Fahrenheit 451
I honestly almost gave up on reading this novel as it started off really bizarre to my liking. I kept rereading the same passages over and over again and it just wasn’t making any sense. The language felt weird and what was transpiring, I couldn’t grasp. I felt that this novel jumped right in on the action from the first page and I wasn’t up to speed.
Overall, I’m glad that I stayed with the novel and that I finished it, as I thought the novel was interesting and thought-provoking. It wasn’t a novel that I could rush through. I found myself closing this novel many times, so that I could take a breather. I’m not a huge science fiction reader but I do have a good imagination and an open mind and I think you do need to have those two things to really enjoy this novel.
As Fireman Montag’s curiosity in books increased, so did mine. I was interested in knowing what books he collected, what he learned and what his future held. My questions did not end there, as I wanted to know about the society that Montag lived in and how their practice of book burning came into being. I thought the author did an excellent job answering many of my questions.
As I look back upon the novel, this story took centerstage. There weren’t any side stories nor were there a great deal of characters to construct this story. The fascinating, stimulating main story tells it all. Ridding their world of books, this town tries to put all individuals on the same playing field as the author describes their colorful and intense world with a powerful paint brush.
I had to smile many times while reading this novel, as it seemed like there was a contrast between what I was reading and what was transpiring. As Bradbury wrote, he portrayed a detailed account of the character’s world yet these same characters were burning books, perhaps the same types of books that helped these characters learn how to describe the world around them, exactly like Bradbury was doing. See, I feel that many individuals learn how to read and how to apply language by reading and here, the characters were burning novels that probably taught them how to speak and apply language. So, what the future held for these individuals was unknown.
I’m glad that the book club choose this novel as it was a book that I would not have read otherwise. It was a good read, and now I understand why it is so popular.
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