The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Halloween Tree
Book Review: Haunting as Mr. Moundshroud
Summary: 4 Stars
"Halloween Tree" recaptures the surreal spookiness of a child's Halloween with the knowledge of an adult. One of Ray Bradbury's relatively few books for children is a wildly imaginative ride, with a strong subtext about friendship and death itself.
Eight young boys congregate to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night; the only one missing is Pipkin, the universal favorite (Bradbury devotes an entire chapter to singing Pip's praises). Pipkin does show up, but he acts strangely and isn't wearing a costume. When they show up at the House, a haunted edifice, they find the sinister, skeletal Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud and an enormous tree hung with jack-o-lanterns -- a Halloween tree. Pipkin appears nearby, and then is carried off into the darkness.
To save Pip, Moundshroud takes the boys on a strange trip through time and space, through history and across the world. He shows them the death-related rituals that spawned Halloween: Egypt's mummies, the Celtic Samhain and its lord of the dead, the Christian All Hallows Eve, the Mexican El Dia De Muerte, and others. Through time and across the world, they chase Pipkin and try to save him -- but what can they do against death?
Halloween books are generally the realm of the under-eight crowd. At a certain point in life, it's just hard to recapture that magic -- it's like a darker version of Christmas. But Ray Bradbury, who has been captivating people with his dark-edged fantasy for years, presents a uniquely gothic, uplifting story in this book.
Ray Bradbury's deft touch keeps this particular story from becoming too leaden and heavy-handed. Kids will be fascinated by the origins of Halloween, a holiday now relegated to candy and costumes; the descriptions of different cultures and what helped shape the Halloween we know today are handled excellently. He also does not become judgemental about any of the cultures, such as ancient Romans, Celts, and Christians, but merely presents how civilizations rise and fall, and how their traditions linger on.
None of the boys are really developed too intricately, and remain simply young brave boys who are willing to go through the fire for their friend. Mr. Moundshroud is alternately sinister or kindly: considering who he turns out to be, the sinisterness is not surprising, but he also sympathizes with the boys and allays their fears. The writing is excellent, almost dreamlike, with the sort of delightful overkill that characterizes really good spinechillers. The descriptions of the House and the Halloween tree are the best examples of this.
"Halloween Tree" succeeds in being a good fantasy, a good spinechiller, a good glimpse back in history, and an excellent story about friendship all in one. A wonderful read, and not just for Halloween either.
Book Review: I didn't see much to recommend the Halloween Tree.
Summary: 2 Stars
The Halloween Tree has a trite and predictable storyline. The characters were one dimensional. The prose style Bradbury elected to use was hyperbolic to the point of a saccharine mania. The central theme of the story was to travel back in time to find the true meaning of Halloween. Unfortunately, the history of Halloween he presented was not accurate. Samhain was not a grim reaper-like god; rather it was a pagan festival that is the basis of the Halloween tradition. Bradbury also got the myth of Osiris mixed up with that of Ra. Bradbury either did not check his facts or, as in The Martian Chronicles, decided not to let the facts get in the way of a "good" story. While some may argue this book was written as an allegory so accuracy is moot, I would say allegories work best when their weakness are not such an obvious distraction.
This is a juvenile book that does not work well for the adult reader. It is not in the same league as the Dicken's A Christmas Carol. I hesitate to recommend it for kids but some may enjoy its simple storyline and it gives a superficial overview of how death has been viewed throughout history.
Book Review: In Quest of the Sun
Summary: 4 Stars
The May, 1963, issue of _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ was a special Ray Bradbury issue, with two new stories by Bradbury and a critcal essay and a bibliography by William F. Nolan. (These were the days before bibliographies were widely available to readers.)
The cover was by Joseph Mugnaini. It showed a portrait of Bradbury in the foreground, surrounded by some of his literary creations: the Illustrated Man, the burning man from _Fahrenheit 451_, the villainous M. Munigant playing on a thighbone fife, the gentle Uncle Einar with his beautiful pea-green wings, Icarus, the Picasso centaur, and various Martians in and around a Martian city.
