Fahrenheit 451

Interesantă ca idee principală, stilul scriiturii însă un pic cam ciudat și greu de digerat. Deși a avut fragmente destule în care am rezonat cu figurile de stil, majoritatea mi s-au părut terne și chinuite. Poate că s-au pierdut prin traducere unele nuanțe. Lumea în care se ard cărți e exact atât de odioasă cum mi-aș fi închipuit înainte de această carte. Stelele sunt pentru ideea îndrăzneață de a prezenta această lume ipotetică și situațiile ei aferente. Stelele în minus sunt pentru stilul scriiturii. În orice caz e o carte decentă, bună de “omorât timpul”.

This and my other reviews are on my website: Aspects of Me.

There are a lot of things that can be said about this book and given it's almost 70 years old at this point I'm sure most of what I have to say has been said before. Nevertheless, in trying to keep up the habit of reviewing what I read, here we are.

The first thing that struck me about Fahrenheit 451 was how lyrical it is; I was not expecting a dystopia about burning books and controlling knowledge to be so beautifully written. Bradbury did an excellent job in composing some brilliant prose that still managed to feel light and easy despite the dark topics it explored.

In addition to this, Bradbury has woven in quite a few literary references in the telling of this tale that it feels exciting to pick up on when you spot something not in quotation marks. It doesn't feel like he was trying to be too ‘high brow' about it either, moreover it seems like an extra dimension to a story about how and if literature is worth saving from destruction. It was also interesting to wonder why exactly Bradbury picked the references he did, how they are related to the story of Montag and what extra depth can be eluded to.

The second thing that I'm sure everyone notices is how prescient the content of the book is: personality politics, war, inundation of information, control of information, valuing the sciences over the arts, TV, social media, even down to the little ‘green bullet' that sounds awfully similar to Bluetooth earpieces! There is a lot to unpack in such a short book and you will end up thinking about it long after you finish. While we now have greater access to books than ever before that isn't to say that Bradbury was wrong about other aspects of Fahrenheit 451.

Lastly, though I could talk for quite some time on this book, if you haven't read it let me highlight that this is not just a story about burning books vs saving books. It explores censorship, yes, but not simply in the forbidding of the printed word. Who controls the information you are fed? Who controls the ideas that are allowed out into the open? How do we censor ourselves within a society even without a government to do it for us?

Fahrenheit 451 will certainly make you think, if nothing else.

absolutely brilliant connection of dystopia, cautionary tle, sci-fi, lyricism and a bit of stream of consciousness. love love love ♥

Gostei!

A escrita do autor, até porque foi escrito em um tempo completamente diferente (apesar de parecer que estamos caminho de volta pra lá atualmente), não me prendeu muito. Terminei o livro relativamente rápido, contando com todas as vezes que cochilei ou apressei um pouquinho as vistas pra passar algumas frases hahahah isso principalmente nos primeiros 30%. Depois disso comecei a me envolver mais com a história e as coisas que estavam acontecendo me pareceram mais claras. Já sabia muito do contexto e do conteúdo do livro, então isso me ajudou a perceber o que estava sendo dito e representado pelas personagens. Confesso que se não soubesse ia ter que matutar um pouquinho mais pra pegar as nuances que o autor quis passar. Não li outros clássicos “semelhantes” como Admirável Mundo Novo ou 1984 ainda, mas esse valeu a leitura e está recomendado, sim.

Sentí que estaba leyendo un capítulo de Black Mirror :o

Mmm, me gustó, sí, pero creo que esta edición no fue la mejor opción. Me gustaría releerlo más adelante en inglés :)

4,75 stars

Part of the dystopian future cannon, Fahrenheit 451 is full of interesting insights into what a world where reading, discourse, and thought are replaced by the non-stop babble of television screens. The protagonist of the book, Guy Montag has an esteemed profession ??? he is a fireman. He burns books and other literature in order to keep society happy. Montag has his understanding of the world slowly melted away, primarily because of the actions of three women: his wife, Mildred, who can hardly recall what she has done half an hour ago, a young neighbor, Clarisse, who seems to be able to enjoy the little things in life with her family and on her own, and one woman who valued books above all else. After all turmoil, Guy goes on a chase-turned-pilgrimage, to finally free himself from the shackles of censorship, brainwashing, and to find new purpose.

I???d recommend it to you if you enjoyed Animal Farm by George Orwell, since it has many similar beats, but is very different on the whole.

