The Homecoming (Wonderfully Illustrated Short Pieces)

Leave it to Ray Bradbury to take the story of an "abnormal" normal boy whose family consists entirely of creatures of the night and turn it into a mesmerizing yet creepy story of identity and finding one's place in family. Add to that the illustrations by Dave McKean and you have a mixture for a delightfully wicked little book.

Having read the full version of the Homecoming I was surprised that the condensed version worked so well. It had a different tone though, and seemed much more melancholy. Maybe I'm remembering the original incorrectly, but I don't recall Timothy being this depressed about his humanity by the end of the story, since his off family was obviously very accepting of his mortality.

That being said, the illustrations and page design by McKean are a perfect match to Bradbury's prose. Both are just slightly creepy, but not overly horrifying, so the reader is fully engaged and interested by this uniquely entertaining story.

A Ray Bradbury children's story about a normal, living breathing young boy who lives in an Addams Family house with his otherworldly parents and sister, awaiting the arrival of their extended ghoulish and monsterish kin from across the globe for All Hallows' Eve. Timothy is torn between wanting to be a warm living human, with a finite number of years to live, and wanting to be like the rest of his family, sleeping in polished boxes beneath the ground by day, flying and wisping through walls by night. A charming and ghoulish story with a nice lesson about differences between loved ones, and some very apt shadowy illustrations by Dave McKean. This is the first Bradbury I've read since his recent death. This is a nice little Bradbury show more story, not one of his best, but good enough, with a nice dark whimsy and charm. Ray Bradbury, along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, was one of my Big Three in Science Fiction. I've never read a Ray Bradbury story and thought I could have better spent that time. show less

This is a beautiful book! Not my favorite story from "The October Country", but with this artwork, it really hums! And who couldn't sympathize with Timothy? Not fitting in with one's family, being the black sheep as it were, is a pretty common feeling for many. The twist in this book on that theme is were well done! Keep looking for those wings young man!

I don’t like scary books (at all!) but I do love Ray Bradbury. It was that love for Bradbury that carried me through reading this very scary book. The plot is thin: a young boy’s family gather together on All Hallows Eve and the family, all except the boy, are ghouls. The boy is deeply saddened by being different, completely human, in a family where everyone has special, albeit creepy, abilities. The story is rich in sensory details, Bradbury-ish in every way. The appeal of the story for me was greatly increased by the format of the book, a small volume with just the right pictures and script. I could barely make it through this scary story, but even I, a big ole scaredy cat, I could not miss the beautiful writing and the rich show more characters. show less

This was a rather sweet, but awfully short story with beautiful illustrations. I wasn't that invested in the story, but I found it charming nonetheless, especially the end.

Summary: Timothy, the only normal member of a ghoulish family, tries to fit in at their annual reunion.
What’s interesting and unique about this book is that it’s essentially a picture book for teens and adults. It’s too wordy and a little dark for younger children, though, like most Ray Bradbury books, has a style that appeals to the child in adults. The text and illustrations merge together so that the words become part of the picture and vice-versa—though the angularity of lines and melancholy tones make them sometimes harsh to view, it is easy to overlook this in favor of this merging. There isn’t really a happy ending, with Timothy, left to deal with his unique mortality, wonders whether he will be alive to see the next show more family reunion. Adults and older children might enjoy the unusual question, suggested by Uncle Eisner, as to whether it is better to be immortal or to “live least, [with] worth more per ounce.” Though too dark for children and probably better suited to its original short story format, but this story could be useful for teens as its picture book lay-out makes reading less intimidating. show less