I'd been meaning to read this for almost thirty years, ever since I saw it in a bookstore in the mall (B. Dalton, anyone?) when I was maybe seven or eight. I remember the cover (the one that actually had a picture of the Illustrated Man) fascinated me in a sort of dangerously forbidden way. ( )

“A collection of short stories that reflect the fears and problems of society through the craftsmanship of a progressive thought-provoking writer of the early 1950s.” -M.E. Byrd

I am a gambler when selecting novels, so when I saw a great-priced audiobook marked classic for a reasonable price, I jumped at the opportunity. The Illustrated Man is a collection of short stories. The peak of this collection is the story “The Other Foot,” which unfolds to tell the story of a Caucasian man who travels via rocket to an African-American Settlement on Mars and begs for help—their mercy. African-Americans previously left their oppressed society on Earth to start a new civilization on Mars. Years later, when the people left on Earth have destroyed the planet through greed and nuclear war, the colony on Mars has to decide if they will oppress their old oppressors or forgive them.

Everything after “The Other Foot” felt likes child's play due to Bradbury’s previous brilliant crafting and storytelling. I made it to “The Last Night of the World” and put the book down. While this collection didn’t sweep me away, Ray Bradbury has provided some unique, out-of-this-world short stories that will leave you questioning your reliance on technology and your responsibility in society’s way of thinking. ( )

This 1951 collection of short stories from the mind of Ray Bradbury is a wonderful introduction to science fiction reading that gives bite-size (at least five pages and at most seventeen pages in the Bantam Books Grand Master Edition that I was reading) stories that are perfect for those that want a bit of a dark foray into some classic literature.

When a man is hiking a walking tour of Wisconsin he comes across a man with a woolen shirt buttoned all the way up to his neck and all the way down to his wrists. When the woolen man takes off his shirt, the hiker sees mystical arcane tattoos that seem to show vivid scenes from the future. This collection follows what the man sees that night while he gazes at the tattoos all over the titular Illustrated Man's body.

Some personal highlights for me were the short stories "Kaleidoscope," which is a very interesting look at death and what the idea of impending death does to the human psyche; "The Highway," a short look at war and how it can affect all of us; and "The Last Night of the World," which is once again a sweet look at what happens when we all know the world is coming to an end that very night.

While this is not the darkest book in the world there are some looks into psychology, war, violence, and other topics that might be upsetting if you know these things upset you on a regular basis. There is also one use of a slur against Japanese people used in the last quarter of the book in the short story "Zero Hour."

All in all, this is an amazing collection of science-fiction short stories that leaves me wanting more of Ray Bradbury's writing that has certainly earned its spot on my bookshelf for many reads to come. ( )

There is no Ray Bradbury of our generation. No one writes short stories anymore the way he did, for much of his style seems to be a bygone relic (see also Harlan Ellison). Now, perhaps, those writers sharpen their words into claws and write Black Mirror episodes. Bradbury’s stories in this collection are not toothless—but it often seems he would get right up to a point and refuse to put too fine a point on it… “the reader understand, and I have other stories to write!” you can almost hear him shout.

The titular tattooed man is nothing but a framing device for the eighteen stories here. He’s sufficiently creepy and pitiable, but not used as much as I would have liked. My favorites: The Exiles, in which dead authors of horror live in some kind of afterlife on Mars. Ever wanted to know how Poe and Dickens would have talked to each other? Wonder no longer. Kaleidoscope, where all protagonists and living dead in the coldness of space and face their deaths in bitterness and wonder. The Other Foot; Mars is colonized by black people (likely American), the older generation remembering the horrors of deadly racism. When a white man visits Mars, there is no pity for him. The Man is Jesus come to visit another planet just as humans land there, and each responds not unlike descriptions in the New Testament. Man never changes. The Fox and the Forest, a metaphorical title about a time-traveling couple escaping their horrible present in the past, and the bounty hunter sent to bring them back.

Perhaps my favorite is The Rocket, about a poor Italian man who wishes to travel the stars. With only $3000, he makes a poor investment and it seems his family will never see space as the rich upper class can.

I won’t spoil the story, because so much of the joy of reading Bradbury is in the discovery of his world. He doesn’t care so much about engines and laws of gravity and how science works so much as he cares about the men and women of his stories. They become, in scant words and paragraphs, real people. Mars is not the fourth planet of our solar system, Mars is possibility and the unknown. Mars is a mirror for humanity and where we can reimagine ourselves. Our old horror is just behind, but a new joy and tragedy waits. ( )

Mi Bradbury favorito ( )