Thankful for Books, Part 3

To conclude my series about the books that left a deep imprint on my psyche, I want to tell you about Ray Bradbury.

I don’t remember how old I was — I want to say, ten? — when I fell hard for Ray Bradbury’s legendary short stories. I remember the Martians with their beautiful golden eyes. I remember a children’s bedroom with Safari-themed wallpaper (or something) that came alive.

But the story that touched me the most was one called “Tomorrow’s Child.”
In the story, a family is using some sort of a crazy-futuristic-experimental procedure to have a baby. And of course, there is a problem. The baby is born — um, a triangle. No it isn’t a deformity or an extra chromosome  — through some sort of weird accident the baby got born into another dimension, and that is why he looks this way to his horror-stricken parents.

The parents try everything.  In the end, they come to the best solution of all. Instead of trying to change their child, they decide to use the weird-experiment-machine-process-whatever to enter into their child’s dimension, themselves.

Here is what the beautiful ending looks like: to the rest of the world, the mother, father and their baby are freaks, some sort of shapes, which ones I don’t remember. But to each other, the three look completely normal. More than that — they look beautiful.

Something about this ending grabbed me and never let go. I just loved it so much, the idea that you can be a triangle, and you don’t have to change. The others can change for you, if they want to.

12 responses to “Thankful for Books, Part 3”

  1. Clara Gillow Clark Avatar

    I love Ray Bradbury, and I love the ending of that story, too. Thank you for sharing, Katia!

    Like

    1. Katia Raina Avatar

      And thanks for reading, Clara. He’s just got such a crazy-brilliant mind. I guess we “triangle” types appreciate it 😉

      Like

  2. Medeia Sharif Avatar

    I was a Bradbury fanatic in high school and during my college years. I don’t remember all the stories, but my favorite collection at the time was The October Country. If I read Tomorrow’s Child, I don’t recall it. I’d love to read his books again.

    Like

    1. Katia Raina Avatar

      More proof that we’re kindred spirits, fellow Bradbury fan! 🙂

      Like

  3. Joanne Fritz Avatar

    Like Medeia, I loved Ray Bradbury when I was in high school. The man wrote some amazing novels, like Fahrenheit 451, but also hundreds of short stories. I remember reading The Illustrated Man, a collection of sci fi stories. I think that one about the high-tech safari nursery was in there. But the one I remember most is The Highway, about a man and woman in rural Mexico, wondering why everyone was driving past their house, trying to escape a nuclear war. The couple didn’t even understand what war was.

    Thanks for jogging my memory, Katia!

    Like

    1. Katia Raina Avatar

      And you jogged mine, Joanne! Now I want to re-read them again, more than ever!!

      Like

  4. Sarah Pearson Avatar

    I love Ray Bradbury, but I haven’t read nearly enough by him. The ending to the story you mention sounds perfect.

    Like

    1. Katia Raina Avatar

      Sarah, if ever you have the time to take a peek at more of his stuff, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

      Like

  5. nan marino Avatar
    nan marino

    I haven’t read enough of Ray Bradbury either, but I loved Zen in the Art of Writing. Happy Thanksgiving, Katia.

    Like

    1. Katia Raina Avatar

      Same to you, Nan. I should read “Zen” one day. Yet another writing book for me to love. Thinking about you, by the way 🙂 Can’t wait to get together! XOXO

      Like

  6. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    Ray Bradbury is one of my favorites, but for me the best by far is Something Wicked This Way Comes.

    Like

    1. Katia Raina Avatar

      OMG! Can you believe it — I never read this one. Worse: I didn’t even know Bradbury was the one who wrote it. To be remedied in the near future!

      Like

Leave a reply to Joanne Fritz Cancel reply