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Published by Penguin Random House.
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. Often regarded as one of his best works, the novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found. The book's tagline explains the title as "'the temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns": the autoignition temperature of paper. The lead character, Guy Montag, is a fireman who becomes disillusioned with his role of censoring literature and destroying knowledge, eventually quitting his job and committing himself to the preservation of literary and cultural writings.
The novel has been the subject of interpretations focusing on the historical role of book burning in suppressing dissenting ideas for change. In a 1956 radio interview, Bradbury said that he wrote Fahrenheit 451 because of his concerns at the time (during the McCarthy era) about the threat of book burning in the United States. …
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. Often regarded as one of his best works, the novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found. The book's tagline explains the title as "'the temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns": the autoignition temperature of paper. The lead character, Guy Montag, is a fireman who becomes disillusioned with his role of censoring literature and destroying knowledge, eventually quitting his job and committing himself to the preservation of literary and cultural writings.
The novel has been the subject of interpretations focusing on the historical role of book burning in suppressing dissenting ideas for change. In a 1956 radio interview, Bradbury said that he wrote Fahrenheit 451 because of his concerns at the time (during the McCarthy era) about the threat of book burning in the United States. In later years, he described the book as a commentary on how mass media reduces interest in reading literature.
In 1954, Fahrenheit 451 won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature and the Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal. It later won the Prometheus "Hall of Fame" Award in 1984 and a "Retro" Hugo Award, one of a limited number of Best Novel Retro Hugos ever given, in 2004. Bradbury was honored with a Spoken Word Grammy nomination for his 1976 audiobook version.
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An incredibly powerful, timely novel. I read it once long ago but today's world makes it more relevant than ever. It should be required reading for every intolerant person on the planet, all 7+ billion of them.
É incrível como uma obra tem impactos diferentes em momentos também distintos de nossa vida. Não que da primeira vez que tenha lido Bradbury não tenha achado a obra uma das maiores peças da literatura mundial, pelo contrário, a 12-15 anos atrás minha visão limitada e adolescente de mundo não sequer me dava capacidade para ver o que mais tinha ali, tal qual Montag antes de conhecer Clarisse. Mas é que talvez eu tenha irremediavelmente mudado desde então e esta obra me caiu com ainda mais peso e significado.
O mundo mudou, desde que foi escrito e desde que li a primeira vez. Talvez o maior erro de Bradbury esteja no tamanho da tela que nos prende, não são telas enormes que tomam paredes inteiras e que são repetidas em 3 dimensões, mas sim pequenos espelhos negros na palma da mão que nos dão acesso diário a feeds pré-selecionados e …
É incrível como uma obra tem impactos diferentes em momentos também distintos de nossa vida. Não que da primeira vez que tenha lido Bradbury não tenha achado a obra uma das maiores peças da literatura mundial, pelo contrário, a 12-15 anos atrás minha visão limitada e adolescente de mundo não sequer me dava capacidade para ver o que mais tinha ali, tal qual Montag antes de conhecer Clarisse. Mas é que talvez eu tenha irremediavelmente mudado desde então e esta obra me caiu com ainda mais peso e significado.
O mundo mudou, desde que foi escrito e desde que li a primeira vez. Talvez o maior erro de Bradbury esteja no tamanho da tela que nos prende, não são telas enormes que tomam paredes inteiras e que são repetidas em 3 dimensões, mas sim pequenos espelhos negros na palma da mão que nos dão acesso diário a feeds pré-selecionados e recheados de conteúdo que foi escolhido com base no 'nosso' consumo.
Ray previu com exatidão o quanto a ciência seria desprezada - principalmente em tempos tão duros de de pandemia, o quanto as faculdades humanas e o quanto o conhecimento seria subjulgado e tratado como inútil por uma parcela dominadora da população, bem como uma máquina que quer as pessoas sem senso crítico, tal qual uma máquina de ódio que quer MITOS governando enquanto a moenda humana rola solta nas bases.
Fahrenheit 451 vem como um livro necessário para qualquer pessoa que tenha no mínimo mantido suas convicções e enxergado além da superfície comum, além do Whatsapp, além da fake news. Como não é possível comparar as queimas de livros na história à perseguição que as pessoas tem tido por apenas pensar diferente da massa movida pelo ódio atual? Como não associar tudo isso à sandices de Olavo de Carvalho e afins? E por fim, como não associar os questionamentos de Guy Montag respondidos pelo capitão Beatty ao revisionismo histórico que tem sido tão ostensivamente praticado?
