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A review by curiousreader
Ray Bradbury: The Last Interview and Other Conversations by Sam Weller, Ray Bradbury
The Last Interview and Other Conversations with Ray Bradbury, is really a mishmash of interviews with Sam Weeler and a handful of short essays Bradbury narrated while Weeler wrote them down. They all share the distinct nature of a man late in his life, as Bradbury was more than 80 years old in the earliest of these pieces - and as such, we see a man who has had a life-time's worth of re-writing his ideas and opinions over and over again so as to reach a certain level of refinement, and in so doing, a ring of falsehood in the simplicity through which they are presented. As such an example, we see how the story of Fahrenheit 451 as a work of passion and the hurried nature of its origin, is repeated time and again - as there is a sense of his adding emphasis to the 'real' writing as the 'natural' writing. The words that come first to mind must be its truest form, most valuable of all. I am not so sure Bradbury had such a strong conviction that this was the only way a work of literature could be created or gain value, but it seems rather as if he has talked about the same topics and voiced the same opinions so many times over a long period of time so that all nuance that would otherwise take shape is muddled in these conversations.
On the other hand, the relationship between the interviewer and Bradbury too is slightly distracting. Sam Weeler opens the book by saying how he became quite close to Bradbury over a number of years, and that their relationship was as a father and son, therefor intimate - and because of that, Weeler has gotten 'access' to a Bradbury that might otherwise not be available for just anyone. However, the fact that he knows so much about Bradbury seemed to me to get in the way of the interviews, as rather than asking questions he often fills in the blanks of Bradbury's own memories and thoughts, like a family member might in an elderly relative's storytelling, adding little details and reminding the storyteller of this and that fact. While this relationship works well enough in the last interview that is a private one, the ones that have an audience create this sharp contrast between the interviewer and Bradbury, vs. the reader/the audience. At times, it simply seemed that Weeler stood too close to his subject, unable to ask certain questions and at the same time unable to avoid sharing his personal wealth of information about Bradbury, that seemed almost a break of trust - as Bradbury himself was not the one giving out the information to the audience, therefor not truly giving consent to this and that being shared in the set place.
All this said, I think the collection of conversations and short essays are interesting and in particular show Bradbury's endless love for libraries. He talks about books, and literature, his own creative process and his lifetime's work, as well as some of his influences and inspirations. I especially liked the part that focused on his writing, as they both seemed to give a valuable layer to understand his prose and bibliography, while at the same time finding that there were nuggets of writing advice interspersed in the book. While Bradbury at times is critical of the progression of technology, the educational system as it is, and even makes statements that seem both outdated and small-minded; in general, what struck me was the theme of truly and fully engaging with the world - whether it be with books, other forms of media, or other people. There seems to be a certain fear in Bradbury for a future were we grow more and more apart from each other, lost in our wealth of entertainment and news and people, losing ourselves -and our active participation in the world. Through his talk of everything from philosophy to technology, there seems to be a red thread of a call for critical thinking. For actively thinking about what we consume, to deconstruct the endless stream of information thrown at us daily, to actively work to be part of this world and in making it what we want it to be.
On the other hand, the relationship between the interviewer and Bradbury too is slightly distracting. Sam Weeler opens the book by saying how he became quite close to Bradbury over a number of years, and that their relationship was as a father and son, therefor intimate - and because of that, Weeler has gotten 'access' to a Bradbury that might otherwise not be available for just anyone. However, the fact that he knows so much about Bradbury seemed to me to get in the way of the interviews, as rather than asking questions he often fills in the blanks of Bradbury's own memories and thoughts, like a family member might in an elderly relative's storytelling, adding little details and reminding the storyteller of this and that fact. While this relationship works well enough in the last interview that is a private one, the ones that have an audience create this sharp contrast between the interviewer and Bradbury, vs. the reader/the audience. At times, it simply seemed that Weeler stood too close to his subject, unable to ask certain questions and at the same time unable to avoid sharing his personal wealth of information about Bradbury, that seemed almost a break of trust - as Bradbury himself was not the one giving out the information to the audience, therefor not truly giving consent to this and that being shared in the set place.
All this said, I think the collection of conversations and short essays are interesting and in particular show Bradbury's endless love for libraries. He talks about books, and literature, his own creative process and his lifetime's work, as well as some of his influences and inspirations. I especially liked the part that focused on his writing, as they both seemed to give a valuable layer to understand his prose and bibliography, while at the same time finding that there were nuggets of writing advice interspersed in the book. While Bradbury at times is critical of the progression of technology, the educational system as it is, and even makes statements that seem both outdated and small-minded; in general, what struck me was the theme of truly and fully engaging with the world - whether it be with books, other forms of media, or other people. There seems to be a certain fear in Bradbury for a future were we grow more and more apart from each other, lost in our wealth of entertainment and news and people, losing ourselves -and our active participation in the world. Through his talk of everything from philosophy to technology, there seems to be a red thread of a call for critical thinking. For actively thinking about what we consume, to deconstruct the endless stream of information thrown at us daily, to actively work to be part of this world and in making it what we want it to be.