town stories, Ireland stories, and a late Martian chronicle.

Muy lindo. Cuentos no de ciencia ficción. Tiernos. De T.

En retrospectiva, éste fue el libro que me abrió las puertas al señor Ray, es decir, a ver más allá de su obra más conocida, y ver que vale la pena. Hoy puedo decir que todos sus cuentos son excelentes, sin peros.

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