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The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury
Neil Gaiman, has posted an audio recording of him reading his story “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury, which appears in the forthcoming "Shadow Show" anthology. It was originally released via the Kickstarter/fan-funded live album An Evening With Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer.
10 pages, Audiobook
First published June 7, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
August 22, 2016
I came across this title on Open Culture when I was looking for something to listen to, and the title pissed me off a little. How could anyone forget someone as unforgettable as Ray Bradbury? So I had to listen to it. Turns out the author, Neil Gaiman, was the narrator, and while talking before he began to read the story he said it had been written as a birthday present to Bradbury.
It is a short, but wonderful story. It is about growing old, and losing the words, the memory. In telling this story Gaiman plays with themes from Fahrenheit 451, and does it in a imaginative way. The result is a funny / sad, serious / playful story that I think is very good. Gaiman's narration is also very good.
It left me with a question. Why is this the first Neil Gaiman story I've read? Well, I'm not sure, but it will not be the last.
It is a short, but wonderful story. It is about growing old, and losing the words, the memory. In telling this story Gaiman plays with themes from Fahrenheit 451, and does it in a imaginative way. The result is a funny / sad, serious / playful story that I think is very good. Gaiman's narration is also very good.
It left me with a question. Why is this the first Neil Gaiman story I've read? Well, I'm not sure, but it will not be the last.
March 4, 2018
This is a true Ode to Ray Bradbury. I think it's obvious that Ray was an influence on Neil.
Great story.
Great story.
March 6, 2018
Freaking Awesome
http://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the-...
..... or find it on youtube
http://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the-...
..... or find it on youtube
June 27, 2024
This is beyond wonderful. The inimitable Neil Gaiman salutes the inimitable Ray Bradbury. Thank you so much to Terris, who shared the link and a review that made me stop what I was doing and sit down to listen.
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
March 12, 2015
Dear Neil,
You are one of my favorite authors and your wonderful gift to another of my favorite authors (Ray Bradbury) for what turned out to be his last birthday - a story called “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury", and that too in your own hypnotic voice is sheer awesomeness.
Melancholic and inspiring, it moved me in a pretty unexpected way. So thank you very much for your words.
- See you on Mars.
You are one of my favorite authors and your wonderful gift to another of my favorite authors (Ray Bradbury) for what turned out to be his last birthday - a story called “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury", and that too in your own hypnotic voice is sheer awesomeness.
Melancholic and inspiring, it moved me in a pretty unexpected way. So thank you very much for your words.
- See you on Mars.
June 21, 2012
"Better to have flamed in the darkness, to have inspired others, to have lived, than to have sat in the darkness, cursing the people who borrowed, but did not return, your candle."
Yeah, I'm working on that one. We'll see how it goes.
Yeah, I'm working on that one. We'll see how it goes.
March 6, 2018
What an ode! Thank you Mr. Gaiman. It was truly beautiful.
Listen to this here:
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
Listen to this here:
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
July 21, 2019
"As long as your words which are people which are days which are my life, as long as your words survive, then you lived and you mattered and you changed the world and I cannot remember your name."
October 4, 2016
Beautiful.
"As long as your words which are people which are days which are my life, as long as your words survive, then you lived and you mattered and you changed the world and I cannot remember your name."
"I had read the books, I had seen the film, and the burning point of paper was the moment where I knew that I would have to remember this. Because people would have to remember books, if other people burn them or forget them. We will commit them to memory. We will become them. We become authors. We become their books."
"I am sorry. I lost something there. Like a path I was walking that dead-ended, and now I am alone and lost in the forest, and I am here and I do not know where here is anymore."
"All I have left is the space in my mind where you used to be.
And I am not so certain about even that."
"Better to have flamed in the darkness, to have inspired others, to have lived, than to have sat in the darkness, cursing the people who borrowed, but did not return your candle."
"As long as your words which are people which are days which are my life, as long as your words survive, then you lived and you mattered and you changed the world and I cannot remember your name."
"I had read the books, I had seen the film, and the burning point of paper was the moment where I knew that I would have to remember this. Because people would have to remember books, if other people burn them or forget them. We will commit them to memory. We will become them. We become authors. We become their books."
"I am sorry. I lost something there. Like a path I was walking that dead-ended, and now I am alone and lost in the forest, and I am here and I do not know where here is anymore."
"All I have left is the space in my mind where you used to be.
And I am not so certain about even that."
"Better to have flamed in the darkness, to have inspired others, to have lived, than to have sat in the darkness, cursing the people who borrowed, but did not return your candle."
January 8, 2014
"I sometimes imagine I would like my ashes to be scattered in a library."
By the end of this sentence, I think I had completely fallen in love.
God, I really, really, really want to tattoo myself with his stories. :')
By the end of this sentence, I think I had completely fallen in love.
God, I really, really, really want to tattoo myself with his stories. :')
June 24, 2024
This short story is amazing! Neil Gaiman wrote it as a present for Bradbury's 91st birthday.
It is wonderful to listen to Gaiman read (anything, really!) the 13 minute story; so powerful and full of lessons, and some humor.
You can listen to it here (Soundcloud):
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
Enjoy!
It is wonderful to listen to Gaiman read (anything, really!) the 13 minute story; so powerful and full of lessons, and some humor.
You can listen to it here (Soundcloud):
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
Enjoy!
April 29, 2018
It's been a long time since I cried like this at the end of a story--cried for big, true things revealed by the author's imagination. The last time was surely after reading a Ray Bradbury story ...