Por fim, o livro é de tirar o folego e tem a capacidade de ser atual mesmo sendo escrito em 1953. Se você ainda não leu, o faça - e nas palavras do poeta alemão Heinrich Heine eu finalizo:
"Aqueles que começarem a queimar livros, logo acabarão queimando pessoas."
It must be close on 25 years ago that I first heard about this book, and now finally I can tick it off the list. Surprisingly also, this is the first time I've read anything by Bradbury, even though I have a number of his works on my shelves.
The book is such a classic, that I'd be surprised if people don't know the general premise, and of course in that sense there wasn't too much wow factor or plot twists that one uncovers here. With that said, it is wonderfully written. The clarity of the landscape the characters see themselves in is simple and clear to the reader. Depressing, vapid and shallow as one continues through the story as it becomes more and more fatalist.
Such a simple phrase, such a beautiful phrase, as Montag meets the group by the fire at the end:
"... and Time was there." …
It must be close on 25 years ago that I first heard about this book, and now finally I can tick it off the list. Surprisingly also, this is the first time I've read anything by Bradbury, even though I have a number of his works on my shelves.
The book is such a classic, that I'd be surprised if people don't know the general premise, and of course in that sense there wasn't too much wow factor or plot twists that one uncovers here. With that said, it is wonderfully written. The clarity of the landscape the characters see themselves in is simple and clear to the reader. Depressing, vapid and shallow as one continues through the story as it becomes more and more fatalist.
Such a simple phrase, such a beautiful phrase, as Montag meets the group by the fire at the end:
"... and Time was there." Truly gave me chills.
I have many thoughts about this book but recognizing that I'm unlikely to take the time to get them all coherently stated here, I'm going to opt for a few bullet points instead.
● People seem to like arguing about whether this is a book about the dangers of technology or the dangers of censorship. I think it's somewhat both, sure, but more about the dangers of being content to engage only with things that make us feel good.
● I say it's only sort of about censorship because, as Faber argues, "Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. You firemen provide a circus now and then at which buildings are set off and crowds gather for the pretty blaze, but it's a small sideshow indeed, and hardly necessary to keep things in line. So few want to be rebels anymore. [...] …
I have many thoughts about this book but recognizing that I'm unlikely to take the time to get them all coherently stated here, I'm going to opt for a few bullet points instead.
● People seem to like arguing about whether this is a book about the dangers of technology or the dangers of censorship. I think it's somewhat both, sure, but more about the dangers of being content to engage only with things that make us feel good.
● I say it's only sort of about censorship because, as Faber argues, "Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. You firemen provide a circus now and then at which buildings are set off and crowds gather for the pretty blaze, but it's a small sideshow indeed, and hardly necessary to keep things in line. So few want to be rebels anymore. [...] People are having fun."
● One other bit I thought was interesting: before reading this book, I assumed it would be all about the book as savior. But another Faber quote: "It’s not the books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books. The same things could be in the ‘parlor families’ today. The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not." As SparkNotes summarizes, "...the stories and ideas told in books could just as easily be told through different forms of media. But, those types of stories are not what people are interested in. [...] It is not just books that are absent from society, but knowledge and curiosity about the world in general."
● Some reviewers reject the book because "the future" (now the present) hasn't unfolded the way Bradbury described it. At least one other reviewer points out that sci-fi is never about an accurate prediction of the future, but instead a means of wrestling with timeless challenges in humanity. I agree, and for that reason consider the book incredibly timely. A whole lot of the issues we're facing currently (like social media bubbles and a seeming inability to have civil discourse about anything meaningful) come back to the preference we humans have for "feeling good" and avoiding discomfort.
Förtjänar att tillhöra klassikerna. Sveps in i berättelsen.
As with many of the classics that I feel I must read, this one left me a little cold. It's short, it doesn't really go into much explanation, and while it tells a story of the potential future, it doesn't really go into the detail you might expect. There's a chase in the book, which is fun and quite well done, but otherwise it doesn't really get going, and I learnt little about the characters involved.
ok
It's been years since I read this, years before being online and years before newspapers started folding. It's a different world now, and this short novel, written in the early 1950s, is eerily prescient. Ray Bradbury did not predict the internet, exactly, but something very much like it; many people are addicted to sitting in their "parlors," places in their houses in which meaningless conversation is piped, soap opera like, to keep people senselessly occupied. There are no educational programs, and books are burned. Suspect someone of hoarding books? Send an alarm! The firemen will come and burn down the guilty person's house and arrest him/her.
Books cause thinking and different opinions. Some books make people uncomfortable. Many books would belie the history that's been rewritten for the masses. Therefore, books are poisonous--away with them all!
