Hi y’all!

It’s a crazy week around here. But I have found a quiet moment to read and blog.

Today I am excited to share my review of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I read this as part of my second list for The Classics Club. Like many high schoolers, I first read this book for an English class as a teenager. I was surprised by how much I didn’t remember about the story and the writing. This is a compelling, intense novel. I understand even more why it’s considered a classic.

Book Summary: “The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.”

The writing is powerful and beautiful. I would imagine I didn’t fully appreciate it as a teenager. The words themselves seem to be alive. The beautiful language gives powerful insights into the influence and importance of books. Of literature, of remembering, of power, of words. I loved the connection between words and the mind. That sometimes the physical books were too risky but the words could live on in their minds. Different people “became” the words they had read. In many ways, it celebrates the power of words and the ways that we can keep literature and stories alive through ourselves.

The dystopian society is intense and intriguing. The ways people don’t connect with each other but only with the “family” on their screens. I was surprised to see the lack of emotion in so many of them. The lack of connection with the world around them. It was so stark to see how Clarisse interacts with the world versus Montag or Mildred. The way they discuss the war or books or family or careers. There is no passion or investment in so many of them. They are controlled and manipulated to see the world in one way. And then Montag begins to see outside that manipulation and life gets very complicated for him — intense, twisted, hunted. Then the climactic ending shows how fleeting life is but also how long words can survive.

The firefighter career was very interesting and compelling. Instead of fighting fires, they start fires especially of books. They act as the guard that keeps everyone in line. To keep everyone from thinking outside the box. Yet, it seems that many of them don’t really think about what they are doing. They completely buy into the manipulation of their society. Or perhaps they just don’t question authority. It was intense to read about them burning books and people. To me, there was such a sorrow and terrifying power in those scenes of burning. As a book lover, it was hard to read about a society that doesn’t value books. I can’t imagine!

Overall, a compelling and complex story. I appreciate it more now as an adult and imagine many kids don’t appreciate the intense vision of this book. A classic for a reason.

Have you read this one? What do you remember about it?
What are your favorite dystopian classics?

This is my 6th classic finished on my 2nd list for The Classics Club!
Check out my full list here. To see my completed first list, click here. For more info on the club, click here.