Reviews

From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury

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sausome's review against another edition

2.0

I'm not entirely sure what to think of this book ... I mean, it was interesting -- always enjoy the 'otherworldly creatures of the night' kind of thing -- but I guess it read more like a series of connected short stories than an entire novel. Which isn't BAD, just not expected, I suppose.

Although, reading the author's afterword, the book began as various short stories published in different magazines, so I think Bradbury essentially did some creative weaving. I like that this edition has the artwork done by Charles Addams (yup, that Addams -- of Addams Family fame!) and that Bradbury and Addams had communicated about this set of stories before they saw light, because it totally reminded me of the Addams Family in a way. Also, in a vague sort of way (probably to do with the main character, Timothy, being a 10-year-old mortal boy amongst other creatures) it reminded me of Gaiman's Graveyard Book (which is awesome, by the way).

Anyhow. I feel sort of bad for not liking it more as it won a National Book Award. But I like this blurb about it (it's what hooked me in the first place, I think):

"High on a hill by a forked tree, the House beckons its family homeward, and they come--travelers from the lyrical, lush imagination of Ray Bradbury. From the Dust Returned chronicles a community of eternal beings: a mummified matriarch who speaks in dust; a sleeping daughter who lives through the eyes and ears of the creatures she visits in her dreams; an uncle with wings like sea-green sails. And there is also the mortal child Timothy, the foundling son who yearns to be like those he loves: to fly, to sleep in daytime, and to live forever. Instead, his task is to witness the family's struggle with the startling possibility of its own end."

adru's review against another edition

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Paremat sorti Bradbury tekitab suurt elevust, aga siin läksin ainult mõnel korral tähelepanelikuks. Nende mõne hetke pärast tasus lugeda kyll.

feefie4o's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Loved the concept, some of the stories are not comfortable for a modern audience

Content Warnings

bhawargi's review

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3.25

Summary/Thoughts: First conceived in 1945 (as a disarming afterword informs us) and only recently finished, this volume records the return appearance of “the October people,” an otherworldly family initially encountered in Bradbury’s early short story “Homecoming.” They hail from ancient Egypt and Old Europe and have levitated in a hinterland between life and death for lo, these many centuries. Now ruefully aware that “the age of discovery and revelations” has rendered them obsolete, they take in a foundling named Timothy designated as the family’s historian (and this novel’s narrator). Timothy’s tale comprises an episodic succession of portraits of family notables, including its rather portentous matriarch (“A Thousand Times Great Grandmère”); visionary Cecy, who can “inhabit” the bodies and souls of various human, animal, and inanimate objects; Uncle “John the Unjust”; and (most amusing of them all) winged Uncle Einar, whose trafficking with humans creates numerous aerodynamic problems. (Whenever he falls to earth, he makes a sound “like a huge telephone book dropped from the sky.”) They all eventually succumb to the indifference of a world disinclined to believe they exist (an interesting parallel here to Neil Gaiman’s current American Gods, p. 682), and Timothy—a reverse Pinocchio who yearned to become an unreal boy—realizes he must after all live in a fallen, unimaginative world where relatives don’t fly or influence the thoughts of rocks and stones and trees. John the unjust sells out the house and its inhabitants to the locals. Anticipating a mob, the house disbands completely. Timothy takes the papyrus of Nef to a curator of sorts for storage

alexcannotread's review against another edition

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1.0

one of the most boring books I’ve ever read, I only finished it because I was to stubborn to quit. the non linearity of the plot and overuse of descriptive language made it really difficult to visualize what was happening. also, I was only really able to connect to timothy, cecy, and uncle einar because those were the only characters who had enough depth to them (although timothy really didn’t have much tbh, but he’s the main(?) character amidst too many characters to care about).

looking up the wiki, I saw that the most interesting chapters were ironically previously published short stories, which makes sense as to why those ones felt more fleshed out than the other chapters. “the sleeper and her dreams chapter” was the only really interesting chapter that wasn’t a previously published short story.

1 star because of how difficult it was to immerse myself in the story, find interest in the story, and understand parts of the book.

haley_j_casey's review against another edition

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2.0

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really my thing. In the end I felt like there was no point to the book except for some fun takes on an Addams-Family-esque group of people, and that wasn't enough plot to keep me intrigued.

Sorry, Mr. Bradbury!