Reviews

Driving Blind by Ray Bradbury

mattschubert22's review

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

navgarcha's review

mysterious fast-paced

4.25

zamyatins_fears's review against another edition

2.0

I always hesitate to give details on short stories so as a result, this review will be short. This collection of Bradbury shorts mainly focuses around nostalgia for one’s youth. I didn’t find any of them to be groundbreaking, but there is a certain bittersweet charm to some of these stories. In a few stories, the theme focuses more on disillusionment with the past. A couple stories feature sexual themes, such as the protagonist’s memory of his first oral experience, which doesn’t bother me, but may offend some readers. I enjoyed Remember Me, Mr. Pale, Madame et Monsieur Shill and The Highest Branch on the Tree the most. A Woman is a Fast Moving Picture was highly amusing, but nothing mind blowing. If MGM is Killed Who Gets the Lion, was a most promising title, but probably one of the dullest shorts I’ve ever read. Most everything else was just okay in my opinion.

mikitiale's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

I have enjoyed many of Bradbury's short stories and Fahrenheit 451 immensely. This collection of short stories was so boring that it felt like a chore to get through them. There a couple good ones like "The Mirror" and "Mr. Pale" but most were bland or confusing as if they were written around and inside jokes that the audience wasn't in on.
There were also a couple stories that specifically reference kissing your cousins which feels weird. Bradbury writes as if it is not only normal but expected. It was uncomfortable to say the least.

sistermagpie's review

2.0

Not my favorite Bradbury book, obviously. It's an odd read, since it's not Bradbury's usual flat-out fantasy/sci-fi, but also has a lot of his familiar themes and images. I think I just prefer him writing in the fantasy vein full-out. I think to me it almost felt like there was an odd juxtaposition of trying to be "modern" in terms of more realistic subject matter, but winding up still seeming old-fashioned because the characters are. So rather than the characters seeming like they live in Bradbury's own magical world (where Greentown is) they just seem surprisingly dated. Which is perhaps unfair since there's nothing wrong with being born in the early 20th century! It just made for an odd tone for me.