Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ever since reading 'Fahrenheit 451' I was convinced that I liked Ray Bradbury's writing, and I am glad to say that 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' has only strengthened that opinion.

A carnival comes to the town where Will and Jim, best friends, live. The carnival arrives in the middle of the night, and something is not quite right about it. The boys soon find this out when they see a carousel that goes backwards and help reverse the aging of the person riding it. There is also a strange balloon, a mirror-maze that seriously freaks people out, and the scary proprietors, Mr. Dark and Mr. Cooger.

But despite the scary things chasing Will and Jim, this is as much a novel about growing up. And about love. And about what it means to be a good father and a good son. And about what you want in life, really want. The language Bradbury uses is sometimes almost mythical, reminding me of Neil Gaiman's writing in a way. Because in this book it is almost as much about the actions Bradbury describes as about the mood that is created by his writing. A magical, wonderful, scary book, which gets four out of five stars from me.