Farewell Summer - Softcover

Bradbury, Ray

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061131555 ISBN 13: 9780061131554

Publisher: Harper, 2007

Synopsis

In the deceiving warmth of earliest October, civil war has come to Green Town, Illinois, an age-old conflict pitting the young against the elderly for control of the clock that ticks their lives ever forward. The graying forces of school board despot Mr. Calvin C. Quartermain have declared total war on thirteen-year-old Douglas Spaulding and his downy-cheeked cohorts. The boys, in turn, 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, as life waits in ambush to assail young Spaulding with its powerful mysteries--the irresistible ascent of manhood, the sweet surrender of a first kiss . . .

About this title

Review:

"A touching meditation on memories, aging, and the endless cycle of birth and death."--Booklist

"An intriguing coda to one of Bradbury's classics. "--Kirkus Reviews

"[B]eautiful imagery and well-crafted prose."--Chicago Sun-Times

"Poignant, wise...Bradbury's mature but fresh return to his beloved early writing conveys a depth of feeling."--Publishers Weekly

"Creepier than [Dandelion Wine] but retains the elegiac tone and lovely descriptions of 1920s boyhood."--Library Journal

"Bradbury remains a master of inspired storytelling . . . The long-awaited, rewarding conclusion to an American classic."--Rocky Mountain News

About the Author:

In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury, who died on June 5, 2011 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."

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0061131555
• ISBN 13: 9780061131554
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 240