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Ray Bradbury

Farewell Summer

Name: Farewell Summer
Price: 8.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.3 (731 reviews)
Author: Ray Bradbury
ISBN: 9780061470950

Ray Bradbury

(Author)

4.3

731 ratings

The master of American fiction returns to the territory of his beloved classic, Dandelion Wine—a sequel 50 years in the making

Some summers refuse to end . . .

October 1st, the end of summer. The air is still warm, but fall is in the air. Thirteen-year-old Douglas Spaulding, his younger brother Tom, and their friends do their best to take advantage of these last warm days, rampaging through the ravine, tormenting the girls . . . and declaring war on the old men who run Green Town, IL. For the boys know that Colonel Quartermain and his cohorts want nothing more than to force them to put away their wild ways, to settle down, to grow up. If only, the boys believe, they could stop the clock atop the courthouse building. Then, surely, they could hold onto the last days of summer . . . and their youth.

But the old men were young once, too. And Quartermain, crusty old guardian of the school board and town curfew, is bent on teaching the boys a lesson. What he doesn’t know is that before the last leaf turns, the boys will give him a gift: they will teach him the importance of not being afraid of letting go.

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ISBN-10

0061470953

ISBN-13

978-0061470950

Print length

208 pages

Language

English

Publisher

William Morrow Large Print

Publication date

October 29, 2007

Dimensions

6 x 0.47 x 9 inches

Item weight

8 ounces

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Product details

ASIN :

0061470953

File size :

452 KB

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Editorial reviews

Review

“[B]eautiful imagery and well-crafted prose.” — Chicago Sun-Times“An intriguing coda to one of Bradbury’s classics. ” — Kirkus Reviews“Creepier than [Dandelion Wine] but retains the elegiac tone and lovely descriptions of 1920s boyhood.” — Library Journal“A touching meditation on memories, aging, and the endless cycle of birth and death.” — Booklist“Poignant, wise...Bradbury’s mature but fresh return to his beloved early writing conveys a depth of feeling.” — Publishers Weekly“Bradbury remains a master of inspired storytelling . . . The long-awaited, rewarding conclusion to an American classic.” — Rocky Mountain News

From the Back Cover

In a summer that refuses to end, in the deceiving warmth of earliest October, civil war has come to Green Town, Illinois. It is the age-old conflict: the young against the elderly, for control of the clock that ticks their lives ever forward. The first cap-pistol shot heard 'round the town is dead accurate, felling an old man in his tracks, compelling town elder and school board despot Mr. Calvin C. Quartermain to marshal his graying forces and declare total war on the assassin, thirteen-year-old Douglas Spaulding, and his downy-cheeked cohorts. Doug and his cronies, however, are most worthy adversaries who should not be underestimated, as they plan and execute daring campaigns—matching old Quartermain's experience and cunning with their youthful enthusiasm and devil-may-care determination to hold on forever to childhood's summer. Yet time must ultimately be the victor, with valuable revelations for those on both sides of the conflict. And life waits in ambush to assail Doug Spaulding with its powerful mysteries—the irresistible ascent of manhood, the sweet surrender to a first kiss . . .One of the most acclaimed and beloved of American storytellers, Ray Bradbury has come home, revisiting the verdant landscape of one of his most adored works, Dandelion Wine. More than fifty years in the making, the long-awaited sequel, Farewell Summer, is a treasure—beautiful, poignant, wistful, hilarious, sad, evocative, profound, and unforgettable . . . and proof positive that the flame of wonder still burns brightly within the irrepressible imagination of the incomparable Bradbury.

About the Author

In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury inspired generations of readers to dream, think, and create. A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time. His groundbreaking works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. An Emmy Award winner for his teleplay The Halloween Tree and an Academy Award nominee, he was the recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, among many honors.

Sample

Farewell Summer By Ray Bradbury

Chapter One

There are those days which seem a taking in of breath which, held, suspends the whole earth in its waiting. Some summers refuse to end.

So along the road those flowers spread that, when touched, give down a shower of autumn rust. By every path it looks as if a ruined circus had passed and loosed a trail of ancient iron at every turning of a wheel. The rust was laid out everywhere, strewn under trees and by riverbanks and near the tracks themselves where once a locomotive had gone but went no more. So flowered flakes and railroad track together turned to moulderings upon the rim of autumn.

"Look, Doug," said Grandpa, driving into town from the farm. Behind them in the Kissel Kar were six large pumpkins picked fresh from the patch. "See those flowers?"

"Yes, sir."

"Farewell summer, Doug. That's the name of those flowers. Feel the air? August come back. Farewell summer."

