It begins with the advent of summer. Douglas Spalding ses himself in summer -- dandelion wine, charting the little things of life, running through the woods with Tom, buying new sneakers and staying out until dark. It is about a man who builds a machine to make people happy, but only makes those around him miserable instead. It is about an old woman who tries to convince little children that she was once like them. There are haunted ravines, visions of Paris, wild runs in the woods, mingled with the bittersweet shadows of summers past.

Ray Bradbury is one of those few writers who actually seems to remember what it's like to be a kid. Douglas is an endearing boy, who manages to be innocent, enthusiastic and full of awe without making me feel sick to my stomach. The supporting characters are also as bright and real as actual people; none of them are flat or cartoonish. You could imagine driving into any town in Illinois and bumping into people like this: shop owners, mothers, reclusive old ladies, kindly grandfathers, bright young boys who specialize in creeping around soundlessly, and weary farmers.

Bradbury's writing is, in technical terms, not very good. But it is exceptional in that it sucks you in and makes you see and feel and experience everything in the book. There's no solid plotline, rather there are several plot threads that interweave and cling together (like the Happiness Machine, something which is supposed to give you visions and sensations that will make you happy). It's written with the sort of innocent view of a child, and children can definitely read this. If they are patient and don't mind a lack of slapstick or bang-bang action, then this book will definitely be appreciated. Adults too. And definitely anyone who was ten years old in 1928.


A Kind and Gentle Heart -- Ray Bradbury   March 14, 2000
 8 out of 12 found this review helpful

I have read Dandelion Wine many times since I first picked up a copy over thirty years ago. Even now, I inhale the words of the book, like the air from S. J. Jonas' green bottles and I know that Ray Bradbury lived these stories. He was nurtured by the natural beauty of Green Town (Waukegan, Illinois), lulled to sleep by the sound of the trains heading in and out of Chicago, mesmerized by the Lighthouse in Lake Michigan, and entrapped in the Amazonian jungle of the steamy and mysterious ravine where he penned most of "The Illustrated Man" and many of his earlier works. Ray Bradbury paints with words that sing and teach. His unique and gifted way of owning the moment is illusive and marvelous. He is very much like the songbird that gives away a melody to the wind. One needs only an open eye and loving heart to appreciate the Master Storyteller as he delivers his craft. A "must read" for all ages. Poetry, Magic, and Love -- This is Ray Bradbury (a dear friend and penpal for over 20 years)


his words are a mix of poetry and paintings   February 13, 2000
 8 out of 11 found this review helpful

Ray Bradbury's book Dandelion Wine is a beautiful memory of a childhood. I am 15 years old, and I can really relate to Douglas Spaudling and his fear of change and death. Even though there are a few dark spots in the book, the overall point is about living, really living, about everyone's desperate will to be alive. I love the chapter about the new tennis shoes. Bradbury works his magic once again there, and I promise you that you'll never think of shoes the same way again. I will go back and read this book many times over, crying and laughing through this unforgetable summer of 1928.