Scarletwoman requested that I share this brief review... Can't say no to Scarletwoman.
First, I hate winter and love summer, so any books or movies that make me think of warm, sunny days are good. "Dandelion Wine" transports me back to boyhood and summer, even though mine was in the '60's rather than 1928. The feelings and emotions in it are timeless. These words appear very early in the book, "Summer had gathered in the weather, the wind had the proper touch, the breathing of the world was long and warm and slow. You had only to rise, lean from your window, and know that this indeed was the first real time of freedom and living, this was the first morning of summer."
There is an early chapter in which the main character, Douglas, and his grandfather make dandelion wine. Douglas' words: "Dandelion wine. The words were summer on the tongue. The wine was summer caught and stoppered."
The chapters are episodic, but flow with the passing of the season. Typical Ray Bradbury, many of the episodes have qualities of fantasy and magic. "Dandelion Wine" reminds me that Mr. Bradbury could describe the ordinary as amazing and meaningful. A completely wonderful book which I'm sure I'll re-read again in a couple years.
You didn't have to have been a boy to appreciate when the simple act of getting new sneakers could be special. "Summer in the Air" is a chapter from "Dandelion Wine". Only two magazine pages. It's in PDF format for any Adobe reader. You can enlarge the print by moving your cursor over the bottom center, opening the tool bar, and clicking on the + sign.
http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/summer-in-the-air-ray-bradbury.pdf
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