FAHRENHEIT 451
Ray Bradbury
BLURB
Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.
Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.
Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.
When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.
★★★★★
Fahrenheit 451 has been on my radar for years because my teens had to read this book in literature class. One of my daughters loved it and my other one didn’t … she thought it was boring. Can you tell which one is the book lover and the one who doesn’t like to read? *lol* Even though I haven’t read this book, until now, I’ve been discussing Fahrenheit 451 for years with my teens.
What is this book about? Basically, it’s about a society set in the future where the citizens have decided that reading books is worthless. The firemen’s job is to set any books they find on fire. They don’t put out fires they set them. They are BOOK BURNERS. You get caught with books and everything you love and cherish goes up in flames house included. As with any society, there are those who RESIST the movement. There is a small group of citizens who are against destroying books and to keep from being found out they memorize the books and then burn the books themselves. The stories and information live on through word of mouth.
Above is an elementary description of the story. Don’t let that fool you because there’s a lot that happens between the pages. The whole concept of this book is very thought provoking.
Ironically this book used to be on the banned books list because “it contained an expletive they regarded as blasphemous.” The words “hell” and “damn” sparked the ban.
It’s been said that the author wrote this book out of his fear of tv’s influence on our society. Television was invented in 1927 and Fahrenheit 451 was written in 1953. I wonder if Mr. Radbury could see how much technology has taken over what his commentary would be today?
After discussing this book with my girls a couple years back I’ve often wondered which books I’d memorize to keep their stories alive. No doubt I’d have many books that I would want to live on.
Fahrenheit 451 is a standalone dystopian set in future. If you’re a book lover then this is a thought provoking story that will spark your passion for books.
