Book Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes

I didn't actually read this book during this October.  More like October of 2013.  But I'm gonna go with it as my Halloween read and review for this year.  It's simpler that way.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

Source: Amazon.com

From the book’s cover:

The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. The shrill siren song of a calliope beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes. . .and the stuff of nightmare.

Few American novels written this century have endured in the heart and memory as has Ray Bradbury's unparalleled literary classic SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. The shrill siren song of a calliope beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes. . .and the stuff of nightmare.

Few American novels written this century have endured in the heart and memory as has Ray Bradbury's unparalleled literary classic SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin.

The review:

Ah... Something Wicked This Way Comes.  Now that's a title!  And  the rest of the book doesn't let down from there; Bradbury's gift for imagery is fantastic.  Reading the book, I could visualize the night that the carnival arrived, the ghastly sideshow apparitions, the menacing Messirs Cooger and Dark, the chill-inducing Dust Witch, and the abominable Merry-Go-Round that... well if you don't know what its gimmick is, read and find out for yourself.

The author, Ray Bradbury. / Source: blastr.com

On the other hand, there are times that Bradbury's writing seems to be running itself over to be evocative.  A few times his choice of words seemed to slow the pace of what could have been suspenseful moments.  As well, there were bits of the plot I found a bit trite.  For instance, a major character is brought back from near-death by two others simply by their jovial behavior.  Guess I am too pessimistic to buy that.  Yes, the theme of the book did come across, but I found the idea of saving a boy's life simply by being happy and - in essence - spitting in the face of darkness and despair, a bit silly when taken so literally.

Then again, the book did an excellent job of setting mood.  When Bradbury describes some pivotal scenes, such as the bullet catching trick near the book's conclusion, you can see each participant as they are described, and you can't help but wonder how things will turn out exactly.  You know everything will come out alright, but how so?  The scene is so crisp, you think you can smell the dead leaves and the stale cotton candy.

G.M Dark and the Autumn People of Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show, as portrayed in Disney's adaptation of Bradbury's novel.  For being a Disney film, there were some really creepy images in that film.  Of course, the book was better. / Source: villains.wikia.com

Sadly, some of the book was ruined for me by the fact that, as a kid, I watched the Disney adaptation.  For instance,  the actor Jason Robbards is Charles Holloway for me.  Ditto for Mr. Dark being Jonathan Pryce.  But the Disney version was..  well-intentioned, but lost some of the punch of the book.  Although there were a few scenes from the book that I didn't mind having been exorcised, such as the Dust Witch seeking out the boy's homes in the ghastly green balloon, and Jim Nightshade's subsequent efforts to protect his home.  This seemed a bit far-fetched to me, though Bradbury did a good job telling it just the same.

On the other hand, of course there were things that were much scarier in the book than in the film.  The Hall of Mirrors, for instance.  When Charles Holloway and Will traverse that place to save Jim from the clutches of Mr. Dark, and the repetition of the two's images turn them into horrific beings that are going to come and destroy them.  That was pretty scary.  Especially because the scene is being played out by the flickering light of a struck match.  You can see it in your mind's eye, and it gives a truly creeping feeling, as well as a shying away feeling the next time you are faced with the need to look in a mirror in dim light.

Jason Robbards as Charles Holloway in the Disney adaptation.  / Source: dvdizzy.com 

Also the scene in which Mr. Cooger, who suffers an accident and is horrifically aged, has become the so-called "Mr. Electrico" is subtly spooky as well.  One can see with their imagination the scene in which the boys are arguing to the authorities that this is actually a much younger man, while Mr. Dark performs his carnival tricks and brings the near-mummifed remains back to life so they can appear as nothing more than a side-show act, thus making the boys look like young fools who've just had too much fun at the carnival.

All in all, the book drips authenticity and menace.  And the idea near the end, where the evils of the carnival have been dispelled and each of our story's heroes reflects on using the still standing merry-go-round to age themselves to a more desired level (older for the boys, younger for Will's father) and Will's dad says that the next owners of the carnival may already be present.  In this, he refers to the fact that, if used, how would even a normal and well-intentioned person be able to resist the lure of that sinister device. In the end, the merry-go-round would consume those who used it and subvert them to evil.  This idea is very powerful.  It strikes at the theme that even with good intentions, an evil may turn someone to its will and bend them to unholy service.    The book is full of this sort of symbolism.

The sense of the decay of the autumn season is palatable in Something Wicked This Way Comes.  The scene above introduces the lightning rod peddler in the Disney film, but it is the cinematography involved that made me choose to include it here.  / Source: frommidnight.blogspot.com

In conclusion, it wasn't the most nail-biting book I've read lately, but just the same, it was worth the time spent.  At times Something Wicked... suffers from its age, but most of the time it only benefits from that old-time feel.  And it is spooky.  So go ahead.  If you care to buy a ticket, you too can enjoy the thrills of this carnival come from the darkness of the Autumn People.  But only if you dare.

Learn more about Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury, on Amazon.com

The parting comment:

Source: LOLSnaps.com

There's always someone out there to make you feel better, I guess.