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There is no denying that the works of Ray Bradbury, from FAHRENHEIT 451 to THE
ILLUSTRATED MAN, are literary classics. This month, the author of over 30 magnificent
works adds another wonderful collection of short stories to his list of accomplishments.
THE CAT'S PAJAMAS is a collection of twenty-two pieces spanning six decades. For
the Bradbury fan there are the familiar characters of space travelers, wide-eyed
children, small town folk and strange happenings. For those reading Bradbury for
the first time, this is a fine introduction to the trademark style: sweetness
mixed with sorrow mixed with strangeness and wonder.
Most of the tales in THE CAT'S PAJAMAS are quite short. Still, most of them
pack a punch. In "Chrysalis," written in the mid-1940s, Bradbury addresses racial
tension and inequalities in America when a white boy spends his summer tanning
on the beach and turning as dark as his black friend only to be able to shed his
dark skin at summer's end. Another story, "We'll Just Act Natural," also addresses
racial issues as an African-American maid awaits the arrival of the white boy
she helped raise. Does she mean as much to him, Bradbury asks, as he means to
her? One of the most clever and enjoyable stories is "Hail to the Chief." In this
piece, a drunken U.S. politician gambles away the country at an Indian casino,
changing the future of the nation and inadvertently rectifying old injustices.
With Bradbury one expects flying saucers, creepy tales and strangers arriving
in the night, and THE CAT'S PAJAMAS offers all those, too. In "Sixty-Six" a policeman
is haunted by images of the dust bowl along a lonely stretch of highway. "A Matter
of Taste" finds human space travelers encountering a kind and intelligent race
of giant spiders.
However, these types of stories are outnumbered in this collection by the other
type of fiction Bradbury does so well: nostalgic and interesting, always leaving
the reader something, an idea larger than the story itself, to think about. In
the title story, two strangers meet and find that they have much in common after
coming across a kitten in the middle of the road. "The House" is a short tale
about a newly wed couple who must begin to learn to see things the same way in
order to create a future together. In these stories, and so many others in this
collection, Bradbury successfully captures the moment when possibility with a
capital "p" lays before each character, inviting them to make a momentous decision
and perhaps change their life and definitely alter their outlook.
The interesting thing about this collection, besides all of Bradbury's original
ideas, is that the stories here were written over such a span of time. It is not
so much that he has been writing so long and had success over that time, although
that is an amazing thing in and of itself. It is that the stories at once are
works of their eras and, at the same time, transcend time. Bradbury has remained
true to his style and his visions.
While THE CAT'S PAJAMAS is not the masterpiece of his career, it is a solid
work that is sure to please his fans and create new ones. It is always a pleasure
to read Bradbury, and this collection does not disappoint. The final piece in
the collection is a tribute to his favorite writers, including Twain, Dickens
and Shaw, in verse. No doubt, someday many renowned writers will be writing the
praises of Bradbury and imagining themselves in his delightful company.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
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