Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: A Dystopian Tale of Censorship and Rebellion

GABRIELE: Ottimo

Italy on Oct 28, 2023

HENDERSON Xavier: A lire et relire à une époque où même de nombreux instituteurs, voire bac+5 lisent moins de 5 livres par an comme en attestent leurs mails truffés de fautes.

France on Oct 12, 2023

Amazon Customer: universal themes and lessons relevant to our times are in this vision of a dystopian future, which is so recognizable as the time when no match is required to burn books.

United Kingdom on Sep 20, 2023

Phil Knight: Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury

I have seen the acclaimed 1966 movie 'Fahrenheit 451' directed by Francois Truffaut many times. But this is the first time I have read the original novel by Ray Bradbury (August 22, 1920 - June 5, 2012),who was one of the most celebrated science fiction writers of the 20th century. His 1953 novel 'Fahrenhit 451', was set in a dystopian America, in which ignorance is enforced by law and firemen burn books. The title refers to the temperature at which paper burns.

There are a number of surprising differences between the movie and the book. What was not a surprise was Bradbury's beautiful poetic prose. Here is the book's breath taking beginning.

"It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange...

United Kingdom on Jul 20, 2023

Yvonne - The coycaterpillar Reads: I’m going to preface this review of Fahrenheit 451 by saying that I’m not one of these readers who feels obligated to read and review “the classics.” It’s perfectly okay to not feel the inclination to read them and it’s really ok to not enjoy them. It doesn’t make you any less of a reader to not read and enjoy them. I, myself find it hard to read any of the classics – I don’t have a great track record with the likes of Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. The only success I truly experienced with them was with Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle…until now.

I really don’t know what made me pick up Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I’ve had it on my TBR for years with no idea when I’d be brave enough to pick it up. Apparently, a new year is a perfect time. I don’t know what I was expecting but this certainly wasn’t it. I quickly became lost in another time and the writing was laser sharp.

“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.”

Set in a dystopian time – Books are outlawed, and anyone found with any in...

United Kingdom on Jan 22, 2023

Kevin Walrath: Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorites. It's written in the third person, placing you into the shoes of an objective narrator who has special access to the thoughts and world view of the characters within the book, especially that of the protagonist. The protagonist (Guy Montag) actually begins the story as a sort of villain really. His profession is that of a future based fireman, who don’t really put out fires like they used to. In fact, they professionally start fires. What a clever twist on Bradbury’s part.

These firemen are sanctioned by what one can only conclude to be a dystopian government to burn books, as well as the houses they are contained within. In this future world, the government has deemed books as dangerous, containing ideas that run counter to the narrative they wish to form and broadcast via televisions that cover entire walls within people’s homes. And the people want this, as they feel more comfortable with their government fed information. How dystopian indeed.

Reminds one of the behavior of the Roman Catholic Church during the Dark Ages. The two have book burning in common, as well as burning Bibles (in the case of the RCC,...

United States on Jun 15, 2021

immaree: Fahrenheit 451 is set in a world where books have been outlawed. The tale revolves around Guy Montag, a fireman, who in this world are tasked with burning books and starting fires in place of putting them out. After meeting a fascinating teenager called Clarisse he is introduced to a new way of thinking, one that changes his entire view of the world.

I am embarrassed to admit that until recently I had never heard of Fahrenheit 451, although I had heard of the author Ray Bradbury before. How I discovered this novel was after reading and thoroughly enjoying Reader of Acheron by Walter Rhein. I noticed in several of the reviews for the Reader of Acheron how favorably Walter Rhein’s novel was being compared to Fahrenheit 451. The main reason why I bring this up is because if it hadn’t been for the Internet or Amazon, where I could read such reviews at a moment’s whim I never would have discovered this book. In other words I discovered Fahrenheit 451 because of the advancements in technology we enjoy today.

This is interesting to me because Fahrenheit 451 deals with the dangers of technology or rather the dangers of over reliance of technology. It is amazing to me...

United States on Mar 18, 2014