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john_w_pipes's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
debicates's review against another edition
5.0
Genetic Enchanter
That's what Bradbury called himself in his Introduction, a "genetic enchanter," and Dandelion Wine is "the boy-hid-in-the-man playing in the fields of the Lord."
From the first story, I was under his spell. Bradbury is an exemplar story-teller (think Dickens and Twain, not Joyce and Faulkner). He poured it on as thickly as he liked in this cycle of stories about being a 12 year old boy the summer 1928 in his Illinois hometown. Page after page I whispered, "Oh, yes. Yes! I remember that," although my girlhood in New Mexico summers was 40 years after his.
The details are different of course but he captured the universal sensations. Moments of unbearable joy, epiphanies of sadness, a kid's magical thinking, the terror of some boogie man or another, and the wonderment and mystery that seemed to underly everything—as seen by the child-in-the-adult looking back when all childhood summers have condensed into a stream of one continuous long summer, a summer of being alive.
Maybe you should wait until you are at least 40 to read this. (I'm 64.) Let those memories distill into a vintage piquancy to sip along as you read. You know, that intoxicating flavor of nostalgia that gets sweeter as time goes by. In the meantime, read [b:Fahrenheit 451|13079982|Fahrenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383718290l/13079982._SY75_.jpg|1272463] or [b:The Martian Chronicles|76778|The Martian Chronicles|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661016554l/76778._SY75_.jpg|4636013] or [b:Something Wicked This Way Comes|248596|Something Wicked This Way Comes|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409596011l/248596._SY75_.jpg|1183550] because Bradbury is quite simply a damn good story-teller and no need to deny yourself that pleasure until you are old.
Now I'm on the hunt for a Bradbury I haven't yet read. [b:The Illustrated Man|24830|The Illustrated Man|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374049820l/24830._SY75_.jpg|1065861] next I think.
That's what Bradbury called himself in his Introduction, a "genetic enchanter," and Dandelion Wine is "the boy-hid-in-the-man playing in the fields of the Lord."
From the first story, I was under his spell. Bradbury is an exemplar story-teller (think Dickens and Twain, not Joyce and Faulkner). He poured it on as thickly as he liked in this cycle of stories about being a 12 year old boy the summer 1928 in his Illinois hometown. Page after page I whispered, "Oh, yes. Yes! I remember that," although my girlhood in New Mexico summers was 40 years after his.
The details are different of course but he captured the universal sensations. Moments of unbearable joy, epiphanies of sadness, a kid's magical thinking, the terror of some boogie man or another, and the wonderment and mystery that seemed to underly everything—as seen by the child-in-the-adult looking back when all childhood summers have condensed into a stream of one continuous long summer, a summer of being alive.
Maybe you should wait until you are at least 40 to read this. (I'm 64.) Let those memories distill into a vintage piquancy to sip along as you read. You know, that intoxicating flavor of nostalgia that gets sweeter as time goes by. In the meantime, read [b:Fahrenheit 451|13079982|Fahrenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383718290l/13079982._SY75_.jpg|1272463] or [b:The Martian Chronicles|76778|The Martian Chronicles|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661016554l/76778._SY75_.jpg|4636013] or [b:Something Wicked This Way Comes|248596|Something Wicked This Way Comes|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409596011l/248596._SY75_.jpg|1183550] because Bradbury is quite simply a damn good story-teller and no need to deny yourself that pleasure until you are old.
Now I'm on the hunt for a Bradbury I haven't yet read. [b:The Illustrated Man|24830|The Illustrated Man|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374049820l/24830._SY75_.jpg|1065861] next I think.
janikeustermans's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
dandelionwine1928's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think any book has ever so perfectly captured summer. What it's like to run through the grass without shoes for the first time. Listening to crickets as the night swallows the sun and the cool air finally relieves the heat of the day. Eating ice cream in the scorching haze of noon.
The book is told in vignettes, with each chapter presenting a snapshot of summer. It's surely self-indulgent and sentimental, but it's also poignant and beautiful and thought-provoking. It transports you completely to a different time and place.
I know this will be a book I go back to again and again, one that will comfort me and make me feel safe and happy. Read it. You won't be disappointed.
The book is told in vignettes, with each chapter presenting a snapshot of summer. It's surely self-indulgent and sentimental, but it's also poignant and beautiful and thought-provoking. It transports you completely to a different time and place.
I know this will be a book I go back to again and again, one that will comfort me and make me feel safe and happy. Read it. You won't be disappointed.
northerly_heart_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
graciegrace1178's review against another edition
3.0
The vibe: you're back in your elementary school years, reading books on a southern porch in the summertime. Fireflies overhead, condensation collecting on a mason jar of sweet tea, and this sense of freedom about your happy days in the sunshine. Underneath it all though, you know summer just has to end, and you know that the world around you must change, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
Mr. Bradbury, I would very much like to give you a hug and perhaps a gift certificate to a therapist.
Not my favorite Bradbury read, (I believe that title will forever belong to the inimitable [b:Fahrenheit 451|13079982|Fahrenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383718290l/13079982._SY75_.jpg|1272463]) but still interesting! Bradbury has this remarkable tendency to capture the curiously magical feeling of a childhood summer. I've never read something that so adeptly emulates and articulates that feeling of endless curiosity and enthusiasm that's bound by the somewhat arbitrary rules of childhood. Couple that with the almost un-recognition of authority figures/older people as humans who were once children too, and Bradbury really tackles that feeling of being a kid, suspended in youth and uncertainty and imagination. There's such playfulness and levity embedded into Bradbury's subject matter, but the themes themselves are impactful and often a bit morbid. Something to amble through rather than sprint though, and I (admittedly) struggled with that.
(3.25 stars on Storygraph)
Mr. Bradbury, I would very much like to give you a hug and perhaps a gift certificate to a therapist.
Not my favorite Bradbury read, (I believe that title will forever belong to the inimitable [b:Fahrenheit 451|13079982|Fahrenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383718290l/13079982._SY75_.jpg|1272463]) but still interesting! Bradbury has this remarkable tendency to capture the curiously magical feeling of a childhood summer. I've never read something that so adeptly emulates and articulates that feeling of endless curiosity and enthusiasm that's bound by the somewhat arbitrary rules of childhood. Couple that with the almost un-recognition of authority figures/older people as humans who were once children too, and Bradbury really tackles that feeling of being a kid, suspended in youth and uncertainty and imagination. There's such playfulness and levity embedded into Bradbury's subject matter, but the themes themselves are impactful and often a bit morbid. Something to amble through rather than sprint though, and I (admittedly) struggled with that.
(3.25 stars on Storygraph)
dividential's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
patrick_n's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thereadingmuffin's review against another edition
On paper this book sounds absolutely amazing, but reading it I just couldn't vibe with it. Maybe I'm not on the right mood for it, so I'll definitely try read it again at a later date.
I guess I wanted a bit more plot rather than wandering thoughts (not that that's a bad thing, just not feeling that right now). The descriptions are lush and make me wish it was summer again (and I hate summer) but maybe it's best enjoyed in summertime.
It was beautifully written but just....boring? I'm hoping his other book Something Wicked This Way Comes will be more up my alley.
I guess I wanted a bit more plot rather than wandering thoughts (not that that's a bad thing, just not feeling that right now). The descriptions are lush and make me wish it was summer again (and I hate summer) but maybe it's best enjoyed in summertime.
It was beautifully written but just....boring? I'm hoping his other book Something Wicked This Way Comes will be more up my alley.