Extraordinary novel which still resonates!! I remembered enjoying Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 several years ago. This time, it felt even more powerful. There are some great dystopian novels out there--1984, Handmaid's Tale, Brave New World, Oryx & Crake. Many others come to mind. What's different about Fahrenheit 451 is the sense that it is okay to hope for better days. Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, for instance, ends well after Offred's story has ended and Gilead is an academic subject rather than an oppressive government. Despite the acts of resistance in the narrative, optimism is in short supply. While there is concern that knowledge is under attack (both in Fahrenheit 451 and in current debates), Bradbury lets us hope that knowledge will win out, that the future will win out.

n  “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”n

The burning of books is such an effective tool for controlling the population, so the message of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is scarily real. If society’s wisdom could be taken away, then so could their freedom. If knowledge was burnt, then the people would be left in a complete state of utter innocent ignorance. There would be no room for free thought, that way they could be told anything about history and themselves. If all books were burnt, then they are just sheep to be led into a future dictated by the government. To make it worse the men who do it enjoy it.

Books have become illegal; thus, owning them is a form of disobedience against the state and a violation of the law. The books are burnt by a special group of firefighters, yes firefighters, which hunt readers mercilessly. When they find them, they burn their beloved collection and leave them to die. One woman burns with her books by her own choosing rather than submit to ignorance. The firefighters don’t know exactly why they do it, they rarely question it, they just do it unflinchingly because that is what they are told to do. And they cannot understand why somebody would fight to the death to defend the written word.

Guy Montag is one such firefighter. He lives a mundane life with an equally mundane partner. He’s miserable. He carries out the book burnings, like the others, without a second thought until one day an innocent young girl changes his life forever. She is his next-door neighbour and she is a closet book reader; she asks him a series of questions that makes him realise how stupid and worthless his existence is. He takes solace in a collection of books he has stolen whilst on the job, a symbol that he and the world could one day be free. The knowledge he gains changes his perception of the world forever.

Books have fallen out of favour as other mediums have taken priority over them. People have become hostile to books because they feel inferior when faced with an educated reader; thus, if they are removed forever everyone will be the same and minorities will be removed. Individuality would die. Consequently, when Guy begins reading, he does not know what to do anymore; he has been conditioned to act in a certain way, and when liberty presents itself, he is reluctant and confused by his new knowledge. He is a reluctant hero but a hero, nonetheless. He has stolen one of the last surviving copies of the Bible but doesn’t know what it is. However, a professor of the bygone age does and what comes after is one of the most powerful and symbolic endings I’ve ever read in science-fiction.

This really is required reading for anyone who is serious about science fiction and dystopian fiction because it really is one of the best in both genres.

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You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.
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This is part of a series that protests the banning of books. The series will focus on books that have been banned, burned, or challenged. It will also feature books that discuss the banning and burning of books. In addition, this series will include books about ostracized groups since banned books are frequently written in support of those groups. This series might even include some groups who mistakenly believe they are ostracized.

Before I proceed any further, let me introduce myself. My name is Tim Null, and I'll be 75 on my next birthday. I'm a white boomer, straight male, USA citizen who's a small and big "D" democrat who votes in every election. I have the social skills of a turnip,  and the religious preference of none. Some might call me a "family man," but others would say I'm just "square."

In my book reviews in this series, I will attempt to be fair and accurate, except when I have no desire to do so.

Now, let's talk about Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451. In the introduction to the book, Neil Gaiman said that when we read this book we must first imagine the world that existed in 1953 then project that to the future world that Ray Bradbury has constructed in Fahrenheit 451 in order to understand how the one world made the transition to the other. It's easy for me to imagine the world of 1953 because I can remember Christmases that happened in my life back in 1951 and 1954.

My first memory is from Christmas Eve in 1951. I remember this Christmas Eve because it transformed itself into a nightmare that has haunted me for a lifetime.

In 1951, my family didn't have a television, so Christmas Eve my three siblings, and I sat on the carpet in front and a gigantic radio listening to a Christmas story. Mom and Dad were there too, of course, and old photos show that Granddad and Grammy were also present.

A man on the radio, perhaps Santa Claus, told the story of Santa's preparations for Christmas. I'm sure Mrs. Claus, the elves, and the reindeer were also in the story, but I don't remember those details. When the Christmas story was over, someone suggested we call Uncle Bob and Aunt Peggy.

