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Summer Morning, Summer Night

4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 · rating details · 128 ratings · 18 reviews

Green Town, Illinois stands at the very heart of Ray Bradbury Country. A lovingly re-imagined version of the author's native Waukegan, it has served as the setting for such modern classics as Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Farewell Summer. In Summer Morning, Summer Night, Bradbury returns to this signature locale with a generous new collection of twen...more

Hardcover, 176 pages

Published October 31st 2008 by Subterranean Press

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Aug 08, 2009 Jeff rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I will readily admit that I don't always "get" Bradbury's stories. There were a few of the short stories in this book that left me going "huh?" But I cannot even adequately put into words how these stories made me feel! I felt so good, so warm. It's as if Bradbury's words are magic of some kind that permeate my emotions, even down to my very soul.

His descriptiveness is absolutely charming. "He moved into the bathroom of the quiet house, thinking all this, enjoying the clear rush, the tumultuous...more I will readily admit that I don't always "get" Bradbury's stories. There were a few of the short stories in this book that left me going "huh?" But I cannot even adequately put into words how these stories made me feel! I felt so good, so warm. It's as if Bradbury's words are magic of some kind that permeate my emotions, even down to my very soul.

His descriptiveness is absolutely charming. "He moved into the bathroom of the quiet house, thinking all this, enjoying the clear rush, the tumultuous gushing of memories like a water falling of the mind over a steep precipice, falling and falling toward the bottom of his head." The book is chock full of verbal imagery like this.

Towards the end of the book, there are several "stories" that are barely a paragraph. Very interesting. One in particular stood out to me. It was called "A Serious Discussion," subtitled "or Evil in the World." The story is one paragraph, totally comprised of Grandfather's advice to Douglas. (There are also many recurring characters in these stories, as they all take place in the same town of Green Town, Illinois.) "Douglas," said Grandfather, "You must learn as soon as possible the difference between the real world and the world the way you would like it. The difference between the way some people teach us the world is, and the way it happens to be. For only then will you know what to expect, boy. You will see the world clear. And you won't be a cynic, a man with a bunch of dreams still lying around in the back of the mind, that turns him sour on everything. And you won't be a skeptic, either, really. I don't even know if there's a name for it, boy. You'll just be someone that looks at the world straight off and sees it. You can even enjoy the duplicity of man, somehow. By recognizing that evil is natural to man, you should be able to cope with it better." That's it. That's the story. I wish that someone had given me that advice when I had been a young boy. Perhaps I would not be a "cynic, a man with a bunch of dreams still lying around in the back of the mind, that turns him sour on everything."

My favorite stories in this book: The Screaming Woman, These Things Happen, A Walk in Summer, Arrival and Departure, The River that Went to the Sea, and A Serious Discussion.

The book defies a genre description. It's certainly not Science Fiction. Really not "Fantasy," either, not in the purest sense. It's simply, well...beautiful.(less)

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Feb 13, 2010 Shendara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: subterranean, 2009, hardcover

In Summer Morning Summer Night, Bradbury returns to this signature locale (Green Town, Illinois, a re-imagined version of the author's native Waukegan) with a generous new collection of twenty-seven stories and vignettes, seventeen of which have never been published before. *

*taken from the Subterranean Press description.

A collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury with the most beautiful cover ever created for a book.

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Mar 22, 2010 Joell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Bradbury is always wonderful when writing about his favorite little town. But this book was a confused jumble of collected stories. I guess I was looking for typical Bradbury storytelling that leads you down a crooked, but wonderful path and this book jumped from trail to road and then out to uncharted territory. Some lovely moments, but all in all, I really struggled to hold my attention to the pages.

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Apr 15, 2010 Stephanie Ricker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, favorites

I ate up Summer Morning, Summer Night. Look, I know I gush about Bradbury in every other entry here, but seriously, his stories are exquisite. If you haven't read any of his short stories, do yourself a favor and try some immediately. It doesn't even matter what collection; they're all great. Bradbury's stories ARE the seasons. I can't think of summer without thinking of Dandelion Wine, and I can't think of fall without thinking of the autumn people in Something Wicked This Way Comes. I'm convin...more

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Mar 11, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most of the stories here can be found in other Bradbury collections, and the unpublished vignettes are awfully slight. That said, having more of Bradbury's Illinois tales grouped together is welcome, and nobody writes about summers like him. Not up to the level of "Dandelion Wine," though.

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Jan 18, 2009 Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars

A collection of 27 stories set in Green Town (Waukegan) Illinois. Wonderfully written with Mr Bradbury's unique heart felt style. "The Dog" and "Summers End" were two of my favorites and "Screamimg Woman" stopped my heart !! Step into Mr Bradbury's world..he won't disappoint.

