Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451  


By: Ray Bradbury
Reviewer: Mr. Lamincent, 14
Rating: Really liked it


Fahrenheit 451 was an interesting book, to say the least. Written by Ray Bradbury, the book follows Guy Montag, a fireman from the future. In most cases, adding "from the future" to the title of fireman implies new methods or tools. That is a thousand times more true than you would think. In the futuristic world that Fahrenheit 451 takes place in, firemen do not put out fires; they MAKE them. Society demands us to demand the doubt and puzzlement of firemen making fires, but in the book, its crazy to think firemen used to put them out. You see, the society Bradbury created makes books the equivalent of what illegal drugs would be today. Its illegal to have them; if you have/use them, you don't boast about it or do such things in public; if you have them in your possession, you hide them in abstract hiding places, only to be discovered by the firemen later, and all accompanying traits.

Now, imagine a policeman of today taking some of the acquired contraband and taking it home and using it. Wouldn't that be different, almost wrong, even? That's what Montag does. Not only does he take the books home, but he boasts them! What happens afterwards is too good to be revealed.

On the prose side, I must say that the book fluxuated in interest. It would jump from "Oh my goodness, I can't stop reading" to "I have no idea why this is happening" a little too quickly. It was because of this that most people assume the book is boring, taking on the "The book is only as good as its worst elements" attitude. However, I don't think it was a boring book. I think it was a captivating book with painfully dry, one-dimensional bits and pieces.

Also, a perk for Bradbury fans, in the first couple pages [mainly in this section, though some others are found throughout the book] there are easter egg cameos of ideas and occurances presented in other Bradbury stories. I found that rather invigorating :D.