Ray Bradbury Forums
Good Short Stories?

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04 March 2002, 09:49 PM
Benji McTweak
Good Short Stories?
What are the 3 best short stories by ray Bradbury and where on the internet can i find critical reviews of them? i need to know for an essay, thanks for your help.
05 March 2002, 12:39 AM
dandelion
You can try the "ten best/favorites" list, but with so many great ones it's possible no three certain stories came up even twice!
07 March 2002, 11:52 AM
Nightshade
Benji, there are no quick ways of approaching Bradbury and interpreting his style. A joy unmatched is being immersed by his prose firsthand, not simply reading others' critical views.

I don't want to sound too cynical here, but I see too many posts from students who aren't terribly interested in experiencing Bradbury, and would rather have a "quick fix." It makes me sad, to be honest.
07 March 2002, 01:02 PM
fjpalumbo
Agreed!
We just read the scene in F451 (Sieve and the Sand) where Montag's futile attempt to communicate with Mildred's friends is thwarted. 3 big screens, immediacy of personal needs, and confusion win out!
(A group of gr. 10 students then asked to continue reading -orally- further into this chapter. It seems, Mr. Bradbury has a way of doing that to all of us, if we take the time to "hear" what he is saying.)

So take heart, Benji! Look at the selections of "top ten stories" of some visitors here. Begin and, hopefully, you will continue to read on...

We'd be interested to find out what 3 stories you found most to your liking!

"The Veldt" is always a winner with students.
09 March 2002, 03:59 PM
olwiggum
here are some that i enjoy:
-the foghorn (it was the first story that i ever read by mr. bradbury, and still my favorite)
-the lake
-the jar
-the rocket man
-kaleidoscope
10 March 2002, 12:22 AM
dandelion
Oh, that just made me remember, I once asked Ray Bradbury what to do about a teacher of mine who didn't properly appreciate his work. He said one story, "The Foghorn," might make a convert of her. So put "The Foghorn" as one of the top three.
10 March 2002, 05:18 PM
Nightshade
All right, I'll put three onto the table, although it's impossible to designate top three spaces as "favorites." These are just three that immediately come to mind as ones I will never forget:

"The Lake"
"The Emissary"
"And the Moon Be Still As Bright"

All have that quintessential Bradbury evocation of imagery, and the last one on the list might just be counted as my favorite Martian Chronicle.
10 March 2002, 07:55 PM
SethD105
Sometimes my top favorite three were the last three stories I had read. So I think for me, my list is somewhat in flux.
The three that hit me today as a quick reaction were.
1. The Man
2. Chrysalis
3. A Woman Is A Fast Moving Picnic
The list for me goes on and on these came to mind. I am looking forward to the new collection coming out sometime this Spring.
12 March 2002, 05:04 AM
crumley
It is interesting that your 'favourites' can completely change over time. But anyway ... these are AMONG my favourites (apart from the usual 'Greatest Hits' choices - eg. Sound of Thunder, Skeleton, Pedestrian, Veldt etc.)
1. The Blue Bottle
2. Hail and Farewell
3. The Last Circus