I finished this a couple of nights ago; my concluding thoughts on the stories below:
The Luggage Store
A short little vignette, nicely done.
The Off Season
I quite liked this short story - the protagonist is a complete heel, but I like the imagery and his wife is good, they way she metaphorically rolls her eyes at her husband's antics.
The Watchers
A short linker where the people of Mars watch the war on distant Earth.
The Silent Towns
This is a quite a humorous story, and I like the mood Bradbury describes for Mars by this juncture. It's interesting that he so often tells stories from the perspective of people who are not very nice. But this is interesting, as it flips on its head the old idea of the last two people getting together. Not my favourite, but not the weakest tale here either.
The Long Years
I think this is a really good story. Its very sad and desolate. The reappearance of characters from early stories is nice to see, as it brings the stories together. This one is not one of Bardbury's humorous tales, its quite serious and reflective.
There Will Come Soft Rains
This is probably the best known story in the book, I believe, and is generally very highly rated. I concur with the majority - it's a terrific tale. Interestingly it is the only tale not set on Mars, it is the only SF story (as opposed to fantasy, according to Bradbury) and there are no people in it. Though there's a dog briefly! I think it's great for three reasons: (a) it's very well written, (b) it tells a story in a novel and interesting way, within massive constraints (i.e. no characters), and (c) it has something to say about automation of our lives and warns of the disconnection we will create with life and the world through technology for sake of technology. The machines and services provided by the technological advances we create do not need us, they operate independently from us, will go on without us. They are not us, they lack real connection with us, and the mirror of this is that we don't need them, and can exist without them. They wont save us from ourselves. Perhaps Bradbury is saying that, to be connected with and responsible for our futures we need to stay in touch with the Earth (and the earth - be less reliant). This is only my interpretation (I've not read any analysis), but the disconnectedness of technology with the human future seems to be a clear point. I think this was incredibly insightful in 1950. The use of the poem is also very clever, as it's warm and full of natural beauty, which contrasts so much with the bleak condition of the world, the death of nature, and of the house. Its definitely a layered, complex story. For these reasons, the more I look back on this story, the more I think it is a true classic of the genre. One of the greatest short stories I've read.
The Million-Year Picnic
Bradbury could have finished on the high of Soft Rains, I suppose, with the story arc back on Earth, but he wanted to finish with a small ray of hope back on his titular planet, and why not. This is another moving story, very moody and sad, but as I say, with at least a ray of hope shining through. I think I like Bradbury characters; in this story, we wish the family well, and the characters are easy to like, whereas in stories where things go badly wrong, he tends to tell them from the standpoint of the most unpleasant character he can find in his locker, so one gets a nice mix throughout the book, as one would encounter in life.
Overall I really liked the book. I'll be back to read more Bradbury I'm sure and his Illustrated Man sounds interesting. I found I didn't find the soft SF/fantasy style a problem. Its fantastic and unbelievable, but it read appropriately and was very well written - I think writing quality is probably a lot more important to me than genre.
