From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury

This is not the easiest book to talk about. Mostly, because it appears to be a book when in actuality, it isn't. It is a collection of 'short stories' about a supernatural family (with a normal human boy) Bradbury wrote for a magazine, that have been collected and put into this book. As a result, it is nearly impossible to give a synopsis of the book.

First things first, if you happen to decide to read this, I would recommend knowing that this isn't a book. That threw me as I was expecting a continuous plot. There are characters that appear throughout 'chapters' that one has not encountered before. It seemed very disjointed and unstructured to me - because it was only after I finished the book and read Bradbury's notes on it and realised what I had been reading. Even the short stories themselves are not conclusive. Some have an 'ending' of sorts, others don't - they are snippets of the lives of these people.

There is no question that Bradbury can write. His style is poetic with his use of metaphor and alliteration. I also appreciated how the actual construction of the sentences captured the feeling of the scene (a noteworthy page and a half sentence describing the storm that brought the 'guests'). It does not make for light easy reading though. It requires brain power and a bit of time.

I am glad I have read this. It is not the Bradbury book I have been hunting bookshops for for years, but at least I have one notched under my belt.

I would only recommend this for fans of Bradbury, or those who really appreciate more cerebral reading experiences.

This is the 26th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.
I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads.