Something Wicked This Way Comes: An Audio Book Review

Written by Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a classic literary novel. However, I wouldn’t call it a horror novel. It has some creepy things, yes, but it isn’t really depraved or even scary. This is a thing that makes you think. Now, if I was reading this as a child, perhaps. But I am not, and I don’t think this novel was written for children. In a lot of ways this reflects far more on childhood relationships, and father son relationships, than it does as something for children.

The lessons learned are those that, even reading this as a child, are generally lost on children. Youth is fleeting and meant to be enjoyed. As is every stage of your life. Wanting something doesn’t make that thing worth having for the wanting of it. Look at all the freaks (I mean that in the sense of those who are in the carnival as that is how they are referred to in the novel). They become their greatest desire or their greatest sin. Because your sins often reflect your desires.

That being said, I have no desire to ever read this again. Wordy, there are points when Bradbury describes the same thing 2, 3, even 4 times over again. It is so unnecessary. For writing an essay or getting into an in-depth analysis this novel would be great.

Is this a novel that deserves to be on the classics list? Yeah, sure, it is a great study in human nature. But it isn’t one to read over and over again like To Kill a Mockingbird. That novel is so well written. But we won’t speak of the second novel that came out.