** spoiler alert ** 3.5/5 Took stars off bc of fat phobia, sexism, toxic relationships and some other stuff. Overall pretty enjoyable.

Having read many Ray Bradbury books, i feel like this one was a little underwhelming. Don´t get me worng, there were certainly good stories, but i think there is a limited amout of things you can say about space and this author is obsessed with it. Some of my favorite stories were: "Kaleidoscope", "The man", "The rocket man", "The last night of the world", "No particular night or morning", "The fox and the forest" and "Marionettes, Inc.". 

 

Some really good quotes from the book (spoilers):

"Did all dying people feel this way, as if they had never lived? Did life seem that short, indeed, over and done before you took a breath? Did it seem this abrupt and impossible to everyone, or only to himself, here, now, with a few hours left to him for thought and deliberation?" Bradbury, R. 1948: 33.

"And the sun was big and fiery and merciless, and it was always in the sky and you couldn´t get away from it." Bradbury, R. 1948: 111.

"The gap between doing and having done. What is done is dead and is not proof, for it is not an action. Only actions are important. And pieces of paper were remains of actions done and over and now unseen. The proof of doing was over and done. Nothing but memory remained, and I didn´t trust my memory." Bradbury, R. 1948: 167.

"The picture on his back showed the Illustrated Man himself, with his fingers about my neck, choking me to death. I didn´t wait for it to become clear and sharp and a definite picture" Bradbury, R. 1948: 280.

 

Misogyny.

I really liked the characters and the first  half of the book did a great job at world-building. It got kinda boring in the second half and i didn’t like the ending. I’m not planning on reading the following books, but this was a nice read. 

ESP
Excelente thriller. Si te gustó la película te recomiendo leer este libro ya que resuelve muchas cuestiones que quedan inconclusas o a libre interpretación (al menos eso creo). Tiene una trama atrapante y cuenta con excepcionales personajes que dedican gran parte de la obra a deliberar sobre temáticas filosóficas. Creo que si se presta atención a todos los detalles entrelíneas, pueden encontrarse muchas explicaciones metafóricas sobre el significado “real” del libro.

ENG
Excellent thriller. If you liked the movie I would highly recommend this book to you, i believe it’s more straightforward and less trippy.  It’s plot is very engaging from the get go and all of the characters are extraordinary. I feel like, if you pay attention to all of the small details here and there, you’ll be able to stumble upon thousands of metaphorical explanations for the ending of the book (or at least for wtf it all meant). Beware, there’s a lot of philosophical talk.


⚠️ Spoilers ahead ⚠️

Algunos de mis extractos favoritos / some of my favorite extracts:

“‘There’s something about modernity and what we value now. Our shift in morality. Is there a general lack of compassion? Of interest in others? In connections? It’s all related. How are we supposed to achieve a feeling of significance and purpose without feeling a link to something bigger than our own lives? The more I think about it, the more it seems happiness and fulfillment rely on the presence of others, even just one other. The same way sadness requires happiness, and vice versa. Alone is . . .’”

....

“What’s unrealistic, I think, is the number of people who attempt an enduring, committed relationship, who believe it will work long-term. (...) Even considering the data that shows the majority of marriages don’t last, people still think marriage is the normal human state. Most people want to get married. Is there anything else that people do in such huge numbers, with such a terrible success rate?”

…

“I think what I want is for someone to know me. Really know me. Know me better than anyone else and maybe even me. Isn’t that why we commit to another? It’s not for sex. If it were for sex, we wouldn’t marry one person. We’d just keep finding new partners. We commit for many reasons, I know, but the more I think about it, the more I think long-term relationships are for getting to know someone. I want someone to know me, really know me, almost like that person could get into my head. What would that feel like? To have access, to know what it’s like in someone else’s head. To rely on someone else, have him rely on you. That’s not a biological connection like the one between parents and children. This kind of relationship would be chosen. It would be something cooler, harder to achieve than one built on biology and shared genetics.”