If ever there was an artist born to illustrate Bradbury's fiction, it was Joe Mugnaini. He has done covers for Bradbury's books and interiors for many of his stories. He did the animation for a short 1962 film of "Icarus Montgolfier Wright". And he has done the illustrations for _The Halloween Tree_ (1972). They are of things that Bradbury loves: masks, old haunted houses with Marley doorknockers, skeletal figures, pterodactyl kites, giant moons dominating the sky, flying broomsticks, and-- of course-- the skeletal Halloween tree.
It has been frequently said that Bradbury is much concerned with childhood. It might be more accurate to say that he is much concerned with boyhood. And so it is in this novel. On Halloween night, eight boys go in search of their comrade, the "best boy in the world," who is sick and in mortal danger. They are guided on this trip through time by the sinister but strangely helpful Mr. Moundshroud. On their quest, they learn about the history and the meaning of Halloween:
"There it goes, boys. The heart, soul and flesh of Halloween. The Sun! There Osiris is murdered again. There sinks Mithras, the Persian fire. There falls Phoebus Apollo all Grecian light. Sun and flame, boys. Look and blink." (77)
Halloween, then, is related to our primeval fear that the sun will not return. We know that it will... _But what if it doesn't_? This is a great book to use with kids to teach them lessons. Those costumes that you wear-- mummy, witch, skeleton, gargoyle-- what did they originally mean? Where did they come from? Mr. Moundshroud is a captivating teacher, and he provides plenty of surprises along the way.
Finally, there is Bradbury's style of writing, of which this is just one sample:
But they were already crowding up the path. Until they stood at last by a crumbling wall, looking up and up and still farther up at the great tombyard top of the old house. For that's what it seemed. The high mountain peak of the mansion was littered with what looked like black bones or iron rods, and enough chimneys to choke out smoke signals from three dozen fires on sooty hearths hidden far below in the dim bowels of this monster place. With so many chimneys, the roof seemed a vast cemetery, each chimney signifying the burial place of some old god of fire or enchantress of steam, smoke, and firefly spark. Even as they watched, a kind of bleak exhalation of soot breathed out of some four dozen flues, darkening the sky still more, and putting out some few stars. (18-19)
Is it quite in the same league as _The Martian Chronicles_ (1950) or _Fahrenheit 451_ (1953)? Well, no. But then, few books are. _The Halloween Tree_ is an excellent book, with prose that reminds you of how homogenized the writing is of most authors today. Order some extra copies today.
Book Review: Love this book
Summary: 5 Stars
This has been a favourite of mine since I was a kid and a rereading has proven it's still just as good as I remember.Book Review: More than sap drips from this tree
Summary: 4 Stars
Never being a rabid fan of science fiction Ray Bradbury never appealed to me as a novelist.In fact, I don't read science fiction at all.Growing up with Star Trek and The Twilight Zone were my main exposures to this area and aside from Campbells 'Who Goes There' which manifested itself into The Thing, I've never read much of the genre.The Halloween Tree intrigued me as a novel and its briefness and the unique subject matter always stuck in my mind.I knew it was considered a childrens book but I read it anyway,so what, right?In the few short hours it took to read it I can honestly say it was an enjoyable read and it was, dare I say,FUN!It involves a mystery to solve with a ragtag group of kids ala Scooby Doo but with a little more class.It is a good little story which I understand was made into a sort of video cartoon thing but I cant find it anywhere.If done right this could probably make a good movie what with all the special effects available today.The gist of it is a journey throughout various cultural representations of Halloween in search of their missing friend and the kids follow instruction from a mysterious old man who lives in a mysterious old house with a mysterious old tree with pumpkins and such hanging from it.VERY mysterious ehh? He even goes by the name of Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud of all things. If that doesn't whet your appetite for a good old fashioned Halloween tale than nothing will.All kidding aside, this Halloween night adventure is pure enjoyment and as I say, fun.Just that and nothing more.Encourage the kiddies to read it or read it to them for discussion at the dinner table or at bedtime when the nights get cold.Read it for yourself to help remember your own innocent past and youthfull,nocturnal excursions on Halloween night.Bradbury departs from his usual here but his heart's in the right place.I think you'll enjoy it.