From the archives (oh, how we miss you)
Ed Gorman
A Memory of Murder, Ray Bradbury
Ray
Bradbury's first collection, published in 1947 by Arkham House,
contained so many memorable and lasting stories it has become legendary.
A single book by a young writer including true masterpieces such as
"The Lake," "The Small Assassin," "The Homecoming," "Uncle Einar" and
many, many more--just about unthinkable. A fair share of these stories
were later included in The October Country, a collection that is for me
the equal of The Martian Chronicles.There's another collection that in
the scheme of Bradbury's career is far less important but equally
interesting. When Dell published A Memory of Murder we were given our
first look at the crime and suspense s
tories
Bradbury wrote for such pulps as Dime Mystery Magazine and New
Detective Magazine. Most of the stories appeared between 1944 and 1946.
I've probably read this book four or five times over the years. It has
the energy and inventiveness of all good pulp with the bonus of watching
a young writer struggle to find the voice that is really his. In
several of the stories we hear the voice that Bradbury will later
perfect. He's often proclaimed his admiration of Cornell Woolrich and
here we see the dark Woolrich influence, especially in the excellent
"The Candy Skull" (Mexico has long fascinated Bradbury; here it's
nightmare Mexico), "The Trunk Lady" and (what a title) "Corpse
Carnival." One of Bradbury's most famous stories is here also, "The
Small Assassin," written for a penny a word for Dime Mystery Magazine in
1946.The most interesting story is "The Long Night." I remember the
editor who bought it writing a piece years later about what a find it
was. And it is. A story set in the Hispanic area of Los Angeles during
the war, it deals with race and race riots, with the juvenile
delinquency that was a major problem for this country in the war years
(remember The Amboy Dukes?) and the the paternal bonds that teenage boys
need and reject at the same time. A haunting, powerful story that hints
at the greatness that was only a few years away from Bradbury.What can I
tell you? I love this book. At its least it's a pure pulp romp and at
its best it's the master about to change science fiction forever. And
making a memorable pass at making his mark on crime fiction as well.
tories
Bradbury wrote for such pulps as Dime Mystery Magazine and New
Detective Magazine. Most of the stories appeared between 1944 and 1946.
I've probably read this book four or five times over the years. It has
the energy and inventiveness of all good pulp with the bonus of watching
a young writer struggle to find the voice that is really his. In
several of the stories we hear the voice that Bradbury will later
perfect. He's often proclaimed his admiration of Cornell Woolrich and
here we see the dark Woolrich influence, especially in the excellent
"The Candy Skull" (Mexico has long fascinated Bradbury; here it's
nightmare Mexico), "The Trunk Lady" and (what a title) "Corpse
Carnival." One of Bradbury's most famous stories is here also, "The
Small Assassin," written for a penny a word for Dime Mystery Magazine in
1946.The most interesting story is "The Long Night." I remember the
editor who bought it writing a piece years later about what a find it
was. And it is. A story set in the Hispanic area of Los Angeles during
the war, it deals with race and race riots, with the juvenile
delinquency that was a major problem for this country in the war years
(remember The Amboy Dukes?) and the the paternal bonds that teenage boys
need and reject at the same time. A haunting, powerful story that hints
at the greatness that was only a few years away from Bradbury.What can I
tell you? I love this book. At its least it's a pure pulp romp and at
its best it's the master about to change science fiction forever. And
making a memorable pass at making his mark on crime fiction as well.
4 comments:
Ed is right, as usual. Years after reading Bradbury's well known books- Fahrenheit 451, Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, etc. I discovered this collection of early stories. "The Small Assassin" is probably the most memorable, but I highly recommend the book in general.
You might have noticed that Stephen King called Don Winslow's new (last?) book, THE FINAL SCORE, "The best crime fiction I've read in twenty years."
Of course, I was going to read it anyway, but that might have pushed it up. They call it "Six Short Novels," but they are actually novelettes or novella, or just long short stories. Anyway, I've read the first two so far, the title story and "The Sunday List," and they are definitely worth reading. In the first, a 60 year old crook about to go away for good, plans one last "impossible" robbery to set his wife up financially.
Will put it on hold at library
Just found an audio copy at the library and placed on hold.
I've fallen behind on Winslow's work.
That is an excellent review by Ed Gorman. I would love to have a copy of that book, especially in that edition.
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