Fahrenheit 451 is such a classic, and sadly, I had never read it. Now that I have, I can see why it's a classic and can see why it will always remain one and remain relevant. This was a very powerful book. Picture a world engaged in war, a world full of censorship, a world where there is no speed limit, a world where people do not engage with each other, but rather engage with the walls. This is the world that Ray Bradbury has created in Fahrenheit 451.
451 is the number that the firemen wear on their uniforms. The jobs of the firemen are not to put out fires, but rather, start them. Books are banned in Bradbury's world. Books are seen as not real, silly, impersonal, influential, propaganda and will not be tolerated by the government. So it is that the job of the firemen is to burn every book in existence and to imprison the owner of the books. Quite a scary thing. One of the firemen, Montag (the central character) has kept some books of his own. Upon reading them, he finds that books should exist, and you can see the dilemma that this could cause. That's all I'll say so as not to ruin the story for those who have never read this.
This is also my first Bradbury work, and I'm very happy that I've finally discovered him. He is Orson Scott Card's favorite author, so I figured he had to be a pretty damn good writer...and he is! I look forward to reading more of his work. I have Something Wicked This Way Comes sitting on my shelf, so that'll be the next Bradbury. I also have a short story by the name of The Homecoming illustrated by Dave McKean.
This was book 3 for me in the Banned Books Challenge. It's very ironic that this book has been banned seeing as the book is about books being banned and censorship. My thoughts on why it may be banned is because of Montag's challenge of authority. This is shown as a good thing in this book and he is the hero, and it's generally not well taken in our society when one goes up against the government or any form of authority. I think it's ridiculous to ban this book though. This book speaks volumes about power in the wrong hands, ignorance, and many other themes that I could go on forever about. Bottom line is that this is a wonderful book and although it has been banned in some places, I'm glad to see that it is required reading in so many other places.
Other Reviews:
Melody
