Ray BradburyThe Cat's Pajamas: Stories

This is a collection of 20 short stories by Ray Bradbury written between 1946 and 2004. Bradbury was the master. Besides his imaginative gift for storytelling, he was a torch-bearer for language that was both beautifully crafted and highly readable. Bradbury often used words poetically but without detracting from story. I believe he did so through sparing and careful use. I also appreciate the way Bradbury smoothly moved between genres, and the fact that his stories could have a moral without being moralistic.I’ll list the stories in this collection with just a few words about each.1.) “Chrysalis”: An unlikely friendship develops. A story about race.2.) “The Island”: The dangers of isolation. Tension skillfully ratcheted up.3.) “Sometime Before the Dawn”: Why does the neighbor cry late at night?4.) “Hail to the Chief”: What if Senators wagered America at an Indian casino?5.) “We’ll Just a CT Natural”: This is one of my favorites, but it doesn’t have a complex story or involve clever sci-fi elements. It’s just a woman waiting for a visit from a man who she used to nanny, but who’s made it big as a writer. Two simple questions keep one glued to this story. Will he show up? If not, how will she handle it?6.) “Olé, Orozco! Siqueiros, Sí!”: This is a commentary on what is art in the modern art scene.7.) “The House”: A couple buys a fixer-upper, but there are mixed feelings between them.8.) “The John Wilkes Booth / Warner Bros / MGM / NBC Funeral Train”: How time travel would spawn a history-entertainment complex.9.) “A Careful Man Dies”: A hemophiliac author who’s writing a tell-all meets his match.10.) “The Cat’s Pajamas”: A couple of lonely cat people vie for ownership of a stray that they happen upon simultaneously.11.) “Triangle”: As in, “love triangle.” A take on the story of X loves Y, but Y is indifferent to X; while Z loves X, but X is indifferent to Z.12.) “The Mafioso Cement-Mixing Machine”: It’s a metaphorical cement mixer, but it’s useful for—as a mobster might say—“takin’ out da trash.”13.) “The Ghosts”: The children are enchanted with them, but their father wants to drive them off. The difference between how children and adults see the natural world, in a nutshell.14.) “Where’s My Hat, What’s the Hurry”: A man goes through his little black book to find a woman more responsive to the “city of love” than his wife has been.15.) “The Transformations”: This is another story about race and walking in the shoes of another.16.) “Sixty-six”: This is a prime example of the genre-fluidity of Bradbury. It’s a murder mystery, but not just a murder mystery.17.) “A Matter of Taste”: Human space explorers travel to a distant world and meet a species that is wise, benevolent, helpful, but they can’t get past the alien’s creepy appearance.18.) “I Get the Blues When it Rains”: The fickle nature of nostalgia.19.) “All My Enemies Are Dead”: A man tries to console a friend who believes it’s time to die upon seeing the obituary of the last of his enemies.20.) “The Completist”: Having everything may include things one doesn’t want.I’d highly recommend this collection for readers of short fiction. While some of the stories are over sixty years old, they’ve aged well.

For the many fans of Ray Bradbury, you already know what to expect, and this book surely will not disappoint. Bradbury mixes fantasy with whimsy, softcore sci-fi with hard edged emotion. You never know exactly where he is headed, but you always count on a fantastic ride. What is most amazing about Ray Bradbury is his use of words. He creates scenes and worlds with his descriptive passages, at times so subtly you will miss it if you aren’t paying close attention.All of the stories are short, and many of them have a moral contained within. Fortunately, the author doesn’t focus on the moral, as that’s not his point. He is more concerned with examining the people affected by the circumstances. Even in the most futuristic science fiction tale he is painting his characters with a heavy dose of everyday life. It’s normalcy even in the craziest of moments.There is no continuing story here, nor a theme that is woven throughout as Mr. Bradbury has done in other books like The Martian Chronicles. What he does offer are the humanistic stories we know we will be gifted with whenever we read one of his books. Five stars.

I first read Ray Bradbury when I was in high school during the 1960s. Back then, I was sure that he was the finest writer on this or any other planet that harbors intelligent life. For me, he had the extraordinary ability to paint pictures with words. His writing moved me. I don't know how else to describe it.Several decades have passed. I picked up this collection hoping to recapture the sense of wonder that I felt then. Perhaps that's unrealistic and my tepid reaction to these stories (save one) says more about me as a reader than him as a writer. No doubt I've changed. But writing this review got me to thinking and that ain't bad.

I'm just in love with Ray Bradbury and he writes the most amazing short stories. He usually deals with space and time, but his stories span all kinds of genres. The title itself means something sought after and fancied. How can you not read stories with that kind of title engulfing them into one? There are a few unpublished stories in this volume, as well as stories spanning from the 40's until as recently as 2010. BUT, these stories are not placed in chronological order. They have been put in an order that flows from one story to the next, talking to and of one another. Absolutely magnificent.

Bradbury delivers, as always. Today's readers will claim his prose is too ornamented, even "purple," but they don't know what eloquence is. They don't know what cadenced prose is. Feh!

I have loved Bradbury's earlier works for over five decades. But these....sorry, not so much. The evocative lyricism, the poetic yearnings for times past and unknown worlds - all gone. These are just vignettes, ideas without inspiration for the reader. I was very disappointed in these stories. It's like a random collection of photographs, with the only theme being one of unhappiness.

I personally love all of Bradbury's books, especially Dandelion Wine which I've read 5 times since 74..He never disappoints!!Read this before, just wanted my own copy!! Thank you so much!!

An exquisite collection of short stories by a true master. Covering the gamut from the routine and mundane to the speculative and fantastic they all display the writing skills of Ray Bradbury. Science-fiction fans were blessed to have such a talented author to include in our libraries. This collection deserves to be on the top shelf!

A wonderful treat to read these stories, some old and some newer, but a wonderful look over Ray Bradbury's whole story-writing career.

Another collection of fine stories from Ray Bradbury.