The Machineries of Joy

As usual, Ray Bradbury writes in splendid imagery, his prose poetic. No one else wrote, or will ever write, like Bradbury.

Yet, I fear most of today's editors would likely slash and gut much of his beautiful detail, carving the very heart from his work. Such are the changes in readers' tastes, which I partly blame on the dumbing down of society.

The Machineries of Joy was, not surprisingly, a joy to read. Of the 21 brilliant stories included, my favorites were:

"Tyrannosaurus Rex" — A stop-motion animator, tasked with creating a miniature T-Rex, just cannot seem to satisfy a film producer—until he completely recreates the beast's face to resemble someone very familiar.

"The Vacation"— Traveling atop a small four-wheeled workman's show more railcar, a family of three takes a serene cross-country excursion, able to avoid the rest of humanity—because they are the last people on Earth.

"Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in your Cellar!"— Inspired by an ad in Popular Mechanics, a boy sends away for a kit to grow mushrooms in his parents' cellar, something that seems to be catching on across the country. However, it isn't long before alarming behavior begins to manifest in those who eat the mushrooms.

"Almost The End Of The World" — Two miners return home to regale the locals with yet more tall tales of adventure only to find their town completely changed. Everything is freshly painted from homes to shops to flower pots—and the locals suddenly prohibit the miners from uttering a word.

"And The Sailor, Home From The Sea" — A dying sea captain and widower, now living on a wheat farm far from the ocean, asks his caretaker to bury him at sea where he lost his wife so many years ago. When the time comes, the caretaker follows through—without ever leaving the farm.

"A Miracle of Rare Device" — Two schemers always looking for a fast buck discover a mirage in the New Mexico desert that appears to be New York City! They begin selling tickets to passersby, only to learn that each person sees something completely different—and life altering—in the trick of light and heat.

"And So Died Riabouchinska" — A detective investigating a murder questions a ventriloquist, but only learns the truth through the man's exquisite Russian female puppet.

"Death and the Maiden" — Old Mam, or so the townsfolk call her, locked herself in her house decades ago, fearing the day when Death would come for her. She receives no visitors save for a grocery clerk who merely delivers food to her porch once every few weeks. When Death finally arrives, he tempts Old Mam with an unexpected offer.

"To The Chicago Abyss" — A homeless man who remembers what life on Earth was like before Annihilation Day is saved from a beating on the street by the member of a secret movement that wishes to return to the days of old. The homeless man's reputation has fallen under the scrutiny of the authorities so the movement's followers send the homeless man to a place of safety, but not before he imparts his knowledge to them.

"The Anthem Sprinters" — In Dublin, a group of Irishman place bets on who can run out of the cinema the fastest after a movie, in order to avoid listening to Ireland's national anthem, which is played after the end of every film. When an American tourist is convinced to ante up and join the fun, he finds that even this callous group has a heart of gold. show less

I had a little fun. For my annual Bradbury October read I chose the 1964 anthology 'The Machineries of Joy'. It collects stories published from 1960 to 1964 in a variety of publications, particularly Playboy and the Saturday Evening Post. A few of these are famous and I recognized several. One of those was "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" which I recall as one of several Bradbury stories contained in my daughter's middle school English class textbook about 20 years ago. I recall being pleasantly surprised by that which led to my daughter and I sharing Bradbury stories and listening to a few audiobooks for a time. These stories are from a variety of genres, mainstream, spooky, mild fantasy, Bradbury's theme of television is a problem, just a show more bit of everything.

