My book club discussed "Farewell Summer" by Ray Bradbury last night. This is a sequel to "Dandelion Wine" which I have also read. The book is poetic and almost magical in describing a young boy's summer in a small town. Bradbury says this book is semi autobiographical. The setting is Waukegan, Illinois in the 1920's. Strangely enough, I have spent a weekend in Waukegan five years ago to watch Offspring #1 graduate from Navy bootcamp. The Waukegan described in this book differs greatly from the Waukegan I visited but Bradbury conveys the neighborly feel in a vivid fashion. The young boys in the town and the old men of the town start a war; not a real war but a war nonetheless. Each section of the book is labeled after an important Civil War battle. In the end, the war is resolved. The book ends in a very manly fashion, causing many book club members to titter and joke. Evidently this is the second book of a trilogy and I am anxious to read the third in the series titled "Something Wicked This Way Comes." I've already read "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Illustrated Man." Someday I'll get to "The Martian Chronicles."
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