A bunch of previously un-published short stories written anywhere from 1940 to 2010. And, for the most part, there was a reason why others were published and these weren't.

They're not bad, but they're not nearly as good as the ones that were published years ago.


Also, having stories written in the '40s and '50s right next to those written in the '00 really highlights how little his writing style has changed over the decades. Which, I suppose is a good thing considering that he's all about mid-century, small town, childhood nostalgia, and that's really not something that you'd want to update...

But it seems jarring when you realize that he still writes exactly as if he were a mid-century, small town writer - even half a century later!

I loved this collection of short stories as it encompasses his early years to his later ones. Many speculative fiction stories lie within and the alien encounter with the spider people will be a favorite of mine. The man lived to write and he did it well. It’s also interesting to see in his later stories, a bit of his own impending doom creeping in.

I enjoyed a few of the stories, but most of them don't seem to have the polish that most of his work seems to have. Several of them seem half-finished. Two stars compared to some of his other work, three compared to some other short fiction I've read.

Writing-3
Stories-3
Enjoyment-3
I think these were some of Bradbury's previously unpublished shorts, and from that they are not superbly fantastic. The first two are very racially charged, which I don't remember Bradbury taking on much, but I may have been too young to read that subtext in his stuff when I was younger.

The cat's pajamas story is fun, but otherwise he lost me. I have had too much pc brainwashing to comfortably read a white gentleman writing in the voice of a black woman.

The master of the quirky, the close look at human foibles and follies, and gentle commentary on human ugliness dished up in vignette/ short story format.

In reviews I've read of The Cat's Pajamas, many critics seem to be of the opinion that this is one of Bradbury's weaker collections. This was my first time reading any of his work (aside from a halfhearted foray into Fahrenheit 451 when I was in junior high school) and I have to say that if this is Bradbury's weak link, I can't wait to read his other works.

That being said, I can understand where the criticism comes from. I felt like both the quality of the stories and their enjoyability varied, sometimes significantly, from one to the other. Even so, there were several stories that really stood out to me. "The Island" is a fantastic piece of short, suspenseful horror, made even creepier by the number of questions it leaves unanswered. "Hail to the Chief," while not a favorite of mine, contained a line that made me laugh so hard I had to put the book down for a minute. "Sometime Before Dawn" was a mini-mystery with a conclusion that is somehow both satisfying and unsettlingly vague. "The Transformation" made me feel almost physically ill. And "A Matter of Taste" was a beautifully simple piece science fiction with an ending that, for all its inevitability, still comes as a shock to the reader.

Definitely worth a read, and I can't wait to check out more of Bradbury's writing!

Милота!

Жив, здоров, пишу / Alive and Kicking and Writing 3/5
Куколка / Chrysalis, написано в 1944 3/5
Остров / The Island, написано в 1952 3/5
Как-то перед рассветом / Sometime Before Dawn, написано в 1950 3/5
Слава вождю! / Hail to the Chief 3/5
Будем самими собой / We'll Just Act Natural написано в 1949 3/5
Ole, Ороско! Сикейрос, Si! / Ole, Orozco! Siqueiros, Si! 3/5
Дом / The House, написано в 1947 4/5
Траурный поезд имени Джона Уилкса Бута/Уорнер Бразерс/MGM/NBC / The John Wilkes Booth/Warner Brothers/MGM/NBC Funeral Train 3/5
Смерть осторожного человека / A Careful Man Dies (1946), написано в 1945 3/5
Кошкина пижама / The Cat's Pajamas 4/5
Треугольник / Triangle, написано в 1951 3/5
Мафиозная Бетономешалка / The Mafioso Cement-Mixing Machine 3/5
Призраки / The Ghosts, написано в 1952 3/5
В Париж, скорей в Париж! / Where's My Hat, What's My Hurry 3/5
Превращение / The Transformation, написано в 1949 4/5
Шестьдесят шесть / Sixty-Six 3/5
Дело вкуса / A Matter of Taste, написано в 1952 3/5
Мне грустно, когда идёт дождь (Воспоминание) / I Get the Blues When it Rains (A Remembrance), написано в 1980 3/5
Все мои враги мертвы / All My Enemies Are Dead 3/5
Собиратель / The Completist 3/5
«Восточный экспресс» в вечность для Р. Б., Г. К. Ч. и Дж. Б. Ш. / The R. B., G. K. C. and G. B. S. Forever Orient Express (1994) 3/5
Memento mori / Memento Mori 3/5
Близнецы Остин и Джостин / Austen and Jausten: The Twins of Time [= Остин и Джостин: близнецы во времени] 3/5
About Face 3/5
Remembrance at Gettysburg 3/5
Underfoot 3/5

This was going to be a four star review because, it is Ray Bradbury. What ended the debate for me was that I finished The Cat’s Pajamas a few weeks back and remember almost nothing. Bradbury at his best builds moods that have stories. His stories that lack mood can be fun reads, but rarely demanding, insightful or as I have said memorable.

The best of these short stories and unexpectedly the earliest are those wherein he addresses what we would now call the politics of race. These stories were written in the late 1940’s. Well before the Civil Rights Movement forced its way into the national news cycle.

The title story, The Cat’s Pajama is a nice little romance. A pleasant, happy enough story. In so titling the book I was expecting 20 lite fun stories. Such is not the case. A Careful Man Dies is too contrived and immediately given away. Gruesome to little or no purpose.

Bradbury has latched onto the idea of trains as magical places. Itself a worthy conceit, but the stories where he tries to apply the notion are muddled.

As a lifelong fan of Bradbury it was interesting to read some of his lessor know short stories. Taken together the result is uneven, but I liked more than I disliked.

Comforting and thoughtful in the way Bradbury’s writing is. Not his best, but merely a collection of unpublished work so that’s to be expected.

Loved reading this collection and looking at how one of my favorite authors spoke in a voice of the times over many decades.