Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Classic Dystopian. 249 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
Nearly seventy years after its original publication, Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown more relevant than ever before.
Guy Montag is a fireman. 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 when 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, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.
My Review:
This lovely little classic has been on the TBR for years. It’s one I knew relatively little about going into it, and yet one I fully expected to enjoy based on the little I did know.
The premise of this dystopian society is haunting, and not just for a bookworm, but for those who value education, lifelong learning, and the ideas of growth and freedom. A world in which all literature is banned and every single message inundating the people is purely designed to lull them to sleep and comfort. That’s terrifying!
It was mesmerizing to watch the journey of Montag slowly waking from his complacent sleepiness to wrestling with the confounding life he’d lived. I was completely and entirely spellbound by the audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job, and I found the story so utterly compelling. I was enraptured for the first two thirds of the book without realizing any time had passed. I got so sucked in.
At a certain point – and earlier than you’d think if you’ve read the book – I was convinced Montag was psychotic. Dude had zero sense of self-preservation. The actions he took logically only led to persecution and death, but he continued to not use his brain and thing things through and do things that quite literally endangered him. But then I realized, that’s kind of the point. He’s grown up in a society that didn’t teach him critical thinking, logic, and problem solving skills. Or even survival skills! He wasn’t equipped – arguably he was a lamb prepared for slaughter – to make good and wise decisions. Again, fascinating and terrifying!
At a certain point the book shifts tone from the gentle waking of the lull to the alarming urgency of reality and then things get…strange. Well, stranger? Anyway, the pacing in the last third was definitely faster and the ending felt abrupt in some ways. I’m still mulling over all the implications. As far as the “story” I definitely feel a little unresolved, but again, that may be intentional.
There are some really stunning descriptions and imagery in here. Some portions of that left me feeling a little confused, but I do wonder if that may be because I listened to the audio and I process things a lot better in text. This is definitely one I’d like to reread.
A classic for a reason. It’ll make you thing – which is really the best thing I think this one can do. What kind of world do we want to live in? Are we aware of the lasting impacts of what goes on in the society around us – of what we allow and what we choose to ignore or stand up for? Are we living intentionally, on purpose, and pursuing enriched, deep, meaningful lives that will impact the world around us for the better? Or are we content with mediocrity and the malignant passivity our culture so easily leans toward in a world of consumeristic comfort?
Things to consider!
Content: some swearing, no romance, some nongraphic violence, but elements of classic horror that make you think. This would be a great conversation starter and fodder for diving into some great topics with friends or teen readers. I’d probably recommend it for 14+ just because a lot of the themes and social commentary might go over younger readers heads.
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If you liked this, you may also like:
The Giver, Lord of the Flies, A Time to Die, Among the Hidden, or The Line Between
Or try these high action stories with deep themes:
Calor – fantasy, Recorder – Sci-fi, Running Out of Time – MG thriller, or Steal Fire from the Gods – AI sci-fi fantasy