April Books 3) Green Shadows, White Whale
3) Green Shadows, White Whale by Ray Bradbury
I've had this on my list of sf/fantasy books with an Irish dimension for a while; I had a discussion of it with wyvernfriend back in September, and finally picked it up last weekend in the remaindered section in the American bookshop in Leuven.
It's the story of young sf writer Ray Bradbury, brought to Ireland by film director John Huston, to write a screenplay for Moby Dick. Huston comes across as a real monster, incessantly bullying his wife, Bradbury and other colleagues, with almost no redeeming features. I found Bradbury's portrayal of Ireland and the Irish irritating at first and then I realised that he was doing nothing more than writing in his usual style; it might as well have been Mars.
The short stories dropped into the narrative - including two with fantasy elements, which I list on my web page - are the best bits of a very uneven book. The only other "novel" I've read by Bradbury, To the Dust Returned, was equally uneven. Perhaps he is someone who needs the discipline of the short story form to write quality stuff. For €7.50 I can't complain too much.
I've had this on my list of sf/fantasy books with an Irish dimension for a while; I had a discussion of it with wyvernfriend back in September, and finally picked it up last weekend in the remaindered section in the American bookshop in Leuven.
It's the story of young sf writer Ray Bradbury, brought to Ireland by film director John Huston, to write a screenplay for Moby Dick. Huston comes across as a real monster, incessantly bullying his wife, Bradbury and other colleagues, with almost no redeeming features. I found Bradbury's portrayal of Ireland and the Irish irritating at first and then I realised that he was doing nothing more than writing in his usual style; it might as well have been Mars.
The short stories dropped into the narrative - including two with fantasy elements, which I list on my web page - are the best bits of a very uneven book. The only other "novel" I've read by Bradbury, To the Dust Returned, was equally uneven. Perhaps he is someone who needs the discipline of the short story form to write quality stuff. For €7.50 I can't complain too much.