Dandelion Wine

I've wanted to read "Dandelion Wine" many times before but everyone advised me to either read it during the summer or to not read it at all... And they were right, this is a summer book because it is a love letter to the hot days, the childhood memories and all the feelings bursting out of you during the most colorful season of the year. So, this summer I finally got to read it and taste Bradbury's magic. Wow! I gotta say, I have never experienced words in such an extraordinary way. This book takes you off your feet and flies you away to the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois. There, a small boy describes his adventures as he heads into his favorite season - the season during which dandelion wine is made, adventures are a must and all the little things seem to matter much more. "Dandelion Wine" teaches you the real meaning of good and most of all - the real meaning of life. And it serves it to you in the most gentle way. It starts with the first morning of summer and it ends with its last night. And on the last night of summer 1928, you feel like you've lived it all together with the young protagonist of the book. It literally leaves you with the feeling that you're the one who has drawn all of these important conclusions about life and everything in between. It's beautiful and innocent - just what you'd expect to find in a young child's brain. Kudos to this book, the words inside touched me in an astonishing way!

"Dandelion wine will make you remember The first days of spring in the middle of December" ("Dandelion Wine" by Tommy Makem w/ Liam Clancy). I start this review with the first two lines of the chorus because it sums up the Ray Bradbury novel so perfectly. I was about twelve when I first learned the song and read the book so the two are forever linked in my memory of being ten. Bradbury's novel is like so many of his books semi-autobiographical It is an account of the summer of 1928 as experienced in a small Illinois town by twelve year old Douglas Spaulding. Douglas fears the passage of time. He feels it more deeply than his friends. Tom revels in it, keeping a list of everything he does: how many times he does things or eats things and the firsts of every season. Meanwhile, the adults of Green Town are trying to recreate their youth through Happiness Machines, Green Machines (an electric car), Time Machines and just hoarding the collected kipple of a life lived. Time is fickle. It goes by too quickly and is impossible to capture. Time maybe permanent but everyone only has a limited amount of it. If you like Dandelion Wine, you will also like Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Halloween Tree and The Illustrated Man.

In the summer of 1928, twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding discovers that he's alive, really alive. Then, he slowly realizes that means he must die one day. The magical, nostalgic vignettes captured and affected me. I was especially moved by the story of Colonel Freeleigh and the friendship of Bill Forrester and Helen Loomis. The book was a slow-starter for me, but as I allowed myself to sink into the warm and familiar world of Green Town I yearned to stay. However, books, like summer and life, must end. Thankfully, this one was satisfying and well-done.

This book was very different from the others I've read by Bradbury, in that it was dull as hell. The whole thing was a reverie for a lost childhood. I'm not a nostalgic person in the least, despite the number of children's books I read. So, maybe I just didn't see the point of all this. What I did like, though, is the eerie section somewhere near the middle that is unconnected with the rest of the book. I won't give you details in case you read it, but there's a creepy short story buried in here.

“The first thing you learn in life is you’re a fool. The last thing you learn in life is you’re the same fool.”

It took me too long to figure out that this wasn’t going to have a strong singular plot but rather was a series of vignettes loosely connected and strung together across a summer of 1928 while a couple young brothers came of age. Once I figured that out, I was able to sink my teeth into it a bit easier and enjoy.

Está mono, me dejó con ganas de leer más sobre este autor.

I have read mixed reviews about this book: people who love it, people who do not get it... I personally thought this book to be very beautiful. Before reading a book I always familiarize myself a bit with the plot, so I was not expecting any "main story" but just a collection events that happened during summer in a small town in Illinois, with Douglas as the intertwining point between them. Also, the introduction written by Bradbury - which I thought was brilliant - gave me an insight to the reception it had when it was first published and how the author addressed those critics. In short, I knew what I was about to read and was ready for it. As I said before, this is a collection of different events that occur during the summer in a small town in Illinois. Douglas is a twelve year-old boy whose family makes Dandelion Wine (there you got the title). I thought that there was character development - I've read reviews that claim to the contrary - and it deals with a lot of topics: death and getting old, the importance and beauty of little things and events in life, the future and destiny... I did not enjoy Fahrenheit 451 that much (dystopia is not my thing), but I must say - and I just confirmed it after reading this little book - that Ray Bradbury is an excellent writer. You might not like it but, having found it a little delight to read, I can't but recommend it. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!