Understand that my father would never have agreed to a long-distance phone call if his in-laws had not been present. Long distant phone calls weren't cheap in those days, and my father considered them a frivolous expense.

So then everyone went into the dining room and lined by the telephone. You know what I'm talking about. You've probably seen one at your local museum. They're big and black and have a rotary dial.☎️

As luck would have it, Uncle Bob, Aunt Peggy, Skip, and Lynn were all at home when the call was made. I imagine the adults talked to them first. I would guess that Granddad talked to them first, then Dad, followed by Mom. Grammy tended to hover in the background, so she may not have taken a turn.

After Mom, my eldest sister would have spoken to our Aunt and Uncle. My brother would have been next followed by my other sister. Being the youngest, I would have gone last.

I don't know if I talked to Uncle Bob, but I clearly recall my conversation with Aunt Peggy. Like the good little boy I was, I said, "Hi, Aunt Piggy." She replied, "No, not piggy, Peggy." I retorted, "That's what I said, Aunt Piggy." According to the ensuing nightmares I have had for many years, my Aunt Peggy spent several minutes unsuccessfully trying to teach me how to correctly pronounce her name.

By the time Christmas came around in 1954, I knew how to correctly pronounce my Aunt's name, but that year had its own problems. 1954 in Michigan was the year the Republicans stole Christmas. The 1954 Michigan had a marvelous governor who was very good indeed. His name was Soapy Williams. Soapy was a doer and a builder. He helped build highways. He expanded colleges and universities. He helped towns and cities build schools, libraries, and museums. He started building a big bridge that would connect Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas so the good people of Michigan could travel between the two peninsulas in a matter of minutes instead of having to wait hours for the ferries.

The result was that everyone in Michigan was happy, and everyone loved Governor Soapy Williams. Everyone that is except the evil Republicans in the Legislature. The evil Republicans complained, "As long as people love Soapy, they'll continue to vote for him. How can we convince people they should hate Soapy and vote in a Republican governor who won't build things that will make people happy?"

The evil Republican Legislature decided they would refuse to pass the state budget. That way, state employees wouldn't get paid, and no one would get paid to build all the stuff that makes people happy. They decided to do this evil thing in November, so regular folks wouldn't have money to buy Christmas presents in December. They figured that if everyone has a bad Christmas, they will get mad at the governor, and they will stop voting for Soapy.

Back in 1954, I was too young and little to understand any of this, but I was sad when my parents told me there was no money for Christmas presents. (When I asked, "Won't Santa still come?" My siblings replied, "There is no Santa!"). My parents added that there was no money to buy a Christmas tree either, and for Christmas dinner, we would have to eat gravy and mashed potatoes with only lime jello and cottage cheese for dessert. I was sad. My brother and sisters were sad, too. But our parents told us we would have a happy Christmas anyway, and they would continue to vote for Governor Soapy. We did have a happy Christmas, and people continued to vote for Governor Soapy.

Soapy continued to be governor of Michigan until it was time for him to go to work for President Jack. Then, after President Jack got shot and killed, Soapy came back to Michigan and became the Chief Justice in the Michigan Supreme Court.

In 1954, I learned I had to vote for good people no matter what, and I had to make my own happiness even if I only had green jello and white cheese.

[Now back to our regular programming.]

Was Ray Bradbury correct in assuming people could memorize books? Probably not. I know I can't, but people can be happy if they're given half a chance. And they can make up stories and tell jokes. When things get really bad, they can give other people a hug and a shoulder to cry on.

Read #BannedBooks
Next up in this series is
Another Country by James Baldwin
Feel free to read and review along with us if you're so inclined.

Addendum 1

As many of you know, my friend Berengaria found fault with Bradbury's writing style and his portrayal of women. As to her first complaint, I did notice my mind wandering off by itself on many occasions while I read this novella. I just assumed that was because the flame of my sci-fi fandom had burned out years ago. Regarding Berengaria's latter point: Bradbury's portrayal of Mildred and her friends did seem a bit like a caricature of a caricature performed by Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance. Also, Bradbury's portrayal of Beatty, Guy's boss, did seem rather like a caricature of a caricature that Arnold Schwarzenegger might do.