I consider The sieve and the sand one of the greatest chapters written in literature.

This book is one of the best examples of a dystopic future in which the author took aspects of his time and made a prediction showing a possible outcome of how things were going to turn out, this story was an incredible read, the author makes amazing descriptions that weren't very long but helped me understand more about the world they were living in and gave me insight on what the characters were really dealing with. This is one of the best books I've ever read and I recommend it not only because of the world in it but also because of the creativity behind it.

I have many thoughts about this book but recognizing that I'm unlikely to take the time to get them all coherently stated here, I'm going to opt for a few bullet points instead.

● People seem to like arguing about whether this is a book about the dangers of technology or the dangers of censorship. I think it's somewhat both, sure, but more about the dangers of being content to engage only with things that make us feel good.

● I say it's only sort of about censorship because, as Faber argues, “Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. You firemen provide a circus now and then at which buildings are set off and crowds gather for the pretty blaze, but it's a small sideshow indeed, and hardly necessary to keep things in line. So few want to be rebels anymore. [...] People are having fun.”

● One other bit I thought was interesting: before reading this book, I assumed it would be all about the book as savior. But another Faber quote: “It's not the books you need, it's some of the things that once were in books. The same things could be in the ‘parlor families' today. The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not.” As SparkNotes summarizes, “...the stories and ideas told in books could just as easily be told through different forms of media. But, those types of stories are not what people are interested in. [...] It is not just books that are absent from society, but knowledge and curiosity about the world in general.”

● Some reviewers reject the book because “the future” (now the present) hasn't unfolded the way Bradbury described it. At least one other reviewer points out that sci-fi is never about an accurate prediction of the future, but instead a means of wrestling with timeless challenges in humanity. I agree, and for that reason consider the book incredibly timely. A whole lot of the issues we're facing currently (like social media bubbles and a seeming inability to have civil discourse about anything meaningful) come back to the preference we humans have for “feeling good” and avoiding discomfort.

A must read for all!

I just do not agree with author's opinion on the topic, that's all. I would recommend to read it, but it's not for me.

I loved the concept behind this story, but sadly the delivered story fell fairly flat for me.

Firemen: those who burnt books. The story does go into why this profession even exists and it's even more intriguing.

But I really struggled with the book. It's a little over 100 pages and I felt like I was slogging the book after the first 1/4 of the story. I think the writing style also distracted me from the story too. I felt line nearly every sentence was laiden with a turn of phrase or clever simile - but the book is thick with this and it became very noticeable to the point of distraction.

The pace really threw me off too, it starts building up characters and before I know it, Montag is murdering his fire chief, battling murderous robot dogs, planting fake evidence against another fireman (and from what I could tell, a character we hadn't met) and then wondering off in the woods to meet the people who keep books in their heads.

It felt like there was a great story of a dystopia where happiness is swallowed up in a pill, potentially like Brave New World, but Fahrenheit 451, for me, falls way short of achieving that.

A shame. I really wanted to enjoy this story more.

Deze klassieker vond ik toch ietwat ontgoochelend.
Ik weet niet of het komt omdat ik ondertussen al tal van dystopieën heb gelezen of omdat deze effectief, naar mijn gevoel, wat tekort schoot.

Het verhaal blijft constant vrij oppervlakkig.
Het gevoel van onderdrukking wordt goed opgewekt, maar je leert niet veel van het wat en het hoe, behalve dat boeken verboden zijn en mensen dom worden gehouden met schermpjes.
En ik vermoed dat dit ook de hoofdgedachte van de auteur was: TV (of schermpjes) doodt het intellect.

Boek dat eerder gelezen moet worden voor de boodschap die de auteur wou overbrengen, dan het eigenlijke verhaal dus.

ok

I loved the writing of this book, it was so expressive and thought-provoking. It put you right in the story so effortlessly and touched on subject matters still relevant today. It's nuts to think this book was written in 1950 because it speaks to the life of today's world more than contemporary literature. I honestly wish this book never stops being circulated because its inherent importance is necessary for everyone to remember.

There's so many quotable moments and I would consider getting a tattoo one day. The subject matter reminded so much of 1984 by George Orwell and its impact was just as tremendous and eye-opening for me.

A classic well worth its label.

This is a book that tries to show you how important are books in our world and make you read more. Completely fails doing so, because the story is stale and gets boring very fast, same goes for the characters. If this was your first book that you read, I doubt you will want to read more books afterwards. If we take in consideration that this book was written in a short period of time, it's quite good but compared to other dystopias, it's not that good.

