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Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

Start date: May 1, 2019

Finish date: May 31, 2019

Discussion: Rereads

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Jan 27, 2014 Terri Lynn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classic-literature

As a dyed in the wool book lover, this book, though about intense heat and fire, makes me shiver and feel cold. First published in 1953, this is a story about the year 2020 when firemen burn books and houses rather than put out fires. The title Fahrenheit 451 refers to the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns. I was the victim of a house fire years ago which burned most of the thousand or so books I owned and cherished so the idea of someone purposely burning books and homes is As a dyed in the wool book lover, this book, though about intense heat and fire, makes me shiver and feel cold. First published in 1953, this is a story about the year 2020 when firemen burn books and houses rather than put out fires. The title Fahrenheit 451 refers to the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns. I was the victim of a house fire years ago which burned most of the thousand or so books I owned and cherished so the idea of someone purposely burning books and homes is horrifying and unthinkable.

This book is about one such fireman- Guy Montag- who burns down the homes of people suspected of having books thus destroying the books that make people think, know, and feel. The world he lives in is dark and dreary. Books have been outlawed, says his boss Captain Beatty, because their authors disagree with each other, offer conflicting opinions, make some people feel bad about themselves, and stir up emotions, feelings, and passions. Beatty seems to know a lot about such things which sets Montag to wondering why. People wind up watching mindless endless television in the walls. Thinking is discouraged.

Two things warn us that Montag is going to have a crisis soon. First, he meets an unusual young neighbor named Clarisse McClellan who is being watched by the powers-that-be because she doesn't go to school where all they do is have sports and tv. She likes to smell flowers, watch birds, and taste the rain. In other words, she doesn't run from feelings and thoughts but wants to experience them. She begins opening up Montag's eyes and I love how he throws his head back and tastes the rain when she goes home. She tells him he is different from the cold, cruel firemen and we can see that he is awakening to what is real through this child. She talks about how she does not want to hurt and kill and how kids her age do that for fun. When Clarisse suddenly disappears and he is told she is dead, he mourns her but is she really dead? The second thing is that the big robotic Hound at work that the other firemen use to nose out people with books and also have fun throwing rabbitts, cats, and mice to, grows at him when he tries to pet it. Why would a robotic dog have it in for him? Did someone program it to, he wonders.

Montag's wife is a stupid dimwit with no loyalty at all and it was a serious mistake to let her know that he has-gasp- hidden books rescued from fires in the house for soon she betrays her and that is when all hell breaks loose- right at the time a nuclear war begins.

This is an important and thought provoking book. Ray Bradbury looked across the decades and understood what he saw. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2013 Cary rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

Personally, I think it's somewhere between "it was ok" and "I like it". But since the subject of this novel is something close to my heart, it deserves a 3-star rating anyway. ...more

1 like · Like · see review