| Author | Message | ||
     Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
I was wondering if anybody considers Damon Knight's criticism of Bradbury worth merit or not? I've been reading a lot of Bradbury at the moment, and though he's not my favourite writer by a long shot, I have and will always read him. I understand some of Knight's criticism, but I'm not sure he really got Bradbury. Or am I being naive? | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Hmmm... Ray Bradbury, for me, is probably one of the greatest mood writers who ever took pen to paper but his work does lack a certain narrative cohesion. Like Guy de Maupassant, or W. Somerset Maugham, he was a born daydreamer and a short story writer of rare and delicate genius, who sometimes wrote novels - that were always original in vision but never entirely successfully as stories imo. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
can you post a link to this criticism? | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
There's a quote on Bradbury's Wiki page. That probably doesn't say much for its accuracy. There are quite a lot of references to Damon Knight's criticism of Bradbury, but of the ones I read he was extremely glowing in his praise. Maybe the person responsible for the Bradbury entry gathered his material from a previous Wiki entry (; I just thought it might be more well known in terms of discussion to the more sci-fi inclined people here. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.153.151.150 |
Knight liked a lot of bradbury's work but HATED Dandelion Wine, saying the kids in it weren't kids but rather old men in kid's skins. I was reading DW when I stumbled on this quote and it put me off the book because it was true. Dandelion Wine has many wonderful passages but this point of Knight's is accurate, sadly. Also, huge stretches of the book could be chucked - they drag, they're dull (the stuff about the witches for instance). It's a book of beauty and deep frustration. (Go on Wiki and 'Danedelion wine' for the stuff by Knight) |