Behind the Headlines

In 1996, Ray Bradbury published a collection of 21 short stories called “Quicker than the Eye.” It was his first new collection of short stories in almost 10 years. Although he had written them over the course of his career, none of the stories had been printed until 1994 and most were now in their first publication.

In addition to his short stories, Mr. Bradbury is credited with more than 30 books, including “Fahrenheit 451,” Monroe’s Big Read project.

“Quicker than the Eye” has such a variety of topics that I had to wonder “Where does he get all these ideas?” He writes about a man who met his mother’s ghost, time traveling to pay tribute to favorite authors on their death beds, and an abandoned highway that leads to a small town long ignored by the interstate traffic a mile away. The more bizarre plots include what might happen if you took home a pile of fill dirt from a cemetery.

Mr. Bradbury did include an afterward that explained, “I don’t write these stories, they write me.” This book features pieces he wrote for his own enjoyment.

One of his favorite stories, and one I particularly enjoyed, was “Remember Sascha?”, the tale of two expectant parents who have conversations with their unborn first child. “The Very Gentle Murders” is the wild tale of a long-married couple who want to get rid of each other – and succeed in an unexpected manner. And “No News, or What Killed the Dog?” was inspired by his 5-year-old antics of playing a recording by that name over and over until his neighbor threatened to “break me or the record – choose!”

Mr. Bradbury closed his afterward with this line: “Live. And write. With great haste.”