Ray Bradbury’s moving recollection of a vanished golden era remains one of his most enchanting novels. stands out in the Bradbury literary canon as the author’s most deeply personal work, a semi-autobiographical recollection of a magical small-town summer in 1928.
Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding knows Green Town, Illinois, is as vast and deep as the whole wide world that lies beyond the city … wide world that lies beyond the city limits. It is a pair of brand-new tennis shoes, the first harvest of dandelions for Grandfather’s renowned intoxicant, the distant clang of the trolley’s bell on a hazy afternoon. It is yesteryear and tomorrow blended into an unforgettable always. But as young Douglas is about to discover, summer can be more than the repetition of established rituals whose mystical power holds time at bay. It can be a best friend moving away, a human time machine who can transport you back to the Civil War, or a sideshow automaton able to glimpse the bittersweet future.
Come and savor Ray Bradbury’s priceless distillation of all that is eternal about boyhood and summer.
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Ray Bradbury was a child at heart, a man of great integrity and imagination, able to see around corners into the future. Dandelion Wine is one of my favorites because we get to see the world through his eyes. The boy who suddenly realizes that he’s alive with a capital A. Memories are distilled and remembered, forever, into old age. He reminds us …
This has remained one of my favorite books for over 20 years. The prose drips off your tongue, and the imagery is beautiful. This is the story of a small town dealing with transition as they gain electricity and streetcars in the early 1900s. It’s told in a series of vignettes, so it can be read as slowly or quickly as you need. The story of the …
With the gilded wonder of a bygone era, Dandelion Wine reminds us to look beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary. A small-town summer is experienced through quirky, relatable characters in a poetic telling of life in 1928. It’s a journey all readers should take.
This is one of my favorite books ever. The imagery and poetic language as a boy in Everytown vintage America experiences loss and joy is a perfect early summer read.
This was one of my favorite books in high school and one of the few novels I’ve read more than once. What blew me away at the time was a scene of a wonderfully delicious meal described in mouth watering detail without, as I remembered, identifying a single actual food item. I remember being totally engaged in the story. Bradbury’s genius was in …
A fantastic, insightful view of American life one hundred years ago.
Set in the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois, 12 year old Douglas Spaulding tries to pack as much life in his summer as his grandfather tries to pack summer joys into his bottles of dandelion wine. The stories revolve around the routines of small-town America, while exposing the joys of a bygone era. A typical Ray …
beautifully written coming of age story about the links between the past and the present and the importance of those links.
In a semi-autobiographical, atmospheric novel, Bradbury recalls a magical 1928 summer with his family in a small midwestern town. Step into twelve-year-old Douglas’ sneakers and find adventure in a dark cellar, a mysterious ravine and along the main street.
One of my favorite books. It’s a poignant book at childhood and the passage of time.
One of Bradbury’s best.
For 40 years now this is the number one, best book, most recommended on my list. The beauty, perfection of putting the reader into the setting, into the life of this boys most magical life and all that we experience.
Captures the magic of summer as a child. Enchanting.
Although the story was well written it was a rambling of memories from the author. I am guessing this but based on the intro it seems to be where most of the story stemmed from. I tried with this one and finished it but midway through I was wanting the story to be over. Not what I thought this one would be.
I taught this book for several years and I loved every minute of it.
Exquisite! Only once in a while do you find a book so very fine.
Beautiful book.
Dandelion Wine became my favorite book the first time I read it when I was no more than eight or nine years old. I found it delightful and spooky and I reread it every June well into high school; it became a summer tradition. The feel of the first new pair of sneakers, the thrill of playing outside on a summer’s night, and especially the delicious …
Of the 22 options for “What did you like about this book?” You left out the most important options of all: “Well written.” I would’ve settled for “Fantastic prose.”
One of the greatest books of all time.