In the first section, Douglas and his friend Tom collect dandelions in order to make wine. The book is divided into three sections, each focusing on a different aspect of Douglas’s summer. Bradbury once said that Dandelion Wine was his “most deeply personal work,” and it is easy to see why. It is also a book about time, memory, and the power of storytelling. Dandelion Wine is a coming-of- age story, a nostalgia-tinged ode to childhood, and a portrait of a small town in the 1920s. All the while, Douglas is aware that this summer might be his last carefree one, as he is on the cusp of becoming a teenager. The novel follows Douglas Spaulding, a young boy, as he navigates his way through a summer full of firsts: first love, first heartbreak, first job. The book is set in the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois, based on Bradbury’s childhood home of Waukegan, Illinois. Another option is Bradbury’s discussion of the writing process, Zen in the Art of Writing.Dandelion Wine is a novel by Ray Bradbury, first published in 1957. He reads with a gentle tone and doesn’t overplay either the sizzling summer or the lingering dread.įollow with an autumn Bradbury story, The Halloween Tree for a whole separate feel. My book was narrated by Paul Michael Garcia. Hearing about dandelions while pulling them out from amongst my coneflower and day lily beds is a wonderful audio pair. I listened to the audiobook, sometimes while working in my garden. If you haven’t read Bradbury’s work before, this is a perfect introduction. Every story emotes a summertime feeling while acknowledging the passage of time. I immersed myself in Bradbury’s twists of phrase and understanding of the human condition. Reading Dandelion Wine amid a Pennsylvania summer is a perfect choice. A few older characters die in the summer, leaving mourning friends and family in their wake. But Bradbury balances the sunniness with some real-life moments even beyond the threat of murder. There’s plenty of idyllic summertime fun here. His eloquent stories of Green Town transport us to another time and place. He molds each sentence with care, allowing readers a visual image in the shape of his words. And every kid dreads the return of autumn and the end of summer.īradbury is a master of intricate and descriptive language.
“The Lonely One” is out there, killing town residents. But there’s also an unsettling undercurrent.
Kids run free and adults sip glasses of dandelion wine on their porches. In the hands of Ray Bradbury, small-town America in the summer of 1928 comes alive. Dandelion Wine is a masterwork in the art of connected stories or vignettes.
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