Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines: A Fable

by Ray Bradbury, Chris Lane (Illustrator)

The Barnes & Noble Review
While peering at the stars one cool night in the desert, young Ahmed falls off his camel and becomes separated from his father's caravan. Certain he will die before he has even had an opportunity to live, Ahmed is reduced to tears. The sound of Ahmed's crying, and the wetness of the tears themselves, awaken a sleeping giant — a slumbering god that rises from the desert sand and soars into the night's sky. The newly resurrected and jubilant god's name is Gonn-Ben-Allah.

Gonn is touched by young Ahmed's dilemma but pleads for the boy to escape his past and what is left behind; live for the future, he says, for living in this manner is the only way to improve one's present and to achieve one's dreams.

Gonn and Ahmed then embark on a wondrous journey through time and space. During this journey, Gonn teaches Ahmed many of life's important lessons, lessons of which adults — not only young boys and girls — need constant reminding. Gonn teaches Ahmed that there is no failure in trying. The only failure, Gonn explains, is to never try; only never trying will ensure the death of a dream. This despicable human act is what damages Gonn; it is why he has been killed and buried countless times before. At one point, Ahmed and Gonn witness a sleeping man, a metaphoric statement of passivity, a willingness to pass by opportunity, to allow what is to be without any attempt to improve or influence the situation. It is upon witnessing such an act that Gonn begins to shrivel and die. Has Ahmed learned Gonn's teachings well enough to save his giant friend from thishorriblefate?

Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines is a very short but very delightful fable. Bradbury reminds us once again that dreaming is not only for children but for anyone who wishes to improve. This soon-to-be-classic tale, which is filled with illustrations from the skilled Chris Lane, is a wonderful gift for children, both young and old. Its message is valuable, and its story is enjoyable and enriching.
—

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Childrens, Science Fiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 1998

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

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Когато текстът на един от любимите ти световни автори се слее с илюстрациите на един от любимите ти съвременни български илюстратори, това си е повод за малък празник. Да. Тази книга е празник на артистичното и красивото. Авторът е маестро Рей Бредбъри, един от най-могъщите разказвачи на изминалото столетие. Както и на настоящето. Художникът е талантливата и чаровна Мира Мирославова. Заглавието е „Нявгабъде: книга за смели мечтатели” (изд. „БГ Книг@”). Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Maria Mhemnoch · Rating 4 out of 5]

He tardado tanto en escribir mi comentario que al final, casi que debería leer la historia de nuevo...
Me gustó bastante más que mi primer contacto con Bradbury en "El árbol de las brujas"
De aquel ya di mi opinión, pero como me gustó su forma tan bonita de "decir" las cosas, quise darle una segunda oportunidad, e hice bien!
La estructura o base aquí, se repite con el de "El árbol..." desde el punto de vista de que hay un "aprendiz" y una entidad que "muestra el camino", hace ver, comprender, deducir... cosas al o los personajes co-protagonistas.
Cuanta con escenas muy emotivas y un montón de frases para anotar.
La prosa de Bradbury es exquisita. Muy hermosa. Hace que cualquier frase que exprese algo cotidiano sea poético.

[Georgi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Хипнотичните илюстрации правят тази книга повече визуално, отколкото четивно изживяване. Илюстрациите на Мира Мирославова са прекрасни. Рей Бредбъри не е точно онзи, който познаваме от други произведения. Тук... как да ви кажа... изглежда сякаш доста LSD е изблизал, докато е писал тази книга за смели мечтатели. И не че в нея няма мъдрост, не. Напротив. Просто фантазиите, в които е обвита тази мъдрост, твърде се родеят с объркани халюцинации, които правят четенето малко трудно. Не толкова четенето, колкото да уловиш нишката и да се придържаш към нея. Може би изисква известно количество опиати, за да се "отвори" пълната картина.

И все пак...

"Никога не е грешка да опиташ. Да не опиташ, е по-страшна гибел".

[Христо Блажев · Rating 3 out of 5]

Нявгабъде в миналото и бъдещето: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/n...

