The Illustrated Man

I haven't read all the short stories yet

Prologue: Oooh I like that this first story is the frame of the entire book! Such a neat idea! I wonder if the illustrated man is going to find the witch at the end of the book, or if something is going to happen once the narrator reads all the stories. The Illustrated Man warned him to turn away and not look....

Kaleidoscope: what do we become when we are about to die? A long and extended fall. The regrets and jealousy, the sense of peace, the amazement about the space around. I guess their deaths were indeed reflected in their lives...

The Veldt: oh my. I had to re-read the ending to make sure I understood. The nursery devoured the parents, right? And the kids knew it and watched it happen. And when Mr McClean came back, the lions had already finished eating. But what about the other screams, the chewed wallet and scarfs? What is their own screams, other versions of themselves? Rehearsal? I don't think it was other people, as they didn't seem to have guests over the house, and these items belonged to the parents. Such a strange and interesting story. Bradbury is really better at short stories than novels!

No Particular Night or Morning: I liked this story. I stopped mid-way and looks at the ceiling to think about what Hitchcock was saying. I could hear my wife typing as she writes her story, see my dog sleeping by my side, and the plants grabbing the sunlight. It's an interesting concept. What is real? What can be proven real? Can you even prove yourself real? Are you not just space, an in between gap like everything else around you? I liked the ending, the sense of serenity for Hitchcock.