mass market paperback, 184 pages
English language
Published June 12, 1984 by Del Rey / Ballantine Books.
Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires...
The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning ... along with the houses in which they were hidden.
Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames... never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.
Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think... and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!
--back cover
Es un libro al que me gusta volver una y otra vez. Nunca se reflexiona lo suficiente sobre el valor de los libros, todo lo que nos aportan. Y una de las cosas más curiosas es que no hacen falta bomberos para quemarlos: una sociedad que no los valore será suficiente para verlos destruidos y olvidados.
I actually think this had good pacing except for the end, which felt maybe a bit rushed. But anyway go slay Montag, professional DIPPER of capitalism and fascism and whatever else was in there
There are so many quotes that I have taken away from this book and that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I think one of the main (or, most impactful) ones is 'if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore' - such a beautiful way of saying die doing what's right. It reminds me of the quote from Stéphane Charbonnier who stated, 'I'd rather die standing than live on my knees' (he was later killed by Islamic terrorists who did not agree with the viewpoints he published). I know that many people reading this review might argue that I should have read this book earlier in my life (and they're likely right) but I want to attempt to rebut this by saying that I think, if I were to read Fahrenheit 451 at any younger age, I might not have been …
There are so many quotes that I have taken away from this book and that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I think one of the main (or, most impactful) ones is 'if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore' - such a beautiful way of saying die doing what's right. It reminds me of the quote from Stéphane Charbonnier who stated, 'I'd rather die standing than live on my knees' (he was later killed by Islamic terrorists who did not agree with the viewpoints he published). I know that many people reading this review might argue that I should have read this book earlier in my life (and they're likely right) but I want to attempt to rebut this by saying that I think, if I were to read Fahrenheit 451 at any younger age, I might not have been able to take away as much as I did reading it this time. I'm currently 19 years old, though Fahrenheit was actually one of the first books I ever purchased. It had a beautiful animated cover and came along with Brave New World (which had 3D glasses tucked behind the first page so that you could view the cover image from a different perspective); whilst I would have been able to read both books in my youth, I'm somewhat glad I didn't as I worry I might have ruined them, spoilt them for myself. F451 made me feel so electric with every single word, page, and character. With every single location, event, and detail. It took a little time getting used to the writing style but once I was into it, I was completely in. Sidenote, the detail of the vent in Montag's house was wonderfully done and felt so suspenseful.
'Stuff your eyes with wonder.'
And with that, I finished the Holy Trinity of sci-fi dsytopias.
Fahrenheit 451 is a wartime novel in which reading is classified as an anti-state activity. The fire department does not extinguish fires, but sets them to burn down entire houses in which even one book could be found. In this vision of the future, individualism and critical thinking stand in the way of the happiness of the whole, which is why any form of entertainment is boiled down to brain cell-killing mush.
And once again, a girl is the turning point for our protagonist to realize what is wrong with today's people and for him to revolt against the machine.
Unfortunately, the story seemed very rushed in places, which made it hard for me to empathize with what was happening.
Reread. Still just as good.