Но илюстрациите – това е, което прави “Нявгабъде” една от най-прекрасните книги, които съм разгръщал някога, и само мога да се възхитя на Мира, която е усетила този текст в сърцето си и го е претворила по този изключителен начин. Поздравления и за изд. “Бг Книг@” за съвършеното издание, за тактилното удоволствие от тази книга, пък оставам с надеждата един ден да порасна толкова, че пак да разбирам/чувствам приказките, както казва K. С. Луис.

БГкнига
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/n...

[Cvi * · Rating 5 out of 5]

Тази книга-подарък, която стигна до мен в първите дни на завръщането ми у дома, ме накара да си спомня, че най-прекрасните хора, които срещаме, са обикновено тези, с които просто можеш да бъдеш себе си.

"Нявгабъде" е прекрасна история за времето, за митовете, за границата между бъдещето и миналото, в което живеем.

И като всяка приказка трябва да бъде четена на един дъх и без излишни мисли.

Ще допълня само, че изданието е невероятно - вдъхновяващи илюстрации и действително качествена редакторска дейност.

Благодаря на хората, които ме дариха с тази история. Ще я нося в сърцето си.

[Gabriela Kozhuharova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Разкошно издание с великолепни илюстрации на Мира Мирославова. Трудно откъсваш очи от тях, толкова са пленителни. Виж, текстът не ми хареса и наполовина колкото премяната му. Да, тук Бредбъри безспорно пише красиво и поетично, но някак самоцелно философски. Приказката за Ахмед ми дойде прекалено психеделична, че да ме вдъхнови посланието ѝ.

[Knigoqdec · Rating 3 out of 5]

В стил Бредбъри и силно напомнящо Малкия принц. Магическия сюрреализъм на Бредбъри не е моя тип литература, споменавала съм, че творбите му веднага ми излизат от главата, но тази книга е толкова красива!

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines sitting on a display honoring Ray Bradbury. I'd never heard of this one before and Robin over at the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge gave us a mini-challenge to read something by Bradbury this month--in memory of one of the great writers. So into the library bag Ahmed went.

It is the story of Ahmed, a young boy who stares at the stars a little too long one night as his father's caravan is crossing the desert. He falls from his camel and is lost in the desert. He is certain that he will die and begins weeping in sorrow. His tears awaken an ancient, forgotten god Gonn-Ben-Allah. Gonn-Ben-Allah takes the boy on an amazing journey through past and future to teach him wisdom and the power of dreams.

This is a very short, lovely little fable about man's quest for flight--into the air and to the stars--by one of the 20th and 21st centuries' great wordsmiths. The language of Bradbury is a delight to read (and to hear--because the language echoes in your mind as you read). Bradbury was probably the first author who taught me what good writing was. I read his Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man long before I ever ventured on any of the standard classics of literature. Not that his books aren't classic--they are. His stories are timeless and his language takes the reader outside himself in the way that all good literature does.

This is a lovely story for children of all ages with delightful illustrations by Chris Lane. One thing I did not get...the use of "Oblivion Machines" in the title. I'm not sure how oblivion machines = flying machines, or even if they're supposed to.... Three stars.

This review was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion. Thanks.

[honeybean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Religious, interesting way to look at life, time, and finding belief within yourself. Feels like a simpler version of Coehlo's "The Alchemist".

"If you fly high you cannot escape Time, but you can pace it, and in the pacing, finish as its keeper."

. . . .

" ... I feel great stones. Is this a graveyard, then, with catacombs and tombs along this dry sea? Catacombs, tombs, mummies, death!" Shouted Ahmed, wrapped in ice, drowning in cold winds. "Death!"

"No!" cried Gonn, reaching out to seize the boy. "Cellars. Library cellars to be filled with thoughts, fancies, impossible futures brought to life!"

[Momo Zuckerfro6 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Странна и вълнуваща приказка за възрастни.

[Silvia Dimitrova · Rating 3 out of 5]

За мен текстът не беше особено преживяване, но магичните илюстрации на Мира Мирославова ме пренесоха в един друг свят.

[Luciana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahmed perde-se da caravana do pai uma noite no deserto, e encontra enterrado na areia a estátua colossal de um velho deus que o leva numa jornada através das estrelas, do sonho e da natureza do tempo, da capacidade de voar, no sentido literal e metafórico.