October 30, 2025
A beautifully written and quietly sad story about memory, storytelling, and what it means to forget. It captures how fragile our minds can be and how easy it is to lose the details that once felt so vivid.
I loved how the narrator fumbles for names and struggles to keep thoughts straight. It mirrors the slow fade of memory in such a natural way. That hit close for me since the idea of losing clarity has always been something I fear. Even with the sadness, there’s humor and tenderness that make it feel deeply human.
It’s short but heartfelt, and it made me sit for a moment just thinking about how much we rely on memory to hold the people we love close.
I loved how the narrator fumbles for names and struggles to keep thoughts straight. It mirrors the slow fade of memory in such a natural way. That hit close for me since the idea of losing clarity has always been something I fear. Even with the sadness, there’s humor and tenderness that make it feel deeply human.
It’s short but heartfelt, and it made me sit for a moment just thinking about how much we rely on memory to hold the people we love close.
November 13, 2023
Emotivo homenaje a Ray y a su obra
April 7, 2013
Lie down in the darkness and listen to this.
To every word of it. Weep and laugh a bit, and awake after mere minutes to yearn for it again.
Forget it. Keep the feeling of it whole and swirling in you, to come back to listening after some time have passed.
Keep the words.
To every word of it. Weep and laugh a bit, and awake after mere minutes to yearn for it again.
Forget it. Keep the feeling of it whole and swirling in you, to come back to listening after some time have passed.
Keep the words.
January 3, 2016
I now need to read all of Bradbury. Every last one of them.
January 20, 2016
Mr. Gaiman, you're awesome.
November 13, 2020
The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury was a nice ode to Ray Bradbury, but I wasn’t as in love with the story as I had hoped to be. It was an interesting idea, it held my attention, but it is far from being one of my favourites of the author’s works. Although many love this one, I found it underwhelming.
September 1, 2015
Nice. Mysterious. Intriguing. Sad. But also happy and fun to read.
It's deep. It's about reading and remembering.. and forgetting. I clearly have no words to explain what I read. It was something... not ordinary, not something usual.. or normal. It was an incredible idea unravelling through every page until the end. Explaining what if words got lost. What if books got burned. What if names would be forgotten. We can't lose the books. One of the few escapes we hold. It's somewhat paranoid to the things that goes through our "character's" mind but also make total sense.
Would recommend it to every fan of Bradbury or Gaiman or pretty much to anyone who likes reading.
Keep reading!
God save the books.
It's deep. It's about reading and remembering.. and forgetting. I clearly have no words to explain what I read. It was something... not ordinary, not something usual.. or normal. It was an incredible idea unravelling through every page until the end. Explaining what if words got lost. What if books got burned. What if names would be forgotten. We can't lose the books. One of the few escapes we hold. It's somewhat paranoid to the things that goes through our "character's" mind but also make total sense.
Would recommend it to every fan of Bradbury or Gaiman or pretty much to anyone who likes reading.
Keep reading!
God save the books.
October 2, 2016
"I had read the books, I had seen the film, and the burning point of paper was the moment where I knew that I would have to remember this. Because people would have to remember books, if other people burn them or forget them. We will commit them to memory. We will become them. We become authors. We become their books.
I am sorry. I lost something there. Like a path I was walking that dead-ended, and now I am alone and lost in the forest, and I am here and I do not know where here is anymore."
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
I am sorry. I lost something there. Like a path I was walking that dead-ended, and now I am alone and lost in the forest, and I am here and I do not know where here is anymore."
https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
September 24, 2021
"I sometimes imagine I would like my ashes to be scattered in a library. But then the librarians would just have to come in early the next morning to sweep them up again, before the people got there."
This very short story did just make me teary eyed
This very short story did just make me teary eyed
October 30, 2019
This was a quick listen. Never heard of this until coming across it this morning. I enjoyed the narration.
May 1, 2020
An interesting story reflexing about the forgetting art, when something is important but you have forgotten it !!!
October 1, 2020
Quite revolutionary. Ideas and thoughts that have never been spoken aloud appeared in Neil's creation and once again left me wide eyed.
June 30, 2021
Beautiful!
August 1, 2024
Beautiful. Witty. Emotional.
I won't comment what's it about because one day I want to come back with excitement that what was it that was so beautiful here?
I won't comment what's it about because one day I want to come back with excitement that what was it that was so beautiful here?
Read
December 9, 2022And the people who would burn the words, the people who would take the books from the shelves, the firemen and the ignorant, the ones afraid of tales and words and dreams and Hallowe'en and people who have tattooed themselves with stories and Boys! You Can Grow Mushrooms in Your Cellar! and as long as your words which are people which are days which are my life, as long as your words survive, then you lived and you mattered and you changed the world and I cannot remember your name.
I learned your books. Burned them into my mind. In case the firemen come to town.
I learned your books. Burned them into my mind. In case the firemen come to town.
Read
March 16, 2013Kau boleh dengar suara Neil Gaiman membacakan cerpennya ini di sini: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2012...
Melancholic and inspiring.
Beliau wujud dalam alam fantasi mereka yang dipengaruhi karyanya, juga termasuk aku.
Melancholic and inspiring.
Beliau wujud dalam alam fantasi mereka yang dipengaruhi karyanya, juga termasuk aku.
September 29, 2014
"I sometimes imagine I would like my ashes to be scattered in a library."
Listen to Gaiman read his extremely beautiful tribute to Ray Bradbury - https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
Listen to Gaiman read his extremely beautiful tribute to Ray Bradbury - https://soundcloud.com/neilgaiman/the...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews