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Never gets old. I recommend people to at least read it once, it's a classic. Wonderful story. I can read it over and over again, which I do.
It's a good novel, but I don't think it added much to realm of science fiction as it did to the literary community.Science fiction novels from the 50s and 60s have a distinct feel and flow to them and Fahrenheit 451 is no exception. But stretching a simple idea like that into a full length novel loses an ethereal something (the spirit. the soul). That makes a tidy short story.
Perhaps 451 is the waving flag of examples of censorship, but its undeveloped underpinnings starve it of greater breadth. much like in 451 where the onset of the protagonist's change of heart is sudden and undeveloped. This occurs in many Poul Anderson novels, as well as John Brunner, James Blish and others from the same era.That ethereal something lost changes the feel and flow of a normally placid plot. Ray Bradbury was a science fiction writer but managed to elevate this novel to the most important rungs of the literary community, something not many SF authors do. There's a reason for that vacuum- typically SF writing is dry, much like 451. The basis is simple: books are illegal and must be burnt. the essence.
The direction of change is clear and predictable. From the standpoint of literature as a whole, it seems 451 is an important piece of work simply because of its eternal message of censorship. Like many of the other novels of the era, 451 was based on a short story written and was later lengthened to a novel. from its inception.
I read it again and even watched the movie, the book is way better. Books remind us of the past and can help us in our day to day lives. I have read this book more than once, when I first read it I had to for school but really enjoyed it. Very good message for those that think books are bad and useless.
The story was unique and the message was interesting. Critical thinking is said to create sadness and conflict so something must be done about it. Clarisse represents the very thing this society is trying to rid. His writing is a little inconsistent but I was able to look past that. Unlike the firemen of today, these firemen burn books rather than put out fires. It's almost as if Bradbury had a good idea for a short-story one day and forced it into a novel.In the end I would give this book a 2.5/5. The world has become a dystopian society that favors pleasure over reality.
But I must be honest, I'm not going to make this book sound better then I thought it was simply because it is considered a classic. I did notice right away that Bradbury likes to be overly-poetic in some parts, and a straight-shooter in others. At first I really hated Montags wife (a good thing, when books conjure up these types of feelings then they are doing their job) and I really felt empathetic towards Guy. The problem is that this book really started becoming silly. I had to force myself to finish the book and I started to lose my feelings towards the main characters, I just started to not care anymore. Guy Montags wife represents the opposite. The ending is one of the most forced endings I've ever read. There are some interesting ideas and some of the writing is pretty good, though it is inconsistent.
This book could have been written a million different ways and Bradbury chose a really silly path. The only redeeming quality this book really has is the overall idea and like many reviewers have already pointed out - the idea is good, the execution of said idea is quite lacking.This story follows Guy Montag, a fireman. We almost have a 'stepford-society' of sorts.
You can already see the conflict here, so what is Guy to do.I'll admit the first 40 pages or so really had me going. Tough choice but ultimately this book was more on the disappointing end of the spectrum for me. Unfortunately I can't give half-stars so it's either a 2 or a 3.
I feel almost guilty giving this book a review like this, it is hailed as a classic and usually when I read books that are considered classics I can see the many strong qualities that put them on the 'classic' pedestal. The books must be burned.In Fahrenheit 451 Montag has an epiphany after talking with his light-hearted neighbor Clarisse. The characters really become forced and the plot as a whole takes an eye-rolling turn for the worst.
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