Pequena fábula ilustrada, Ahmed e as máquinas esquecidas traz o característico tom poético de Bradbury - com imagens que me lembraram muito o soneto Ozymandias de Percy Shelley, embora haja mais esperança no coração desse conto. A aventura vivida por Ahmed é costurada pelo debate filosófico que ele mantém com o deus, e o enredo aparentemente simples traz ângulos de reflexão inesperados. Bradbury sendo Bradbury, enfim.

[Ангѣлъ]

Нещо не ми допадна стилът, то Бредбъри май изобщо не го кльопам, иначе заглавието е яко!
Сега, за илюстрациите... Ми, на разтвора, в който Ахмед е стъпил на Гон Бен Аллах, Ахмед няма рамене, бе! Ръцете му сякаш за закачени малко на�� пъпа.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in my twenties when I discovered this book in a discount bookshop. I bought it because it was signed by Ray Bradbury. It has sat on my bookcase for over twenty years. The story didn't really intrigue me, but I finally sat down and read it.

It's about a 12 year old boy, Ahmed, who fell off his camel crossing a large desert and is left to die. Buried in the sand, he discovers a bronze bas-relief of an old god. Ahmed prays, asking for help. When he receives no answer, he cries and his tears awaken the god.

Thus begins the story--a philosophical, pretty prose, yet, oh so boring, story.

But cried Ahmed, "Oh, god of confusions, where are we going?" I don't know Ahmed. I don't know.

It's a rambling incohesive mess. However, it's Ray Bradbury, so of course there are some lovely quotes.

"You are a god who can do anything. (says the boy)
And he is a mortal who must try everything. (says the god)."

"Without you, I will never be truly born. Without me, you will be the walking dead. Are you strong enough to birth a god?"

"The dreamers that do not dream, the dreamers that do not do. The doubters who kill the dream. The walking dead who see birdless skies and shipless seas and horseless highways with not a carriage, not a wheel. Those who bed early and rise late and sleep at noon and eat figs and drink wine and cherish only flesh."

"Prayer builds a mighty fortress upon air."

The entire thing reminded me of a passage in Shakespeare's Hamlet:

To sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause—there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time...

[Facundo Aranzet · Rating 3 out of 5]

No todos los hombres tienen la misma risa, ni todas las mujeres se mueven del mismo modo, ni todos los niños lloran igual. Es un idioma que los antiguos dioses conocen, pues las lágrimas que caen vienen del alma, salen por los ojos y caen en la tierra.

—La mitad de todo es el Enemigo—explicó Gonn—. Así como la mitad de todo es el Salvador, la brillante memoria del mediodía.

El Tiempo tiene formas y sombras visibles. Eso, en el confín del mundo, es el Tiempo que será. Un recuerdo del futuro, de las cosas que se borrarán y destruirán si no luchas contra él, si no le das forma con tu alma, si no le das sonido con tu voz. Pero si lo consigues, el Tiempo se convierte en compañero de la luz y ya no es enemigo de los sueños.

la juventud es una fuerza, como tu inocencia.

Los hombres inventaron los nombres de los años para no perder el rumbo.

el Tiempo no es más que eso. El pasado, tratamos de recordarlo, y el futuro ¡es también imposible e invisible!

El recuerdo reconstruye el pasado. La imaginación construye el futuro.

El futuro existe porque necesitamos que sea real.

¿Acaso el futuro no es un espejo que refleja el pasado, que se desespera por nacer?

—Vuelos—susurró Gonn—, y más vuelos. Viajes en las alturas que volvieron a los hombres locos de envidia, cuando el hombre apareció por fin.

—Eres un dios, que puede hacer cualquier cosa.—Y él es un mortal que debe intentarlo todo.

Nunca fracasas si no lo intentas. No intentarlo es la mayor de las muertes.

—Nunca rechaces lo que ves. ¡La gente cae sólo para volver a levantarse!

¿Tienes fuerzas para parir a un dios?

¡La oración levanta en el aire una sólida fortaleza!—¡Yo nunca rezo!—¡Sí que rezas! ¡Quién habla del mañana, reza!

[C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes it’s an author’s greatest strengths that can lead them into trouble. Ray Bradbury, for instance, is one of the most prolific and poetic writers ever to grace the page, his prose often beautiful and flowing. But sometimes, as in the case of his childrens’ book AHMED AND THE OBLIVION MACHINES, that pretty prose can lead to a bunch of rambling about nothing that feels like a story at all.

