Rach's Reading Club

For my first July book, I picked "A Graveyard for Lunatics" by Ray Bradbury. This book can be classified as a mystery or as a Horror story, but it's really more of a notalgia piece than either of those things.

It takes place in Hollywood during the 1950's and it's narrated by a very thinly disguised Ray Bradbury who is working as a fledgeling screenwriter. There are several other characters which are definitely based on real people including Fritz Lang, John Huston, and Ray Harryhausen. At one point, I was sondering how much of this story was true and how much fictio. I hope it's mostly fiction because it's a pretty lurid tale.

Basically, the narrator becomes caught in a mystery which involves a beast that's been terrorizing Hollywood. Figuring out the beast's identity becomes an intriguing plot but is not really as compelling as the odd people we encounter along the way. Perhaps, the most tragic (but also, in a way, the most comic) is an actor who has been cast as Jesus in a Biblical spectacle film, but in reality is an alcoholic and womanizer.

If this story sounds depressing ,or at least cynical, it definitely is, but it also has a childlike innocence about it. Because most of the characters, including the narrator, see Hollywood not as just a meal ticket, but as a place where dreams come true. You get the feeling that these people still feel some of the childlike wonder that one gets from seeing a good movie.

I would definitely recommend this book to a movie fan. As I said before, the plot itself is not as exciting as you might think, but it's still an entertaining read.