Burn Baby Burn. (Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury)

Member Name: reluctantreviews

Product:	Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Date:	03/06/09 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An engrossing read

Disadvantages: None

First published in 1953, Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451' originally started life as a 25,000-word novella called 'The Fireman'. It was renamed Fahrenheit 451 (the temperature at which book-paper catches fire and burns) after the text was expanded by a further 25,000 words and became a novel.

An interesting fact I didn't know before I read this book, was that Bradbury had difficulty getting anyone to publish his work until a young editor bought his manuscript and used it in issues two, three and four of his new magazine, that man was Hugh Hefner and that magazine was Playboy! So it seems that there may be some truth to the 'I only buy Playboy for the articles' excuse!

The story is set in an unspecified dystopian future where society has turned its back on knowledge and intellect in pursuit of hedonistic pleasure. Our main character is Guy Montag, a fireman; in this future they are the ones who start the fires. Books are forbidden and anyone caught with one will be locked up and their homes burned. It is believed that thinking is the cause of all unhappiness and discord in the world so there are no books, magazines or newspapers, television screens fill the walls and information is broken down into sound bites.

The story starts with Montag who has become disillusioned with this way of life, with his inability to engage with his wife who is constantly plugged into her 24hr televisional 'family' or his co workers who enjoy nothing more than letting the fire station's lethal 'Mechanical Hound' loose on small animals. He finds himself beginning to question the state of society but has no one to share his concerns with as no one cares and no one would understand.

Although one night everything changes for Montag, who on his way home from work encounters his strange young neighbour, Clarisse. Clarisse and her family are 'different' they don't behave like everyone else, they are free thinkers and stay up late at night to talk. I don't want to give to much of the plot away but in the following days after his meeting with the free spirited Clarisse events take place that make Montag question everything he has even known.

I finished this book in two days as I found the story totally engrossing and thought provoking; the characters are interesting, generally well rounded and believable. Bradbury has created a completely plausible scenario and considering he wrote this more than fifty years ago, I don't think it has ever been more relevant than it is now and seems to be a rather worrying glimpse into the possible future of Western civilization. As an avid reader and bookseller for a large book chain, the thought of not having books in my life is a nightmare and I found myself asking the question 'Would I stand by and let this happen?'

Fahrenheit 451 is not your usual, predictable story of government censorship, as the people in this society have chosen not to read, so what harm is there in burning what nobody wants? But I feel it's more a cautionary tale warning us that we will end up alienating ourselves from the real world with our technology, for aren't we all in contact every day with internet 'friends' that we have never met?

Fahrenheit 451 is available from Amazon priced £5.99

*I've also published this review under my own name on waterstones.com*

Summary: A thought provoking novel that anyone who loves books should read.