The jacket copy says AHMED is the story of “Ahmed, the twelve-year-old son of a caravan leader, falls from his camel, he is lost in a vast desert, and his situation looks ominous. Isolated and alone, the young boy begins to cry and his tears awaken the ancient god Gonn-Ben-allah, Keeper of the Ghosts of the Lost Names, who lies beneath the sand.”

Okay, I got that part. Up to this point, the story was making perfect sense. But then, “[r]ising to full form for the first time in tens of thousands of years, the majestic Gonn tells his frightened savior that fate has brought them together. To comfort Ahmed, the god bestows the gift of flight upon the boy, and the pair sets off on an evening of spectacular adventures. Traveling through time and space, Gonn shows the fascinated Ahmed the wonders of the world--past and present--and its sorrows. Within each startling revelation, Ahmed finds wisdom--and learns to accept life for all it has to offer.”

Yeah well, that’s not what I took away from the story at all. For example, the part where Gonn tells Ahmed that fate has brought them together?

“There is reason, boy, why you stared and fell to print the dust and waken me. I have waited an eternity for you, the keeper of the skies, the inheritor of the dream, the one who flies without flying.”

And Gonn-Ben-Allah moved his arms to touch the horizon.

“The dream has stayed forever. Oh, the clouds, men have said. Oh, the stars and the wind that moves not stars but clouds. Oh, the storms that wander Earth to seize our breath. Oh, the lightnings we would borrow and hurricanes race. What jealous despair we lie with nights and angered, know not flight!”

I’m sorry, what? Sounds to me more like Gonn just likes to ramble more than he likes to talk sense. The gist of the story felt, to me, like Bradbury was trying to write around the issue without actually setting down in his own mind first just what it was he wanted to say. So instead, he just prattled on for a while about some magical, mystical journey Ahmed is on, hoping the pretty words and confusing mental images would be enough to make the reader think they were in the presence of genius. And yes, Bradbury is a genius. But this story is not. It’s really just a bunch of hokum.


“What is that?” cried Ahmed.

“That,” said Gonn, “is the Enemy.”

“IS there such a thing?”

“One half of everything is the Enemy,” said Gonn. “Just as one half of everything is the Saviour, the bright rememberer of noon.”

“And what is the name of that Enemy?”

“Why, child, it is Time, and Time again.”

“But, oh, mighty Gonn, does Time have a shape? I did not know you could SEE Time.”

“Once it happens, yes. Time has shapes and shadows to be seen. That, on the rim of the world, is Time to Be. A remembrance forward of things that will be erased, destroyed, if you do not grapple with it, seize it, shape it with your soul, sound it with your voice. Then Time becomes the companion of light and ceases to exist as the enemy of dreams.”

“It is so big,” said Ahmed, “I’m afraid.”

“Yes,” said Gonn, “for it’s Time itself we fight, Time and the way the wind blows, Time and the way the sea moves to cover, hide, wipe away, erode, change. We fight to be born or not be born. The Unborn One is always there. If we can fire it with our souls, welcome it into living, it’s darkness will cease. I need you for that, boy, for your youngness is a strength, as your innocence is.

“When I fail, you must win.

“When I falter, you must race.

“When I sleep, you must fix you eyes on the stars to learn their journeys. At dawn the stars will have left their celestial roads, their Kings highways as faint breaths printed in the air. Before the dawn erases it, you must print it in your mind to show the way!”


Yeah, sorry, I’m not buying it. Just a bunch of pretty words that talk in circles to me.

I picked up this book at the library because it was a Bradbury title I’d never heard of, and that just isn’t allowed, plus it was in the younger readers section and it looks pretty slim, so I figured I could zip through it in no time and have one more Bradbury under my belt. If I’d known how little sense the “plot” would make, or how rambling the prose was going to be, I doubt very much I would have bothered at all, even if it was a Bradbury I hadn’t read. After all, it only stands to reason that with an author with a bibliography as vast as Ray Bradbury’s, not everything’s going to be good. This was one of those instances.

