ABOUT THIS EPISODE
It's spooky season, so JD and Mallory are adding a little something extra to AudiYOOObooks.
For the first of our seasonal Bonus Chapters, we're talking about Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. An autumn-soaked story about two boys, one very tired father, a sinister carnival, and a carousel offering exactly the thing you think you want.
JD first fell for the story through Disney's 1983 film adaptation, but Paul Giamatti's audiobook performance turned Bradbury's novel into a new October favorite.
JD and Mallory dig into Bradbury's lush, poetic prose, Will and Jim's friendship, the fear of growing older, and the equally dangerous desire to grow up too quickly, and why Charles Halloway may actually be the book's true protagonist.
They also talk about the novel's surprisingly moving ideas about parenthood, morality, grief, mortality, and the idea that joy isn't always something you simply feel. Sometimes choosing to participate in joy is itself an act of resistance.
Mallory does, however, have some notes for Ray Bradbury about women.
Plus: Paul Giamatti's narration, Mr. Dark and the mysterious Autumn People, the 1983 Disney adaptation with Jonathan Pryce and Pam Grier, childhood friendships that don't necessarily last forever, and our attempt to cast a modern version of the movie.
⚠️ This is a full spoiler discussion. We assume you've already read or listened to the book.
If you've finished the book and want to spend a little more time unpacking it, this episode is for you.
Book discussed: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Audiobook narrator: Paul Giamatti
