The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury by Sam WellerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book holds the distinction of being the oldest item on my Goodreads TBR list. I decided that now was the time to do something about that. I came to Bradbury's writing late. I'd never read a thing by him until I started an idiosyncratic science fiction & fantasy reading project back in 2011, just a year before the great man's death.
As so many people before me, I was blown away by Fahrenheit 451 (having read it in conjunction with Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984). I was impressed (and I recycled my television set). My reading also included The Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes, which I must re-read some day as I don't think I appreciated them properly. Timing is everything for my reading enjoyment and I think I rushed into these books, not knowing what to expect.
So this account of Bradbury's life was of interest to me. I started out a bit skeptical, as the author was in many ways an acolyte of Bradbury and I wasn't sure that I would get a balanced account of his life. As I read, however, I realized that he was well aware of Bradbury's flaws and wasn't trying to conceal them.
Ray Bradbury must have been both a joy and a challenge to know. Outgoing and charming, he seems to have made friends easily and seems to have been loyal to them. Easy to talk to, but inclined hog the spotlight. Confident in his own vision, but desperate for applause. There is no doubt that he was a unique voice in American literature and deserves his reputation, but this need for approval surely made his life more difficult.
Definitely an original. Thank you, Mr Bradbury for your many kind words about libraries and librarians. As a retired library worker, I appreciate you in return.
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