Addendum 2

I looked at the other books that I also gave a 4 rating, and decided that Fahrenheit 451 did not measure up to the standard established by those books, so I have reduced the rating of Fahrenheit 451 to 3.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

My second time reading this dark cautionary tale from Ray Bradbury. While reading it I realized I did not remember much from the first time. Of all the post-apocalyptic tales I have read, this is probably the simplest yet most terrifying.



Published only 4 years after the book 1984, it is obvious where post WWII fears were driving our mindset. It is also very evident how modern dystopian stories have taken direction from these mid-20th Century classics. And, in our current political climate, fears like this are coming aground again: war, government control, freedom lost, etc.

If you love modern dystopia, but have not read this . . . you need to!

If you are a fan of classics and have not read this . . . you must!

It is not a happy tale - it is deeply disturbing with very little hope, but maybe the more people that are aware of its message the safer our future will be.

There is some really terrifying fan art out there for this book:

I read this with my grade eleven English class and I chose this as the anchor text to accompany our guiding question " What is the value of being able to think freely?" We had previously read an article text on the history of dystopian and utopian fiction and read the short stories "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" and "Harrison Bergeron. " I read this book for the first time in high school, but I am going to review it with input from my students. Surprisingly, it was my most reluctant readers that seemed to be able to grasp Guy Montag's struggle. I heard a lot of oooing and ahhhing during certain points. Most students told me that it was the love of Mildred 's lack of empathy that made the story light. But they were really creeped out by the Clarisse/Montag connection. Oh and there was much action, but once Montag arrived at the river, the story lost "some juice." I only have 11 students in my class and 9/11 said it was "Gucci." I got one " My head hurts" and another student that said " No offense to you or Mr. Bradbury, but WTF( at least she used the letters and not the words) did you have us read? Overall, my students stated that it was anywhere from a 2-4 star. Majority won the 4 star!

Il fuoco arde sulla città.
Parole in cenere si dissolvono nel vento.
Triste barcolla l'uomo infranto.

Cosa rimane all'umanità privata della cultura?
Un guscio vuoto che difficilmente potrà essere colmato.
Senza certezze. Perduta, in cerca di se stessa.

Uno dei capisaldi del genere distopico.

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Fire burns over the city.
Words in ashes dissolve in the wind.
Sad staggers the broken man.

What remains to humanity deprived of culture?
An empty shell that can hardly be filled.
Without certainties. Lost, looking for herself.

One of the cornerstones of the dystopian genre.

The Wall Controls You - The Silent Take-Over Of Screen-Time!

What does "Fahrenheit 451" mean to me? Most of all, it is a declaration of love for books in an era of fast entertainment and instant gratification as a means of political control of the masses.

I used to think Brave New World and 1984 - or a combination of those two - had a more accurate take on human mind-slavery in the age of technology than "Fahrenheit 451". But increasingly, I see the world as Bradbury saw it, with people sitting in front of screens, absorbed by meaningless entertainment without purpose or fulfillment, losing their ability to talk to each other. And with the dialogue, reflection disappears from our homes and schools.

Students do "research" without ever touching a book and spit out slogans they find online, but they can't put them into context. They write their essays on screens and unlearn how to spell. They dream of a career which makes them visible on screens as well: they want to be athletes, singers, movie stars. Out of the 200 teenagers I asked, only 2 had read a book during their ten weeks of summer holidays, and most of them couldn't even say what they had been doing instead. Time passes without being noticed in front of a screen - a WALL, as it is called in the novel.

If you do not practice the skill of reading and of appreciating literature, it is lost. The book burning that takes place in "Fahrenheit 451" is not even necessary in the real world of today. Those rare students that like reading can't share their interest with anyone anymore, and it doesn't spread:

"With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word 'intellectual,' of course, became the swear word it deserved to be."

What Bradbury meant as satire is my work reality.

So what have I done myself, hopeless book lover that I am? I have taken to the woods, figuratively speaking, like the characters in "Fahrenheit 451". Barring television screens and computer games - the walls - from my home, I have made sure reading stays alive. My walls are filled with books, not screens. I waste no opportunity to talk about books with my children, and I make them learn poems by heart. To develop a lasting love for literature, it has to be nurtured. You are not born a reader, just like you are not born a football player or a dancer. Accessibility, motivation and training are necessary prerequisites for any interests to form. It takes time and care.

