Fahrenheit 451 (Book Review)
I had to read it in school. I didn’t like it. I believe I couldn’t even get through the first third. I didn’t finish it. However, I thought I should give it a second shot as an adult, as lots of what is being presented in the story already became a reality. But after reading it again, my final judgment remains. I don’t like it.
The story depicts a dystopian future where firemen exist to burn books. Only mass media is acceptable for the population to consume, as books contain dangerous information that makes people question their systematic sedation by the power structure.
Book burning turned into 200 pages could be the best way to sum it up.
Fahrenheit 451 in modern times
Getting people terminated on Twitter, removing their videos from YouTube, and making websites unsearchable via Google is the modern version of book burning. Books are just a medium that is being used to transfer ideas from one human to the next; this definition also fits for social media and websites.
Guy Montag is the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. He works as a fireman, starting to question his duties. Once he spared a book from being burned, he gets caught up in a spiral that drags him down the rabbit hole of self-discovery. The more books he saves and reads, the more he starts to oppose the system he was born into. The powers that be inevitably fight back against Montag.
Sure sounds a lot like people being exposed to alternative ideas on social media and starting to question what they see on the news.
Why I don’t like it
The story itself is not the problem. It is a quick read that goes from A to B in straight fashion — the pacing is good. The message is also not a problem. I like dystopian novels trying to wake readers up from a state-induced slumber.
But there is something in Bradbury’s writing style that I just don’t enjoy. He is too colorful in his use of metaphors and uses five sentences to say something that could be said in one. I always had that problem reading Bradbury, which is why I stopped reading his stuff long before picking up Fahrenheit again.
Bradbury is hailed as one of the greatest Sci-Fi authors of all time, collecting many awards and millions in royalties. So maybe it’s just my personal taste that gets in the way of enjoying his writings.
Even though, it wasn’t my taste, it is still a dystopian classic that everyone should read at least once. It is not 1984 or a Brave New World, but it is an important book.
If you don’t like reading, there is also a movie adaption from 1966.
A remake was done in 2018 that I completely missed. It seems to have a big budget, as it could attract Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon, but the reviews aren’t promising.