I’d never read this one before, and it feels like I probably should have before now. It’s a good reminder that Bradbury’s writing (from my experience) isn’t often about space travel and other worlds. In the opening introduction, now reflecting back from 40 years since the original publication, Bradbury mentions how Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio is an impetus behind this book — not exactly an inspiration, because the novels aren’t very similar — but more so the motivation to write what he wanted.
The book itself is a handful of short stories that talk about Earth finding its ways to Mars in the 2030s. Mars, according to the novel, is an established and ancient civilization, different from Earth in many ways.
The short stories are meditations and musings and thought-experiments as much about colonialism and the regressive elements in Earth cultures than about Mars. It’s also important to realize that Bradbury is not particularly interested in the science side of things in this book, so you have to be willing overlook that.
I think the stories are very good over all, and a few of them made me laugh or smile or nod along in appreciation.
This is one of those books you can see whole careers built upon — meaning I see traces from this book that more or less account for the whole lengths of later writers’ careers. The way he talks about “regular folk” is so much like Stephen King. The whole set up of Mars reminds me a lot of JG Ballard’s Vermillion Sands stories. The way the planet interacts with the visitors is a lot like Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris.
And where else is Bradbury’s forebears? I think there’s an odd amount of John Steinbeck in this books — especially elements of Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row.
(Photo: https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Chronicles-Ray-Bradbury/dp/1451678193/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5U9JRQMLLVXZ&keywords=martian+chronicles+ray+bradbury&qid=1551270001&s=gateway&sprefix=martian+%2Caps%2C265&sr=8-1)