one work cited on his tombstone). He was also a versatile short-story author, writing across numerous genres: horror, sci-fi, macabre, and realistic fiction. A Medicine for Melancholy is a collection of some of his short stories.
I liked the fact that it had a sampling from all of the different genres, but I chose this collection primarily because it contained one story that has haunted me for half century.
Sometime in my childhood, I read "All Summer in a Day", about adolescent Earth girl, Margot, whose family moved to Venus when she was very young, but not so young that she could not remember the warmth and sunshine of Earth. Margot’s Venus-born classmates dislike her and are incredulous of her Earth stories, because you see, on Venus it rains 24-7. On the day of the story however, there is a weather phenomenon that will result in a 2-hour period of clear skies and sunshine. Even as they prepare for the glorious summer in a day, the children continue to tease Margot, until their teasing escalates to a cruel prank. The rain stops, and they revel in the glorious summer. The rain returns, and...they remember Margot!
Oh, it is so beautifully heart breaking! The children could not, would not understand Margot because her experience was different than their own. And then, when they could know what Margot knew, their empathy came too late.
Sigh! If only we could…
Medicine for melancholy indeed. The collection is worthwhile for this story alone, but it is filled with numerous gems. The cover depicts “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit”, “A Medicine for Melancholy” is an individual short story, as well as the name of the collection. There is a macabre homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado called, “Pillar of Fire”. Bradbury is a grand story teller. His elegant prose, at times, feels more like poetry.
I highly recommend him for his novels and short stories.
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Thanks, I didn't know this earlier collection.
ReplyDeleteI read the one published last year: Killer, Come Back to Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury
It was fabulous, with a good introduction as well, and I should finally publish my review soon!
:) You should. I'll watch for it.
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