Reviews

L'Arbre d'Halloween by Ray Bradbury

Only show reviews with written explanations

novelesque_life's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

3.5 STARS - review to come

jcpdiesel21's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I thought it might be fun to take in something directly related to Halloween this year, and this seemed to fit the bill upon first glance. Bradbury's wonderful prose paints a vivid picture, cleverly using the hook of a spooky tale centered on a group of kids to relay the history of Halloween. Unfortunately, the story doesn't quite bring together its ambitious slate of diverse elements satisfyingly; too often I either wasn't fully engaged or felt like the mysterious aura was lost in the quest to provide educational information. There is a nifty twist near the end that gives some interesting food for thought, and Bronson Pinchot provides perfect narration. A quick, enjoyable holiday read for young adults.

loufitz's review

Go to review page

Le synopsis m'avait beaucoup plu, j'avais très hâte de découvrir ce roman, mais finalement l'écriture m'a vite bloquée. Je n'ai pas apprécié le début du roman dans le sens où je ne prenais pas vraiment de plaisir à lire, alors j'ai arrêté ma lecture.

lauren0danielle's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Reading this felt like one of those mini games where something is raining down from the sky and you need to catch as much as you can, though you'll never catch it all. That was me and the imagery in this book. I caught most of it, but sometimes it slipped right by me.

bookcrna70's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

erebus53's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark informative lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This is a history lesson on the traditions of harvest time and rites for the dead, masquerading as a spooky boys' adventure story. When a band of young lads in fancy dress lose one of their own they are taken on a ghostly trip through time (in Dickensian fashion) to find their missing number somewhere amongst the rites and rituals of other civilizations.

Bradbury was having fun with this one, and bits of it are legitimately creepy. Moundshroud is the moniker of their guide and he acts something like a fae schoolmaster, his chaotic habits forming a scary tension that holds the boys in thrall, but for the most part he acts like a tourguide from a museum.

I feel like it could have been better. The history lesson on witches was, not exactly what I have heard, but this all comes across as watered down versions of the histories and rites. We learn of candy skulls, and Egyptian embalming, and druidic folk lore, amongst others. I'm glad the story is relatively short, because it didn't really have much holding it together.. a bit, skeletal, not a lot of .. flesh to it.