AHMED AND THE OBLIVION MACHINES is labeled “a fable” on the cover, but I don’t recall seeing a moral anywhere in here, and I’m pretty sure fables are supposed to have those. That figures, though; from start to finish this book felt to me like someone just trying to get the words down, hoping it all came together in the end. In this case, it didn’t. While I wanted so badly to like AHMED AND THE OBLIVION MACHINES, if not for the jacket copy, I doubt I would have been able to even tell you what this book was about, other than a kid gets lost from his caravan, wakes up an ancient god in the desert, and things get stupid and confusing from there. All that stuff earlier about “to comfort Ahmed, the god bestows the gift of flight upon the boy, and the pair sets off on an evening of spectacular adventures. Traveling through time and space, Gonn shows the fascinated Ahmed the wonders of the world--past and present--and its sorrows. Within each startling revelation, Ahmed finds wisdom--and learns to accept life for all it has to offer” . . . yeah, I didn’t get that at all.

It’s not often in a mere 64-page book that I’m scanning ahead to see how many pages are left before I’m finished, but that was definitely the case with this one. Yeesh.

[Julián Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro entretenido, lleno de imaginación, que emplea un lugar común, la idea del desierto, que nos ha traído tantas historias fantásticas y llenas de enseñanzas.

Es la historía de la pérdida para el reencuentro con uno mismo, la historia del descubrimiento de la magia interior que nos permite lograr, o por lo menos intentar, convertirnos en lo que deseamos, amamos y añoramos. Es el viaje de esperanza y frustración y esperanza y frustración que todos recorremos atados al deseo de un nuevo futuro, un futuro mejor y sin miedo.

Es una historia sencilla, llena de recursos mágicos y muy bien contada.

[Lasturian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro me trae a una epoca muy especifica de mi vida, en una tarde demasiado específica.

Recuerdo que fuimos solos, yo y mi hermano, a un viaje a otra ciudad chiquita. Estuvimos ahí desde las 5, y mientras esperabamos a que nos pagasen estaba yo leyendo este libro; recuerdo que ahí mismo lo terminé. No sé por qué puedo recordar tan claramente esa tarde, ese calor de mayo, ese 2020 tan lejano ya.

[Molly G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like it but did like some quotes:

"Must I die so young? Am I to be forgotten without having been?"

"…beneath yet another dune, a blunt forehead, a brow lost in its own past, gone lunatic with silence."

"Catch him!" Ahmed exclaimed.
"I cannot."
"You are a god who can do anything."
"And he is a mortal who must try everything."

"Then hide me so I'll live, child, behind your eyes."

[Enrique Riveri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading? Maybe. The book has a lot of heat from Ray, but lacks in background history and the character development goes too fast, it doesn't feel like it's actually happening.
Too much poetry and the philosophical thoughts just don't feel to go in too deep.

[Garrett Roney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love anything written by Ray Bradbury, but this was unfortunately both boring and unsatisfying. Bradbury’s prose is often very lyrical and poetic, a strength of his, but here it is used in such a way that it sounds profound while saying almost nothing meaningful.

[Jacqueline Lafloufa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma história infantil sobre sonho, imaginação e persistência. Infelizmente o vocabulário é rebuscado e fica parecendo um Pixar Para Adultos: a história é infantil, a leitura é adulta e as lições ficam no meio do caminho.

[Katie Elmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ray sniffed a sharpie too many when he cooked up this one. The moral is literally "be brave and take risks" but presented in the most convoluted, nearly-plot-less story featuring an Arabian Santa Claus. Sorry Ray, but I don't think kids would light up seeing this come out for story time.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the tale overall but found the language difficult to get anything from. Wishing the fable would have been better developed. Loved the illustrations though and it was a quick read.

[Kris Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I love Ray Bradbury and his rushing torrent of words, I get confused in this one. What happened, exactly?

[José Miguel (TheHudson) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tengo que volver a leerlo, en otro tiempo, en otro futuro, y tendré otra visión de él, lo doy por seguro. Un libro que más que contar una historia es un llamado a la reflexión.

[Mildred Cantu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermosa prosa

[Thomas Mengeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great fable for young or old, wonderful illustrations also.

[Lucy Eleazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep and thought-provocative.

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Бих я определила като интригуваща философска литература за деца.