Trade Paperback, 159 pages
English language
Published June 26, 2013 by Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
Sixty years after its original publication, Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown more relevent than ever before.
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodoties, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.
This sixtieth-anniversary edition commemorates Ray Bradbury's …
Sixty years after its original publication, Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown more relevent than ever before.
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodoties, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.
This sixtieth-anniversary edition commemorates Ray Bradbury's masterpiece with a new introduction by Neil Baiman; personal essays on the genesis of the novel by the author; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Nelson Algren. Harold Bloom, Margaret Atwood, and others: rare manuscript pages and sketches from "Ray Bradbury's personal archive and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature. (back cover)
It's like it was written today. Spoiler: Protect books at all costs.
It's like it was written today. Spoiler: Protect books at all costs.
It's like it was written today. Spoiler: Protect books at all costs.
It's like it was written today. Spoiler: Protect books at all costs.
As you're reading this book, it's difficult to remember that it was written in 1951. The technological "predictions" are interesting (bluetooth headphones, reality TV). But I think the most interesting portions are the discussions of the nature of books and media. Toward the end, we get a discussion of people as books (using their innate photographic memories to read/scan books that can later be retrieved from them), but this quotation from Faber around the middle of the book is probably my favorite moment...the texture of books, a texture that can be examined closely, and the rewards of that process of examination.
"Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me, it means texture. This book as pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, …
As you're reading this book, it's difficult to remember that it was written in 1951. The technological "predictions" are interesting (bluetooth headphones, reality TV). But I think the most interesting portions are the discussions of the nature of books and media. Toward the end, we get a discussion of people as books (using their innate photographic memories to read/scan books that can later be retrieved from them), but this quotation from Faber around the middle of the book is probably my favorite moment...the texture of books, a texture that can be examined closely, and the rewards of that process of examination.
"Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me, it means texture. This book as pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion. The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more 'literary' you are. That's my definition, anyway. Telling detail. Fresh detail." (79)
Un livre qui n'est pas sans rappeler 1984 de George Orwell, qui dépeint une société ayant basculé vers le totalitarisme, avec là aussi une police de la pensée et une volonté de supprimer le rêve et la libre pensée des personnes.
Qui n'est pas non plus sans rappeler la politique de certains pays qui se disaient démocratiques il y a encore peu. Assez effrayant dans sa vision quand on pense qu'il a été écrit en 1951.
Un roman assez court, à lire ou à relire absolument. Avant qu'il ne soit lui aussi brûlé.
Un livre qui n'est pas sans rappeler 1984 de George Orwell, qui dépeint une société ayant basculé vers le totalitarisme, avec là aussi une police de la pensée et une volonté de supprimer le rêve et la libre pensée des personnes.
Qui n'est pas non plus sans rappeler la politique de certains pays qui se disaient démocratiques il y a encore peu. Assez effrayant dans sa vision quand on pense qu'il a été écrit en 1951.
Un roman assez court, à lire ou à relire absolument. Avant qu'il ne soit lui aussi brûlé.
I had read this book a long time ago and remembered it as a difficult read - my english was not quite on the same level as it is today. When re-reading it now i was blown away. An amazing story paired with wonderful storytelling. After reading "boring" contemporary novels this was delightfully refreshing
I had read this book a long time ago and remembered it as a difficult read - my english was not quite on the same level as it is today. When re-reading it now i was blown away. An amazing story paired with wonderful storytelling. After reading "boring" contemporary novels this was delightfully refreshing
É uma distopia clássica, li há muito tempo mas lembro de não ter achado tão envolvente quanto as primas mais famosas (1984 e Admirável Mundo Novo). Recomendo o conto "Bright Phoenix" que inspirou o livro (é curtinho e achei melhor que o livro).
É uma distopia clássica, li há muito tempo mas lembro de não ter achado tão envolvente quanto as primas mais famosas (1984 e Admirável Mundo Novo). Recomendo o conto "Bright Phoenix" que inspirou o livro (é curtinho e achei melhor que o livro).
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.'
