I love this book. I first read it in my 10th grade English class and gave it a re-read after reading about Bradbury's death this past June. When he died, my Mom said to me that this was possibly the last of the great classic sci-fi writers to bite the dust, which may be arguably true. Ursula Le Guin is still alive and kicking somewhere. But her writings can be argued as more fantasy than science fiction. Larry Niven is still alive, William Gibson, Orson Scott Retard. These names just don't hold the same strength as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke.
When I read this book in school, it was a requirement for the class. We had tests and quizzes on it, which was probably an attempt to reinforce our reading comprehension skills. Unfortunately with my stubbornness, I didn't really like being told what to do. But also..I really didn't like being told what to read, ESPECIALLY when it came to fiction. I read the book as required and convinced a part of myself that it was a solid waste of time. But I knew that a large part of myself was really captivated and wanted to continue to turn the pages. So I did and I enjoyed it. I'm very grateful that it was required reading.
There's always the saying that you can remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when a significant event (like 9/11) happens. On 9/11, I was in a middle school classroom and my teacher told me about it. She, all the other faculty members, and a some other students were in a state of shock. I didn't know what the twin towers were and certainly didn't understand the magnitude of the event. I'm sure I might react a little differently nowadays (although my general apathy probably hasn't gotten too much better since then). Anyways, going along with this idea of remembering where you were during significant events... What's special to me is that I remember where I was and what I was doing when learning about the deaths of several great writers. When Vonnegut died, I was in my friend's dorm room (I was a senior in high school) and I saw it on his facebook feed. When I read the news, I acknowledged Vonnegut as one of my favorite writers at the time and said that it was a bummer. My friend didn't know who he was then so he couldn't share my sentiment. I did see him reading Cat's Cradle about a year later though. When I found out about Bradbury's passing, it was a very nice sunny day and I was on my computer. I saw the news on Yahoo news and was immediately taken aback. Because of his status as a writer and his literary accomplishments many years ago, I expected that he had already passed away before my time. I had never really taken the time to research more about him and understand where he was. After giving myself a good slap in the face, I went forward and read about his life. Reading of his death re-ignited my love for reading science fiction literature. That same day, I went over to the undergrad library and rented the Martian Chronicles for a good old re-read and Stranger in a Strange Land for a good old first-read. I was also reading Dune at the time (second time around- I read half of it first and didn't pick it up for a while, so I just started over).
This book itself is a collection of short, slightly inter-related stories. It depicts Martian life, first contact, and colonization efforts. But the thing about the book is that it can be read even if you're not a fan of sci-fi. And that is attributed to Mr. Bradbury himself. I don't know what it is about his writing that makes it so flowing and so elegant at the same time. He has the voice of a true storyteller. I find no other way to describe it besides warm even in the darkest parts of the book. There's a great story in the book for anybody who is a fan of E.A. Poe. One might even find early influences for Farenheit 451. What I find very peculiar as well is how the majority of the Martian population died- a disease epidemic introduced by foreign colonizers. Sound vaguely familiar? Does North America some several hundred years ago ring a bell? Overall, a great book that I would encourage high school English teachers to force onto their students. Honestly, it was probably the best thing that I was made to read in high school.
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