Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Next In Line

"I don't mind skulls and bones," said Marie. "There's nothing even vaguely human to them.  I'm not scared of skulls and bones. They're like something insectile.  If a child was raised and didn't know he had a skeleton in him, he wouldn't think anything of bones, would he? That's how it is with me. Everything human has been scraped off these.  There's nothing familiar left to be horrible.  In order for a thing to be horrible it has to suffer a change you can recognize.  This isn't changed. They're still skeletons, like they always were.  The part that changed is gone, and so there's nothing to show for it. Isn't that interesting?"
Joseph nodded.
She was quite brave now.
"Well," she said, "let's see the mummies."
"Here, senora," said the caretaker.
He took them far down the hall away from the stack of bones and when Joseph paid him a peso he unlocked the forbidden crystal doors and opened them wide and they looked into an even longer, dimly lighted hall in which stood the people.

Ray Bradbury

14 comments:

EmphaticReprieve said...

Oh Mr. Bradbury, you have my heart.

Countess VonRauber (Heidi) said...

I've never read any of his works, but this passage is so intriguing, that I think I'll be reading something of his soon. Any suggestions on what's a good Bradbury work to start with?

Rot said...

Without a doubt..you MUST start with THE OCTOBER COUNTRY.

A collection of my personal favorite Bradbury stories...all in one place. This story is in there as well.

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/034532448X

Some might be quick to suggest The Halloween Tree, but if I had a desert island book selection to make, I'd have to go with The October Country.

Rot said...

Here's a really great one to read...A true Bradbury classic....

http://lib.ru/INOFANT/BRADBURY/october.txt

Countess VonRauber (Heidi) said...

Thanks a bunch!

girl6 said...

Ray Ray!!!.<33333333333333333333333
he Himself, is such an Amazing story.

Ohhhh & HOW Romantic is, "The Martian Chronicles"...
Lovers dreaming of each other, Before they have Ever met.
sighhhhh

& "Green Shadows, White Whale"..
the story behind, his writing of the screenplay for "Moby Dick", Lots of scandal there (John Huston)
i Believe it too.


this line from Fahrenheit 451 STILL chills me..
"Is it true that, a long time ago, firemen used to put out fires and not burn books?"...burrrrrrrrr

& to think he couldn't afford college, so he schooled himself in the Public Library.

Ray is the Real Deal.<333

Countess VonRauber (Heidi) said...

WOW!!! Really enjoyed that one! Love how he left it open ended. Leaves a lot to one's imagination :)

Rot said...

Agreed.
Very dark for Bradbury..which was nice to see.

He has such a fondness for Halloween and Autumn...a yard haunter at heart. Years later he lost a good friend on Halloween, and it affected the way he enjoyed and celebrated the holiday. Though I force my brains to ignore that little tidbit of info.

mlw33 said...

"Next In Line" is one of my absolute favorite Bradbury stories. I agree with Rot, The October Country is the place to start with Bradbury. Can't even begin to count how many times I've reread it.

girl6 said...

“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
― Ray Bradbury


“You must write every single day of your life... You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads... may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
― Ray Bradbury


...so, i followed Ray's advice.
i actually go to the Library everyday & explore...
Life is tooo Short to limit ourselves, especially when it comes to the arts & reading.

everyday i add a few more stairs to my universe.
Ray is a Life-Changer...<3333333
he walked the talk.

girl6 said...

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

& Rot..
this is how i feel about your blog.

Rot said...

Aw man..... : )

you're too kind.
I super appreciate that.

SaraB! said...

While we're on the topic, I'm pretty sure you actually pointed me to this, Rot, but I love this essay he wrote. (Scanned from an old Reader's Digest.)
http://ghostsofhalloween.blogspot.com/2012/10/tricks-treats-gangway-1975.html

Rot said...

I had forgotten about that...I linked to that blog a while back : )
http://pumpkinrot.blogspot.com/2012/10/from-ghosts-of-halloweens-past.html

Thanks!