Customer Reviews

Classic Bradbury and a Classic Novel
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.

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.

Don't lose Focus
I'll spare you the summary (you can read that in many other reviews) and tell you that this story is very easy to read and understand. The main idea of the story is that censorship (especially concerning books) is very dangerous and damaging to society. Whether you know it or not, books (especially the classics) are everywhere. From nursery rhymes to mythological stories, they play an important part in our daily lives. They are referenced in tv shows, movies, and in our vernacular. Think of Shakespeare. How many times do we see the Romeo and Juliet story whether it be in movies or music, etc. Or Homer's Odyssey? Or the Bible? If we were to lose these gems, our lives lose that important element. You don't have to be a reader to not feel the magnitude of losing our greatest stories. What I got out of the book also was Mr. Bradbury seemed to be warning the reader that if society doesn't open their eyes and take notice of important issues, the rug is going to be pulled out from under us. If we keep burying our heads in the sand and hiding behind celebrity rags, video games, and sporting events, we'll lose touch with the world around us and become victims of something bigger. He's not saying that fun can't be had, but if our lives are simply filled with sloth and fluff, we are going to be no better than a lemming. It's our duty to educate ourselves in order to prevent things like censorship or war from happening. A very good read, indeed.

Fahrenheit 451
This book is called Fahrenheit 451 and is by Ray Bradbury. This book is internationally acclaimed with more than five million copies in print. Fahrenheit 451 takes place some time in the future. Many things have changed since modern time. The speed limit is around 100. The billboards are really long, so people can see them as they drive by. Buildings were fireproof. Television shows are a couple of minutes long. Being a pedestrian was illegal. Books are illegal to read. Since buildings are fireproof, the Firemen do not have to save buildings and the people inside them. Instead of that, their jobs were to find book, and burn them. The main character, Guy Montag, was a fireman. He loved his job, and enjoyed burning books. He was married to his wife, and didn't seem to love her at all. Everything was fine, until he met this strange girl, who told him about how the past the houses weren't fireproof, and firemen used to stop flames. Then he found himself smuggling books into his house. With the help of his friend, Faber, he learns more about these books. Then he knows what to do. Faber is a professor who Montag caught reading a book. Faber was really scared of Montag because the thought Montag would turn him in. Later Faber and Montag became close friends.
The books in this book were connected to drugs today. No one is allowed to read book, but people do anyways. Just like drugs, some drugs are illegal, but people still use these illegal drugs. The firemen are like policemen. They look around for people using illegal drugs, and arrest them. The firemen do the same, after they burn all the books. This book is kind of similar to The Matrix. In both of them, there are some people who are rising up against the suppressor. In this book it is the government. In The Matrix it is
The machines.
The only reason I picked this book up was because I needed something to read for English class. I wouldn't recommend this book as something you would buy, if you want to read it just check it out of a library. I liked the plot of this book. It was interesting how so many illegal things are inconvenient and seems like there is no reason for it at all. I disliked the figurative language. Sometimes I couldn't tell if they were speaking literally or just figuratively. I also didn't like how the book would be really confusing unless you put some thought into it, and reread it a couple of times. I didn't think this book was very good for reading for fun. It is a good book for if you have to read, and you don't know what to read. I would give this book 3.5 stars.