"Boy," said Doug, "that's a sad name."

Grandma stepped into her pantry and felt the wind blowing from the west. The yeast was rising in the bowl, a sumptuous head, the head of an alien rising from the yield of other years. She touched the swell beneath the muslin cap. It was the earth on the morn before the arrival of Adam. It was the morn after the marriage of Eve to that stranger in the garden bed.

Grandma looked out the window at the way the sunlight lay across the yard and filled the apple trees with gold and echoed the same words:

"Farewell summer. Here it is, October 1st. Temperature's 82. Season just can't let go. The dogs are out under the trees. The leaves won't turn. A body would like to cry and laughs instead. Get up to the attic, Doug, and let the mad maiden aunt out of the secret room."

"Is there a mad maiden aunt in the attic?" asked Doug.

"No, but there should be."

Clouds passed over the lawn. And when the sun came out, in the pantry, Grandma almost whispered, Summer, farewell.

On the front porch, Doug stood beside his grandfather, hoping to borrow some of that far sight, beyond the hills, some of the wanting to cry, some of the ancient joy. The smell of pipe tobacco and Tiger shaving tonic had to suffice. A top spun in his chest, now light, now dark, now moving his tongue with laughter, now filling his eyes with salt water.

He surveyed the lake of grass below, all the dandelions gone, a touch of rust in the trees, and the smell of Egypt blowing from the far east.

"Think I'll go eat me a doughnut and take me a nap," Doug said.

Continues...

Ray Bradbury

In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury, who died on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, inspired generations of readers to dream, think, and create. A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time. His groundbreaking works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He wrote the screen play for John Huston's classic film adaptation of Moby Dick, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's The Ray Bradbury Theater, and won an Emmy for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree. He was the recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, among many honors.

Throughout his life, Bradbury liked to recount the story of meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932. At the end of his performance Electrico reached out to the twelve-year-old Bradbury, touched the boy with his sword, and commanded, "Live forever!" Bradbury later said, "I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard. I started writing every day. I never stopped."

Reviews

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

731 global ratings

Scott Magargal

so much more than what I was expecting

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024

Verified Purchase

"Farewell Summer" is the sequel to "Dandelion Wine". I ordered both in a nostalgic moment, remembering reading "Dandelion Wine" when I was the age of the story's main character. Ray Bradbury was one of my favorite authors through the latter years of my childhood and one of a small group of writers I shared a love of with my dad, who recently passed. I was able to order a new copy of "Dandelion Wine" but "Farewell Summer" was only available used. I wanted a copy to add to my library and hoped the copy I received would be in nice condition. The copy I received was in excellent condition, with deckled edges and, to my surprise, a first edition and autographed by Ray Bradbury, signed with a Sharpie. I did not believe at first this could be legitimate but decided it likely is after researching Bradbury's autographs through Google images. This book was published in 2006 and Bradbury passed in 2012. I know authors sometimes autograph significant numbers of new releases in their promotion and "Farewell Summer" may have benefitted from a good promotion. I worked in a used book store for several years when I was younger and see no reason to believe it isn't legitimate. I am extremely sad I can't share this with my dad.

5 people found this helpful

Mississippi Malka

Beautiful portrayal of life’s cycles

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

I believe I remember that this book was published posthumously. This, for me, is a good thing. Because if I had read this back when I was racing through Bradbury’s works at the ages of 11-12 or so, I couldn’t have appreciated it.

This book, like others if Bradbury’s works, is more of a “tone poem” than novel. (I bet I used that phrase incorrectly.). It’s definitely not sci-fi, and I wouldn’t tag it as “young adult”, either. I’d recommend it for people in their 50’s and up. Readers who have a broad enough collection of life experiences to really appreciate it.

My mother passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 95. She was a Sci fi fan and probably was the one who suggested Bradbury’s books to me in the first place. It would have resonated deeply within her.

The book is located in the small town that features in many of Bradbury’s works. It’s told from the viewpoints of a preteen boy and his grandfather.

It’s beautiful and perhaps my favorite of everything he’s written.

31 people found this helpful

Debra Hanks

Blew my mind

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2023

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I loved reading this book, it made me think of my childhood, so many places to run to, so many stories to find, I loved writing in my journal. And, I felt I knew where he came from and where he was going, always wanting to do something different to hold the gang together. Strange things I found in the woods, climbing trees, this story brought my childhood back to me. I loved this story. Buy it for anyone, the teens really need it, they are to busy doing nothing,but gawking at a phone inn their hand, as stories past them by.

3 people found this helpful

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