Ray Bradbury brought in decent statements but Fahrenheit 451 should just have been a short story.

2.5? I think I'll have to try this in print to see if my opinion changes.
My disappointment is partially my own fault, I thought that this story was going to be so much more. What I mostly had heard about this book was ‘it's a future dystopian novel where books are illegal and burned, so those who resist memorize books'. The characters that memorized books didn't happen until the end. Additionally, those characters aren't interesting, or at least not near as interesting as the ones I had dreamed up.

The writing at times is masterful, it's Bradbury and he is very capable of turning a lovely phrase, structuring something to make you think, or including fantastic imagery. However he was also wordy, and worse: came off as bitter. You can be bitter, but make a cogent point, move the story, convey something meaningful. It's somewhere between a cautionary tale and a bitter man yelling at the younger generation.

I appreciated J.G. Keely's review and agree that Bradbury mixes up message and medium.

I still love you(r work), Bradbury, even if you did have a pissy afterword that includes you rejecting the merit of female characters – at least that's how it came off.

Straightforward, fast-paced novel. Sometimes the writing style is a bit confusing to me, but other than that it was amazing.

Narrated by Stephen Hoye.

Huh. That was pretty good! I don't know why I didn't finish this one in high school like I was supposed to. I definitely remembered getting to a part early in the book where the woman lights her own match as her house/library burns, but a lot of how this worked out was a surprise. It was a slower-moving book, but the payoff was nice. I really like the idea of people all over the country (world?) holding pieces of literature in their heads, and working collaboratively to pass that knowledge on to others, and the ending was quite beautiful, with Montag repeating bits of Ecclesiastes in his head as the wanderers head off to see what's left of other cities. Glad I finally read the whole thing.

read this one in high school, didn't realize I'd never rated.

It is hard to believe that this was written over 60 years ago. I am reading it for the first time in 2018, and it is rather frightening how it mirrors so much that is going on today. Although it is, as Neil Gaiman puts it: ‘a what if' story, meaning it isn't the author's exact prediction of the future, only what if this happened and how would it effect us scenario; it also happens to hit quite close to home.
It is short and succinct and even has a somewhat lyrical language in its dire warnings. I think there is a lot to glean from the story, whether it is our reliance on technology, censorship, the danger of always wanting to be ‘happy' no matter the cost, moral degradation, the importance of the knowledge books carry in them and how they can show us ourselves - the good, the bad, the ugly - and what we can learn from that. What do we lose, if we no longer care about our past, about the wisdom of those who came before us and replace that wisdom with the ‘feel good' culture instead, a culture that can be hollow and meaningless at the end of the day if we're not careful. I feel I could re-read this and get even more out of it in second and third readings. Well worth at least one read though and lots of thoughtful contemplation of where we are today in relation to Bradbury's cautionary tale.

This is a superb and intriguing novel. The concepts and musings around the preservation of the written word in the face of a dystopian world in which books are destroyed is fascinatingly and incitefull . This book packs a lot of punch in such a short space of time and therefore I believe I can only adequately glean the best out of this book after a re-read. I love the premise and the idea of this dystopian world. I loved the description of fire and the poetic beauty of literature. I loved the character of Clarissa and wish there had been more of her brilliance sprinkled within the narrative. I loved the faulted and conflicted character of Gus. I was blown away by Bradbury's predictions around headphones and television technology. I loved the influence of history and historical repression of the written world in Stalin's Russia and Hitlers Germany. The only reason this novel isn't gifted the 5 stars I believe Bradbury deserves for this beautiful and haunting novel is that I felt I missed an utter connection with this book at the time of reading. This may be due to reading this book in instalments or the fact I wasn't fully immersed in the story but I lacked the gut reaction of adoration for this novel that I felt reading slaughterhouse 5 and brave new world. I hope and wish however that upon re reading this book I can glean the 5 star beauty of this book. It's an incredible story and I am so happy I have finally got round to reading it! A 4/ 4.5 star read for me.

In these times, when truth has gone the way of books have in this book and the threat of war for distraction's sake, Fahrenheit 451 is particularly unsettling. Still, Bradbury's writing is surprisingly beautiful and descriptive. There is probably plenty I could criticize here, plenty that might modify a positive review, but it is difficult to do anything other than praise a book that celebrates, protectively, literature.