The Night by Ray Bradbury

These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines

Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms,

Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke

Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!

Ray Bradbury might be remembered more for his science-fiction/fantasy stories but he also wrote a great deal about childhood experiences and small town America. In this story, there are no rocket ships, colonized planets or any elements of the macabre to be found here. Sure, there are a few moments of suspense but this is a tender portrait of a child trying to understand the complexities of death and the natural world. Ultimately, this is a highly condensed bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story that successfully captures a specific time and place: a quiet warm summer evening in a small rural town surrounded by wilderness during the 1920s. 

The second-person narrative voice reflects on an important childhood memory. As a treat, his mother allows him to stay up later than usual on a beautiful summer night to eat chocolate ice-cream. Bradbury effectively capture's childhood innocence and familial love during these opening scenes with the mother. Unfortunately, this tranquil and affectionate moment between mother and son is disrupted when she becomes increasingly worried about the older brother not coming home after playing in the woods with some friends. The young narrator is perceptive, noticing his mother's fears, and it is difficult for him to comprehend since adults are supposed to be tough and never show emotions. 

The mother has reason to believe that he might have gotten lost on the way back home, cutting through a forest trail near the ravine. She decides to bring the young narrator along with her and go out looking for the older brother. The darkness and silence of the rural countryside is terrifying for him. Bradbury's descriptive language of nature and the hostile landscape from the young narrator's perspective  is vividly rendered. Moreover, the retrospective philosophical musings provide insight and articulate the fears of his younger self during this stressful experience. 

The sense of childhood wonder evoked from the second-person narrative view forms the emotional crux of the story. However, despite Bradbury's impeccable writing and poeticism, the overall story felt slightly underwhelming.