Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Ballantine Books, 1953.
image from: amazon.com
Summary (from Shmoop)
My Thoughts
My daughter had to read this for her Pre-Ap English class. As I've never read it, I thought I'd read it with her. That was fun. We decided to try for 13 pages per night so we could finish it by the end of June. We did.
I know that Bradbury was commenting on how societies try to limit people's intellectual thoughts. I know this is a book about censorship. I know it's a classic. I know it's a book set in a dystopia. But, I DID NOT LIKE IT! The text just went on and on and on. I was bored, and so was my daughter. I kept notes as I was reading because I just didn't care to commit it to memory. I also didn't feel engaged with the story. I did see many things that reflect our current society, which made me smirk to think was Bradbury prophetic? But, overall, it's forgettable. I will remember a fireman who burns books. I will think about how a girl helped him question his beliefs. I will not remember much else.
After we finished reading the book, my daughter and I watched the movie (made in 1966). I'd seen the movie years ago and so after reading the book, the movie made sense, but for being "futuristic" this version was dated. I hope for future students, if this book is continued to be studied, a newer movie version will be made.
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