Fahrenheit 451 - the temperature at which books burn. I think Bradbury got that wrong. It is what happened to books in the past, when politicians actively tried to destroy specific books. There is no need for them to do that anymore. In our world, books drown - in the flood of quick information and easy entertainment.

The year of the flood... after the fire came the water, and it caused more damage!

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”

The burning of books is such an effective tool for controlling the population, so the message of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is scarily real. If society’s wisdom could be taken away, then so could their freedom. If knowledge was burnt, then the people would be left in a complete state of utter innocent ignorance. There would be no room for free thought, that way they could be told anything about history and themselves. If all books were burnt, then they are just sheep to be led into a future dictated by the government. To make it worse the men who do it enjoy it.

Books have become illegal; thus, owning them is a form of disobedience against the state and a violation of the law. The books are burnt by a special group of firefighters, yes firefighters, which hunt readers mercilessly. When they find them, they burn their beloved collection and leave them to die. One woman burns with her books by her own choosing rather than submit to ignorance. The firefighters don’t know exactly why they do it, they rarely question it, they just do it unflinchingly because that is what they are told to do. And they cannot understand why somebody would fight to the death to defend the written word.

Guy Montag is one such firefighter. He lives a mundane life with an equally mundane partner. He’s miserable. He carries out the book burnings, like the others, without a second thought until one day an innocent young girl changes his life forever. She is his next-door neighbour and she is a closet book reader; she asks him a series of questions that makes him realise how stupid and worthless his existence is. He takes solace in a collection of books he has stolen whilst on the job, a symbol that he and the world could one day be free. The knowledge he gains changes his perception of the world forever.

Books have fallen out of favour as other mediums have taken priority over them. People have become hostile to books because they feel inferior when faced with an educated reader; thus, if they are removed forever everyone will be the same and minorities will be removed. Individuality would die. Consequently, when Guy begins reading, he does not know what to do anymore; he has been conditioned to act in a certain way, and when liberty presents itself, he is reluctant and confused by his new knowledge. He is a reluctant hero but a hero, nonetheless. He has stolen one of the last surviving copies of the Bible but doesn’t know what it is. However, a professor of the bygone age does and what comes after is one of the most powerful and symbolic endings I’ve ever read in science-fiction.

This really is required reading for anyone who is serious about science fiction and dystopian fiction because it really is one of the best in both genres.

__________________________________

You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.
__________________________________

3.8

Compré este libro hace un par de días porque finalmente conseguí la edición que tanto buscaba (que dicho sea de paso, no es la misma que estoy reseñando), y en esa misma noche lo comencé con la idea de leer tan solo algunas páginas y luego continuarlo en otro momento. Lo que pasó en realidad fue que no pude bajar el libro en ningún momento, lo terminé en algunas horas completamente fascinada. Es difícil de explicar, pero este título ya representaba algo importante en mi vida sin haberlo leído y habiendo escuchado poco y nada del mismo, y cuando por fin pude disfrutarlo, sentí que redefinió algo profundo en mí como lectora. Principalmente expuso con mayor claridad ese vínculo que siento con la literatura, esa conexión, ese evidente escape de la realidad que representa para mí. Es impresionante lo que puede generar la lectura de un buen libro, y la cantidad de cosas que puede dejarle a uno.

El libro habla sobre la censura, sobre cómo limitar la mente, la creatividad y la capacidad del pensamiento así creando una "felicidad" artificial, vacua, a través del conformismo y de lo fácil. Ofrece una mirada sobre el mundo bajo el efecto que genera la carencia de los libros, de la lectura y la reflexión, y es sumamente sorprendente cuan acertado se torna todo. La prosa de Ray Bradbury embellece hasta la dramática resolución que se lleva a cabo con aquellos libros que han sido detectados por los bomberos. Una novela sublime que sin duda recomendaría a todos.

"FAHRENHEIT 451 - the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns"

Guy Montag is a fireman who lives in an absolutely insane world where firemen burn books and the homes of anyone who have them. The story is set in a futuristic time when wars are the norm with use of atomic bombs and people are ruled by huge walls of television.

Ray Bradbury fan here....great read!

[5.0⭐]