Here are the stories:
1 • The Machineries of Joy • (1962) • short story by Ray Bradbury
14 • The One Who Waits • (1949) • short story by Ray Bradbury
21 • Tyrannosaurus Rex • (1962) • short story by Ray Bradbury
34 • The Vacation • (1963) • short story by Ray Bradbury
41 • The Drummer Boy of Shiloh • (1960) • short story by Ray Bradbury
47 • Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar! • (1962) • short story by Ray Bradbury
63 • Almost the End of the World • (1957) • short story by Ray Bradbury
71 • Perhaps We Are Going Away • (1962) • short story by Ray Bradbury
75 • And the Sailor, Home from the Sea • (1960) • short story by Ray Bradbury
83 • El Dia de Muerte • (1947) • short story by Ray Bradbury
93 • The Illustrated Woman • (1961) • short story by Ray Bradbury
104 • Some Live Like Lazarus • (1960) • short story by Ray Bradbury
115 • A Miracle of Rare Device • (1962) • short story by Ray Bradbury
129 • And So Died Riabouchinska • (1953) • short story by Ray Bradbury
142 • The Beggar on O'Connell Bridge • [The Irish Stories] • (1961) • short story by Ray Bradbury
157 • Death and the Maiden • (1960) • short story by Ray Bradbury
165 • A Flight of Ravens • (1952) • short story by Ray Bradbury
176 • The Best of All Possible Worlds • (1960) • short story by Ray Bradbury
183 • The Lifework of Juan Díaz • short story by Ray Bradbury (variant of The Life Work of Juan Diaz 1963)
193 • To the Chicago Abyss • (1963) • short story by Ray Bradbury
203 • The Anthem Sprinters • non-genre • (1963) • short story by Ray Bradbury

Then I had a bit of fun and tried chat gpt after reading an article. I said to it: write a review in the style of ray bradbury of the anthology Machineries of joy from 1964. This clever thing is how it answered, almost immediately:

Review of Machineries of Joy

In the dim, flickering glow of imagination, where shadows dance with the whispers of unspoken dreams, Ray Bradbury invites us into the sprawling landscapes of Machineries of Joy. This anthology, a rich tapestry woven with threads of the fantastical and the profoundly human, serves as a testament to the unfathomable depths of our desires and fears.

Each story within this collection pulses with life, echoing the mechanized heartbeat of a world teetering on the brink of wondrous discovery and bleak desolation. Bradbury’s prose, akin to a gentle summer breeze rustling through the pages of time, captures the essence of humanity’s eternal struggle: the quest for joy amidst the clanking gears of existence. Here, in these tales, machines are not merely cold, metallic forms but reflections of our own hearts, longing to connect, to create, and ultimately, to understand.

In one tale, the intricate dance of technology and the human spirit unfolds—a poignant reminder that joy is not a destination but a journey, fraught with the glimmering shards of hope and despair. As we traverse the imagined streets of the future, we encounter characters who, despite the relentless march of progress, grapple with the same timeless questions that have haunted humanity since its dawn. What does it mean to truly live? To feel? To love in a world where machinery often eclipses the warmth of the human touch? show less

Ray Bradbury is a master.
This is a regular re-read for me... all of Bradbury's works are.
He is funny. Insightful. Strange. Surprising.
And his writing is beautiful while staying simplistic it draws poetry from little passing moments which he draws for you in perfect focus and clarity using everyday language.

This collection of short fiction ranges over several genres rather than the fantasy/science fiction for which the author is known. These include macabre tales of life in Mexico in a rather death-orientated culture, a story in which an old woman is visited by Death in the guise of a lost young lover who offers her one day as an eighteen year old again, and a tale about a family who are the only ones left after the parents wished everyone else away.

The most effective in the book for me were 'The One Who Waits', a story set on Mars about a strange lifeform, 'Some Live Like Lazarus' in which a woman narrates how she feels about a man she has known from childhood, who had promised to marry her but allowed his domineering mother to come show more between them, and 'A Flight of Ravens' about the shocking transformation of old friends that a man visits in the hope of finding respite. On balance I would give it a 3 star rating. show less

Ray Bradbury did have some good writing to his credit, and I rank his "Something Wicked This way Comes" up there with "Fahrenheit 451", and "the Martian Chronicles". This collection, by its nature could not be completely at that level. "the Drummer Boy of Shiloh" is the best story here.

A very good short story collection, with stories ranging from scifi to fiction to fantasy. Well written and with some good concepts. Not all of the stories are great, but none were bad, either.

There are a few outstanding short stories in this collection, including the whimsical 'Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar”. The collection, however, seemed erratic and random, and would have been better served by combining stories from Bradbury’s vast collection in a more cohesive manner.