The only circus story in that book is called "Corpse Carnival," which is about Siamese twins. When one is murdered, the other tries to solve the murder. There is a tatooed man in the circus, but nothing happened like the events you described, Elron. Must be another story.

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Phil, maybe you could post that quote, since I haven't gotten to it yet.

I beleive the story referenced is in the July, 1950 issue of Esquire starting on page 49. I have a copy of the magazine, and I believe The Illustrated Man meets his death at the end of the story.

[This message has been edited by patrask (edited 10-13-2003).]

No, it's not "Corpse Carnival". I still hope, that anybody will confirm, that it is the "Memory of a murder".

"The Illustrated Man" is the story in the July, 1950 "Esquire." It does not appear in "The Illustrated Man" collection, at least not in the edition I have, but it does appear in "The Vintage Bradbury." If you can get ahold of a copy of that collection, you can check it. By the way, this is the only story I have come up with that this could be.

can anybody please show me the first sentence or paragraph from this story to check up?

From "The Illustrated Man" in THE VINTAGE BRADBURY. Vintage books, NY 1965.

"Hey, the Illustrated Man!"
A calliope screamed and Mr. William Philipus Phelps stood, arms folded, high on the summer night platform, a crowd unto himself.
He was an entire civilization. In the main country, his chest the Vasties lived -- nipple-eyed dragons swirling over his fleshpot, his almost feminine breasts."

Does that help?

Yes! That is the same text. But than we have two different stories with the same title?

A short story and a short story collection/novel with the same title, something often done by Bradbury.

Having finally got to the library, elron, being true to my word, I pulled down the bound copies of these 50-year-old issues of "Saturday Evening Post" and here is the quote you wanted from "Love Contest."

"Boys warn each other," said mother. "As you recall."
"It seemed to do me no good," said father. "When you are seventeen you are an idiot, when you are eighteen you are a moron, at twenty you have developed upward to being a blockhead, by twenty-five you are a simp, at thirty you are a muddlebrain, and it is only now at the fine age of forty that I have simmered down to being nothing but a fool."

Dandelion:
That Bradbury quote above...should be placed at the top of the Bradbury site, in large letters.....Brilliant!!

On this issue I tend to agree more with elron than with Ray. I don't see why Ray thinks these two stories are so awful. I find them funny and a lot more affecting than certain ones which have appeared in his collections. But, since it looks as if neither of these will ever see book print, it seems I'll just have to content myself with photocopying them next time I'm at the library.

Good day!

Will you help me to define one story: in translation it is called "The observers". It begins with the man typing the text at the typewriter and watching the insects flying in the room. The main idea of the story is that the insects are the 'eyes', observers of the God, and the bacteriums and microbes are the 'eyes' of the Evil.

Thank you!

Dandelion!

Thank you VERY MUCH for the quote. I discovered your post only today! Maybe we can write a letter to publishers and ask them to publish these two stories? That would bring some money for them... what do you think?

The one you're thinking of is "The Watchers." Anthologized, but rarely, if ever, collected. I think it appeared in the "Dark Carnival" reissue.

As I understand, "Cat's Pajamas" is mostly composed of previously unpublished work. Too bad these two couldn't have appeared in it (if, indeed, they did not--I have not yet seen the book--) as they'd go perfectly under that title!

Hm... it seems that Bradbury wrote two different stories under the same title - 'The Watchers'. (The other is in 'Martian Chronicles')

Dandelion, why do you think they go well under the title?

If they will not appear in the new book - let us propose publishers to publish 'Love Contest' - that would be great!