The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl

by Ray Bradbury

"The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl" is a short story by Ray Bradbury. It was first published in Detective Book Magazine in November 1948 (cover date: Winter) as "Touch and Go". (Cover image: "Detective Book Magazine Winter 1948" (jpg). Fiction House. Retrieved 18 October 2012.). The story was re-titled and published as "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl" in EQMM in January 1953.
Mr. Acton begins the story standing over the body of Mr. Huxley, whom he has just killed. While attempting to cover up his tracks, he has flashbacks of his encounters with Mr. Huxley, with whom he is having an altercation over a woman.

Genres: Short Stories, Crime, Fiction, Humor, Science Fiction

ebook

First published September 1, 1948

About the author

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).

The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".

Reviews

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't even read the biggest or the most important works of Ray Bradbury, but I can tell, man he has a way to show how people go crazy.

[Hannah Tatum · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl, by Ray Bradbury was an interesting story to read. The message I took from the story was that people shouldn’t only work on the details, they should work on the most important tasks first. Acton spends so much time cleaning his fingerprints off everything that he forgets to get rid of Huxley’s corpse, therefore being caught by the police. This short fictional piece takes place in Huxley’s residence, featuring the characters William Acton and Donald Huxley. In the start of the story, Acton is standing over Huxley’s corpse, admiring his masterpiece. Because fingerprints are used to determine who committed a crime, Acton proceeds to clean his mess. He slowly descends into madness, making sure everything is free of his fingerprints, neglecting Huxley’s corpse. Acton is found at six in the morning, when Huxley was supposed to be picked up to travel to Mexico City, cleaning the attic. A police officer found Acton, walking up behind him with a gun. With a triumphant “Done!”, Acton left Huxley’s home, cleaning anything he touched. Although the story ends there, I can assume that Acton was caught and arrested for murder, as the corpse of Huxley was almost ignored by Acton. I’ve read a bit of Bradbury’s works in the past, such as Fahrenheit 451, The Black Ferris, A Sound of Thunder, All Summer in a Day, and possibly others. Out of the short stories I’ve read, The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl might be one of my favorites. Acton’s descent into madness is perfectly written, and the rest of the piece was very well composed. Of course, if you call going insane composed. Overall, The Fruit at the Bottom of The Bowl was definitely interesting to read, and enjoyable. People who enjoy irony and murder mysteries would enjoy this short story, as this entire story is circulated around those two ideas.

[Federico DN · Rating 4 out of 5]

This house is clean.

My favorite by Bradbury so far. Quick, memorable and packing a punch.

RTC.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1948] [15p] [Crime] [Highly Recommendable]
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★★★☆☆ Fahrenheit 451. [3.5]
★★★☆☆ The Martian Chronicles.
★★★★☆ The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl.
★★★★☆ I See You Never. [3.5]
★★★★☆ All Summer in a Day. [3.5]
???????? A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories. <--

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Esta casa está limpia.

Mi favorito de Bradbury hasta ahora. Rápido, memorable y con alto impacto.

RTC

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1948] [15p] [Crimen] [Altamente Recomendable]
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[Brett Minor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A horror story about the extreme dangers of OCD.

[Foe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha recordado mucho a El corazón delator. Quizá tenga un final muy previsible y precipitado, hace que el suspense no se acumule y libere satisfactoriamente. La última frase es brillante. El título original, menos poético, pero más acertado.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little story first appeared in a mystery magazine in 1948. It was also included in a later (1970) edition of “The Golden Apples of the Sun,” but I read the 1953 edition (see my review), which did not include it. The story starts with a murder by the narrator of his rival over a woman, but then the process of how to cover it up takes up most of the narrative. It’s quite funny, a sort of updated version of (and, to my mind, homage to) Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Quick, quirky, amusing read. Four stars.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mr. Acton begins the story standing over the body of Mr. Huxley, whom he has just killed. While attempting to cover up his tracks, he has flashbacks of his encounters with Mr. Huxley, with whom he is having an altercation over a woman. These flashbacks reveal to the murderer that there are more and more of his fingerprints all over the man's house, because he thought that he had touched so many different objects. His frenzy to remove all of the evidence distracts him from his actual objective, to get away with the crime. He is eventually caught, after polishing the entire house, while polishing and re-polishing the glass fruit at the bottom of a bowl."

The frenzied action of this story is almost humorous and comical!

[Cyn Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si te gustan los policiales y disfrutás del humor negro, este cuento es perfecto. El homenaje a El corazón delator de E. A. Poe está implícito, yo adoré esta lectura. Me identifiqué bastante con el protagonista en la cantidad de cuidados que intenta tomar, terrible TOC, pero llega un punto en el que es preferible darse por vencido y este señor no tiene límites. Me reí bastante con cómo avanza la situación, me lo imaginé lloriqueando y limpiando el desastre. Sería buen material para una publicidad de Mr Músculo o algún otro producto desinfectante del hogar. El final me dejó pensando. Este Bradbury lo hizo de nuevo, con su narración preciosa y de buen ritmo. Muy recomendado.

[Karissa Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these audios

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

An overwhelming sense of OCD overwhelms a murderer who can't leave for worry of cleaning up all fingerprints in every room in the house.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trying to clean up after a murder can turn anyone compulsive just like it did this guy.

[dean]

cool ending i guess

[JB N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bradbury has a way with words.

Man.

No way to describe it.

Could not stop laughing while reading, and, WOW he has the BEST description of people while going crazy.

Read it and see for yourself.

[ella! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read this inspired Michael McKean's acting as "Chuck" at the end of season 3 of Better Call Saul, and needed to read it immediately.

[OsornioGKyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très bon livre, je le recommande

[Ernest · Rating 2 out of 5]

Place holder for a medicine for melancholy short story. Medicine for melancholy short story rating: 5/5

Fruit bowl: 2/5