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Jul 07, 2012 Kellie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-general-fiction

Ray Bradbury is the writer I always wish I could be. He has the ability to weave words into magic and this book of short stories is merely a taste of his greatness. Of course my favorite story is about the little boy who sees the librarian for the wonderful woman she is. A wonderful summer read.

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Jun 19, 2012 Christy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, wish-list, favorites

I went into this book with zero expectation of liking it, since Dandelion Wine is my favorite book ever written, but I liked this one surprisingly well.

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Mar 16, 2009 Lachelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

At first, I didn't like the way this book started at all. I didn't realize that it was a bunch of short stories, so the first story I really got into and when I started reading the next chapter, I was asking myself "What happened?" But then, I understood that it was a collection of well written short stories and I began to like it again.

This book was an easy read and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Most of the stories were very intriguing and all had something to do with summer. The stories changed fr...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Paulette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ray Bradbury - still an amazing writer. Loved this short story collection by the master.

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Nov 07, 2009 Ellen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Probably my favorite short story collection I've read this year.

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Jul 20, 2012 Audrey rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's Bradbury -- there's no way I can be objective. Perfect for summer reading, savoring little bits of Green Town like sips of cool lemonade.

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Aug 06, 2012 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Извините, приступ ностальгии по розовой юности

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Aug 02, 2009 Nancy_dancehall rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent as always, this collection centers around Green Town, Illinois. Bradbury captures summer perfectly.

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Aug 17, 2010 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars

Now that I have read this and Farewell Summer, I feel like I've read all of Dandelion Wine. This takes place in Green Town with all of it's various characters, even Doug Spaulding makes a couple of appearances. Some stories are recycled, but they are still fun to read. One story I liked showed how jealousy can kill, even at a young age. Not a bad little collection, but not great.

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Feb 20, 2009 Em rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Especially liked the following stories: "Miss Bidwell", "The Screaming Woman", "Night Meeting", and "The Dog"

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Mar 07, 2012 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars

This reminded me a bit of the book Winesburg, Ohio.Anyone else notice this?

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Aug 03, 2009 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

Oh Ray Bradbury, how I love thee.

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May 21, 2013 Morgan rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 19, 2013 Yuri marked it as to-read

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May 20, 2013 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 30, 2013 Culturecide rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Apr 27, 2013 Natalja rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 11, 2013 Artemy Denisenko rated it 5 of 5 stars

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About Ray Bradbury

American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He bec...more American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He became a full-time writer in 1943, and contributed numerous short stories to periodicals before publishing a collection of them, Dark Carnival, in 1947.

His reputation as a writer of courage and vision was established with the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, which describes the first attempts of Earth people to conquer and colonize Mars, and the unintended consequences. Next came The Illustrated Man and then, in 1953, Fahrenheit 451, which many consider to be Bradbury's masterpiece, a scathing indictment of censorship set in a future world where the written word is forbidden. In an attempt to salvage their history and culture, a group of rebels memorize entire works of literature and philosophy as their books are burned by the totalitarian state. Other works include The October Country, Dandelion Wine, A Medicine for Melancholy, Something Wicked This Way Comes, I Sing the Body Electric!, Quicker Than the Eye, and Driving Blind. In all, Bradbury has published more than thirty books, close to 600 short stories, and numerous poems, essays, and plays. His short stories have appeared in more than 1,000 school curriculum "recommended reading" anthologies.

Ray Bradbury's work has been included in four Best American Short Story collections. He has been awarded the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America, the PEN Center USA West Lifetime Achievement Award, among others. In November 2000, the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters was conferred upon Mr. Bradbury at the 2000 National Book Awards Ceremony in New York City.

Ray Bradbury has never confined his vision to the purely literary. He has been nominated for an Academy Award (for his animated film Icarus Montgolfier Wright), and has won an Emmy Award (for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree). He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's Ray Bradbury Theater. He was the creative consultant on the United States Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1982 he created the interior metaphors for the Spaceship Earth display at Epcot Center, Disney World, and later contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney, France.

Married since 1947, Mr. Bradbury and his wife Maggie lived in Los Angeles with their numerous cats. Together, they raised four daughters and had eight grandchildren. Sadly, Maggie passed away in November of 2003.

On the occasion of his 80th birthday in August 2000, Bradbury said, "The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you'll come along."(less)

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“Некоторые сознательно выбирают такую судьбу: они как безумные стремятся менять пейзаж за окном каждую неделю, каждый месяц, каждый год, но с возрастом начинают сознавать, что всего лишь коллекционируют ненужные города и дороги, не более основательные, чем киношные декорации, и провожают глазами людей-манекенов, которые мелькают в витринах за окном медленного ночного поезда.” — 1 person liked it

“Фотографии… посланцы из невозвратного далека.” — 1 person liked it

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