Брэдбери в самом расцвете сил: в этой книге собраны самые лучшие образцы философской фантастики, надолго ставшие визитной карточкой писателя. Сборник тем не менее «обрамлён» красивой, пугающе-сказочной зарисовкой, возвращающей нас ко временам «Тёмного карнавала».
The Illustrated Man 1951
It was a warm afternoon in early September when I first met the Illustrated Man. Walking along an asphalt road, I was on the final long of a two weeks' walking tour of Wisconsin. Late in the afternoon I stopped, ate some pork, beans, and a doughnut, and was preparing to stretch out and read when the Illustrated Man walked over the hill and stood for a moment against the sky.
I didn't know he was Illustrated then. I only know that he was tall, once well muscled, but now, for some reason, going to fat. I recall that his arms were long, and the hands thick, but that his face was like a child's, set upon a massive body.
He seemed only to sense my presence, for he didn't look directly at me when he spoke his first words.
"Do you know where I earn find a job?"
The Illustrated Man 1951( Человек в картинках)
Примечание: Этот рассказ был опубликован в сборнике "Человек в картинках" в двух частях: одна в начале сборника, другая в конце как эпилог. Причём, конец первой части предваряет начало следующего рассказа. В переводе Норы Галь – это рассказ "Калейдоскоп", в оригинале – "Вельд".
