Monday, November 16, 2009

Dandelion Wine makes me whine

I finally finished Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury. I was excited when I started this book months ago as I had read some high opinions of this book. Ray Bradbury is a well know sci-fi writer but this is one of his few that isn't. As I started reading I was thinking if I was an English teacher I would have my students read a few chapters of this book. Learn how to use words to describe things. He writes things like, "The golden tide, the essence of this fine fair month ran, then gushed from the spout below, to be crocked, skimmed of ferment, and bottled in clean ketchup shakers, then ranked in sparkling rows in cellar gloom." I loved the way he uses words but I felt that the book was missing a real plot. Descriptive writing should invoke some kind of emotion from a reader. All I felt was a dread to pick the book up and read one more chapter. Dandelion Wine covered a normal summer for a couple brothers in a small town. It jumped from one event in their lives to the next. Nothing very climatic happened. We didn't learn anything, except maybe that all things come to an end and I never felt a real connection to the boys or the town. But I did read some pretty words.
I am so happy to finally have finished it. To cross it off my list. I hope I never see this book again.

1 comment:

momaof4 said...

some good ones, some bad ones. Hopefully the next is a good one!!