This story focuses on one fireman named Guy Montag, and his yearning for life …
It's been years since I read this, years before being online and years before newspapers started folding. It's a different world now, and this short novel, written in the early 1950s, is eerily prescient. Ray Bradbury did not predict the internet, exactly, but something very much like it; many people are addicted to sitting in their "parlors," places in their houses in which meaningless conversation is piped, soap opera like, to keep people senselessly occupied. There are no educational programs, and books are burned. Suspect someone of hoarding books? Send an alarm! The firemen will come and burn down the guilty person's house and arrest him/her.
Books cause thinking and different opinions. Some books make people uncomfortable. Many books would belie the history that's been rewritten for the masses. Therefore, books are poisonous--away with them all!
This story focuses on one fireman named Guy Montag, and his yearning for life and curiosity about what came before and what else there could be--which leads him to books.
Meanwhile, there is a war going on--somewhere. No one knows anything about it, or anything about other countries, or the plight of other people. People aren't even raising their own children. There is little empathy to be found, but certainly enough violence--children are killing children. Among these young people is a girl named Clarisse, who is labeled as an outcast for asking the wrong sorts of questions and being so--social. Guy never hears exactly what becomes of her.
Guy Montag's main adversary is Captain Beatty, a fireman who has obviously read many books. He's an interesting character, one who must be conflicted, and yet he's more adamant about destroying books than anyone around him. For most, it's a job. For Beatty, it's a philosophy and a mission. Meanwhile, Montag's wife, Mildred, is a study in boredom, depression, and emptiness.
Bradbury painted a scary mirror all those years ago--in just about 172 pages. Incredible.
An excellent adaptation that places a different (but equally important) emphasis than the original book. In the book, the burnings that take place are described in exquisite detail, but in the graphic novel, this is represented visually. With so much less space taken up by this simple change, more emphasis is put on the toxic society and its impact on the main characters. It's chillingly similar to today and the lessons it imparts are both topical, informative and helpful.
One of the best books I have ever read.
I am not going to write a long review.
I remember two scenes particularly.
One, when Montag opens his mouth and the flying jets do the screaming for him.
Two, when, a book is burning, its visual similarities with a pigeon and its unfolded wings.
Ray Bradbury has exceptional and powerful capability of creating a meaningful scene. A dramatic scene.
Not only for the scenes I shall remember this book, I also have to remember it for its philosophical and creative value.
The concept of men becoming books and the layer of meaning it hides is of a tremendous value from all creative, dramatic and philosophical perspectives.
What irony that I read this book digitally, having it fed to me 400wpm. Fahrenheit's self-inflicted dystopia seems very close to our present of 'fake news' and celebrity babies dominating media while genocide is concurrently perpetrated. I always forget how poetic Bradbury is, how empty & full he can make you feel all at once. A warning and a comfort that we create the world around us, & that all ages have a beginning & an end.
Review coming soon.
How much knowledge is necessary and how much too much? Who should decide?
How can I write a review for Fahrenheit 451, a book which has meant so much to me? How can I say some brilliant thing which will exhort you to read it? Reread it? May I tell you that I have extra copies of this book so that I may lend or give them should I find someone who has not read it but is willing to? Can I relate in a brief sentence the dream I had in which I read this book in response to a society no longer reading any book which lasted longer than a page?
I have been inspired and struck with urgency in every rereading of Fahrenheit 451. I see in the dystopian society of Ray Bradbury's envisioning a dreadful shadow of my own generation, and it frightens me, so I read the book again and it gives me hope to counter …
How can I write a review for Fahrenheit 451, a book which has meant so much to me? How can I say some brilliant thing which will exhort you to read it? Reread it? May I tell you that I have extra copies of this book so that I may lend or give them should I find someone who has not read it but is willing to? Can I relate in a brief sentence the dream I had in which I read this book in response to a society no longer reading any book which lasted longer than a page?
I have been inspired and struck with urgency in every rereading of Fahrenheit 451. I see in the dystopian society of Ray Bradbury's envisioning a dreadful shadow of my own generation, and it frightens me, so I read the book again and it gives me hope to counter the fear.
Among all the books I have read, this is my first recommended, among my most passionately praised as genius. I urge you, now, this very moment, take this book from a shelf - buy it, borrow it, come to me and I will lend it you - and read it, drink it in. If you've read it before, reread it. So much worth is contained in these few pages, it can do you no harm to invite this book to touch your life for the first or hundredth time.
I can't believe I never read this book. I also can't believe how amazing and poignant it is.
I can't decide what book I would be if I could be one. Which book would you be?
