There’s something pleasant about books that can be read in one sitting and Ray Bradbury’s the Martian Chronicles is a very good way to spend a day. The book is short under 200 pages if I can remember correctly and consist of a collection of short stories describing first a martian civilization, its fall, and the colonization of mars by humans. Each of the stories is fairly briefed and many are lighthearted though Bradbury doesn’t hesitate to touch on heavy themes.
I will say two things about this collection the first being that anyone new to Bradbury will get the pleasure as I did of experiencing his distinctive writing style which in my opinion is somewhat sparse, fast paced and leaves much unsaid yet at the same time does not hesitate to take the big themes and big moments head on. Somewhere in the early parts of this collection there is a story that deals heavily with racism, and indeed historical themes such as racism, militarism, and religion are packed throughout the collection.